Billy McConnell had close to a dream Thruxton, culminating in a podium to reward all the hard work from both rider and  mechanics to close the British Super☂bike 𒈔weekend.

Having previously been a Superbike rider, first in 2006 on a Yamaha, then in 2008 with Kawasaki, the Australian found himself ♐involved with the C&L Fairburn/Look Forward team in the support classes, who d🎃ecided to support McConnell and take him back to the Superbike class.

• 2024 British Superbikes: Thruxton 🗹- Race Results (2)
• 2024 B𓆉rit♊ish Superbikes: Thruxton - Race Results (3)

The #3 could not be more grateful for the oppo൲rtunity, crediting aꩲnd thanking the outfit at the first chance:

“Big thanks to the C&L Fairburn/Look Forward and the whole team…was built around me when we got put in a positi🐻on later on in the year - we started off with Superstock then next thing you know we’re in Superbike two ye♍ars layer - so big thanks to the team”.

In꧟ with a shout of a podium in race one, then going on to finish fifth in the frantic battle to the line, McConnell had already bettered his previous career best of sixth and learned a lot for the🅰 next races:

“The first race we thought we had a good race as well, unfortunately Kyle got us on the last corner - I was happy to settle in second and Ryan give us a bit of a nudge into the next left and then pushed me onto the painted green lines and then lost all my drive into there - but if I said I was going to get fifth in the first race I would have been happy with th⛦at!”

The Thruxton track suited both McConnell’s all out race style and the Honda, so after another fifth from eighth in race two, he was ready to leav🦂e it all on track for🀅 more improvements in the final race of the weekend:

“Obviously your expectations go up as you get a better result! From the first part of the weekend we knew we had a good bike, the Honda’s work 🤪really well…and the Honda guys for giving us some good information, so yeah - can’t fault the teams performance - all my mechanics, all my sponsors, it’s nice to put some silverware back in t﷽he pocket for them”.

The last race was not without incident as McConnell found himself in behind then-leader Tommy Bridewell♏, who saw his bike stop right in front with the Honda rider having no time to react and going into the back of his back wheel, quick reactio💮ns and the point of impact helped  the duo stay upright:

“Tommy went in there, and obviously people were riding a little bit more cautious to try and save tyre and then it was like his throttle just completely, or an engine or something, and just de-celed and luckily we’d just flicked on the direction where we got on the outside of the tyre - of we were on th🐼e inside it probably would have flicked us over - so we’re just lucky we were on the right side of the rear wheel there”.

That saw McConnell briefly lead, before a charging Ryan Vickers took over to complete his Sunday double, leaving the Auꦍstralian to pick up his first podium on his return to BSB.