British Supersport Championship - Donington Park race report
Honda Racing UK heads into the final round of the Quattro Group British Supersport Championship with two further podium finishes for Jack Kennedy and another strong weekend from Dean Harrison, following the penultimate round at Donington Park.
Kennedy secured second in Saturday’s Sprint Race before taking third in an unsettled Sunday Feature Race, while Harrison delivered a fifth and a fourth. The results underline the consistency of both Honda riders throughout the season, with Kennedy retaining second in the championship standings and Harrison strengthening his hold on fourth.
Saturday’s ten-lap Sprint Race saw Kennedy finish just 0.414 seconds behind winner Oli Bayliss. Starting from second on the grid, Jack remained firmly in contention at the front to secure another podium, while Dean rounded out the top five finishers.
Sunday’s Feature Race proved a more disrupted affair. Safety car interventions, a restart and a crash at the end punctuated the action, repeatedly breaking the rhythm of the race and demanding renewed concentration as the field regrouped.
Through the interruptions, Kennedy and Harrison maintained their focus, with the two riders closely matched for pace. Jack was classified third, just 0.248 seconds behind second-placed Josh Whatley, with Dean a further 0.445 seconds back in fourth.
Their fastest laps demonstrated just how little separated the teammates. Harrison recorded a best of 1:30.418, narrowly quicker than Kennedy’s 1:30.459, a difference of only 0.041 seconds. Both riders set those times on the final lap, perfectly illustrating their determination to keep pushing through to the closing stages as well as their ability to extract maximum performance from both the bike and tyres.
For Kennedy, the weekend added two more podiums to a season built on consistently strong results. He leaves Donington Park with 368 points, 45 behind championship leader Luke Stapleford, and with every incentive to maximise the remaining opportunities at Brands Hatch.
Harrison’s fifth and fourth places continued his own incredible supersport championship campaign. Dean has scored points in every race this season and now holds fourth in the standings with 296 points.
Honda Racing UK now turns its attention to the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit on 16–18 October. With one round remaining, both riders will push hard to finish the season on a high: Kennedy seeking to keep the pressure on at the front of the championship, and Harrison determined to turn his competitive pace into another podium finish.
Jack Kennedy
If you’d have told me I’d take this many points out of Luke Stapleford ahead of this weekend, I’d have snatched your arm off. I’d like to thank the team and Honda for working so well with me to get the bike where I wanted it to be, riders say it all the time but it’s impossible to race how we do without a lot of work from a team of great people. As I’ve said before, sometimes my aim in a race is different to simply just wanting to stand on the top step and this weekend I just wanted to beat Luke. The points I took away from this round were really important to me and that created a lot of pressure to put myself under. Knowing what I do about the last round of the championships, I think it’s fair to say that the weather will be an issue, which plays into my hands. It's game on, anything can happen.
Dean Harrison
I’m happy with my performances this weekend, of course you always want more but sometimes you have to accept that you’ve given it everything and that’s your lot. I was chasing tenths in one particular section of the lap here all weekend, sacrificing a tiny amount of time where I was fast to try and make it up where I wasn’t and it didn’t quite work out. It was frustrating having to deal with so many hurdles in the feature race, restarts and safety cars mean you have to reset your focus multiple times. We scored some solid points though and my lap times at the end of the race showed that I had good pace. We’ll put our heads down for Brands Hatch and keep working hard. My crew chief and the team did a fantastic job with the CBR600RR, I’m grateful to them and all of my sponsors for the opportunity.
