COOPER & TRIUMPH ARE THE 2024 NATIONAL SPORTBIKE CHAMPIONS
Richard Cooper clinched the inaugural National Sportbike championship on his Triumph Daytona 660 at Brands Hatch, England, this past weekend (October 11-13). Backing up the capability of the new Daytona was Thomas Strudwick who also finished third overall in the series.
The championship has mainly been a tale of two riders; Cooper and Edoardo Colombi who, prior to the last round, had taken 11 of the 13 race wins between them. Coming into the two-race finale at the Kent circuit, it was Cooper who trailed his Italian rival by 21.5 points. But with increased points at this last event, it was all still to play for.
Cooper started the weekend strong on his #47 PHR Performance Triumph, finishing second overall after practice with Colombi holding the advantage; positions that would remain unchanged after qualifying. The first race of the weekend on Saturday would be dramatic, though. A downpour on the warm-up lap for the originally scheduled 12-lap race led to a red flag situation, creating a gamble with what tyres to choose for the restart.
The warm-up lap showed that Cooper - like most of the grid - had made the correct call with dry tyres. When the lights went out, it the #47 that took full advantage to lead, followed by Strudwick on the #25 Triumph. After the first lap Cooper had built a 1.5 second advantage as Colombi - who had opted for wets - fell down the order dramatically. Cooper dominated the race, pulling out an almost ten second gap to second place while Colombi finished 14th, giving the Triumph rider a 9.5 points advantage into Sunday’s final race.
Dry conditions greeted the riders and fans for an epic decider and it was Cooper who held second place on the grid with Colombi back on row five in 14th. When the lights went out, it was another amazing start from Cooper who took the lead at Clearways. With everything to play for, Colombi was on a mission and made up six places in the first lap and by the end of lap four, he was all over the seat unit of Cooper’s Triumph.
Lap five saw Colombi take the lead and set about trying to break the chasing pack as Cooper became embattled in a four-way scrap for second place. With the #47 needing to finish on the podium if Colombi won, the remainder of the race turned into a nail-biting battle for glory. For Cooper, it was calling on his 25 years of racing experience to eventually thwart the attack of Alfie Davidson and finish third to clinch the championship. The result was promoted to second after the race, due to Ferre Fleercrackers being disqualified due to a technical rule infringement.
Cooper had a fantastic season on the Daytona 660, taking five wins and eight other visits to the National Sportbike podium on his way to becoming the first National Sportbike Champion.
For the MIH Solutions / Macadam Racing riders, Aaron Silvester secured two solid rides with a seventh and sixth to claim an excellent sixth overall in the championship. Jayden Martin endured a tough final round with two determined rides but ultimately finishing outside the points. Katie Hand made her return to action after missing multiple rounds due to a broken collarbone sustained at the Cadwell Park round to secure a best of 24th in the opening race.
