BSS Snetterton: Gowland takes last lap thriller victory

Graeme Gowland has taken his first victory of the year in the British Supersport Championship, hunting down his Smiths Triumph teammate Billy McConnell alongside Alastair Seeley to take a dramatic last lap victory, with only 0.5 separating the podium at the flag.

McConnell was an early race leader, breaking away to lead by over a second at the half way point, but a hard charging Seeley, back in third, was soon able to catch Gowland in second and work with him to close down the lead.

McConnell held the lead until the last lap, with the pair trading the lead multiple times until Gowland was able to get an advantage on the Australian, only for Seeley to also take advantage for second and four valuable championship points over McConnell.

“The win’s been a long time coming and it was 2010 when I last won a Supersport race so it’s brilliant to be back on the top step again,” said Gowland. “The Smiths Triumph team have put a lot of trust in me this year, right from the beginning of the year when they took us to Australia, so it’s brilliant to repay them.

“It was a hot race and the tyres were moving around a lot but I just kept chipping away and managed to get by Billy at the end. It’s such a tough class and both Billy and Alastair are flying but we’ve a few changes to make to the bike and will give it another go tomorrow,” added Gowland.