Sensational Seabright Secures Sportbike Victory
PHR Performance Triumph and Fenton Seabright added their name to the inaugural Sportbike World Championship winners list this weekend, securing the race one victory at Magny-Cours before returning to the podium on Sunday with a well-executed third-place finish.
FIM Sportbike World Championship action returned to the World Superbike schedule this weekend after a lengthy break which saw the Triumph Daytona 660 riders last in action at Misano in June.
Friday’s only practice session saw the PHR Performance squad hit the ground running after their two-day test at the French venue over the summer break. Seabright rocketed to the top of the timesheets with teammate Harrison Dessoy in 19th. Superpole also delivered a promising result, with Seabright remaining in the mix with a fifth-place grid slot. Dessoy secured 12th for Saturday’s race one.
The opening race of the weekend delivered the usual Sportbike antics, with a multi-rider battle commencing from the off. A bright start from Seabright put him in the leading battle and he sprang into the lead by the midway stage, but as ever in Sportbike, the lead was short-lived as the battle continued to the checkered flag.
Expertly placing his Daytona 660 machine, Seabright showed his racecraft, returning to the leading position on the final lap, but a late move from David Salvador derailed the British rider’s victory charge. A late effort was left unrewarded, and Seabright settled for second place; however, Salvador clipped the green paint at the final chicane, resulting in a penalty, promoting Seabright to his first-ever Sportbike World Championship victory.
For teammate Dessoy, the opening race delivered a promising performance as the youngster battled his way through to eighth at the chequered flag. Posting the fastest lap midway through, the number 55 rider was determined to catch the front group but, once he did, was unable to extract the final performance of the tyre to make further progress.
PHR Performance’s second race delivered more podium success. Another fast start from Seabright fired him into the lead of the race, but he was shuffled back through the pack on the run into the Adelaide Hairpin. Keeping his cool, despite being dropped back to sixth in the early stages he gradually worked his way back to third by the fifth lap.
As the race started its final tour of the 4.41km venue, Seabright had his work cut out after being relegated to fifth but looked to gain places in the slipstream on the run into the turn five hairpin; despite hitting the apex first, he was pushed back to fourth on the exit. A late pass from the number 73 rider as the riders ahead battled for position put him back in the podium places, and he crossed the finish line in third for a second visit to the podium this weekend.
Dessoy also had a bright Sunday encounter. The 21-year-old placed third on the run into turn one before consolidating his fourth place at the end of sector one. Falling foul of the slipstream, he emerged from the opening lap in fifth before then falling further back to eighth. From there, Dessoy pushed on and came home eighth for a second top ten finish of the French round.
CM Triumph Factory Racing endured a difficult weekend. Elia Bartolini faced a Double Long Lap Penalty in race one, which relegated him to a position outside of the top 20. Meanwhile, Misano victor Bruno Ieraci struggled to make headway in the opening race of the weekend, finishing 14th.
Sunday’s race proved more of the same for the factory Triumph duo. Bartolini made a strong start and was on the cusp of the top ten but struggled to make any further progress as the riders battled hard around him. By the midway stage, Bartolini sat in 12th place and made up two places in the final laps, securing tenth at the finish. Ieraci completed the second race in 20th.
The Sportbike World Championship returns for its seventh round of the season at Cremona, Italy, before its season finale at Jerez in October.
Fenton Seabright, PHR Performance Triumph:
“It’s not been a bad weekend for myself and PHR! We got our maiden win yesterday and then came out of the weekend with another third, in the front group, leading the race for a couple of laps is something I’m really happy with. The Daytona 660 was feeling so good all weekend and we’ve been working so hard all year to eventually get to this point. A huge thanks to Peter Hickman, the entire PHR Performance team and of course Triumph Motorcycles for giving me a great bike and making all of this possible.”
Harrison Dessoy, PHR Performance Triumph:
“That’s our weekend done at Magny-Cours and another eighth place in the second race. I got a bit beaten up in the opening laps which just shuffled me back and I couldn’t quite fight back. But, all-in-all, a good weekend, two top ten results and I'm ready to fight again at Cremona.”
Elia Bartolini, CM Triumph Factory Racing:
"It was a tricky weekend, but we saw steady improvement, eventually securing P10 today. I’m pleased with the work we’ve done with the team, even though it wasn’t quite enough to challenge for the win. We’ll work even harder for the race in Cremona."
Bruno Ieraci, CM Triumph Factory Racing:
"It was a tough weekend for me; unfortunately, the crash in Superpole ruined everything and I wasn’t able to show what I’m capable of. I’d like to thank the mechanics for all the work they put in to reassemble and strip down the bike twice. We’ll make up for it in Cremona."
