Mar-Train Racing’s Jack Kennedy won a thrilling and dramatic Quattro Group British Supersport Championship race at Silverstone on Sunday afternoon when Bradley Perie crashed out of the lead with two corners to go.
The Yamaha rivals had fought tooth and nail all race long but Perie slid off the Appleyard Macadam Racing machine after re-taking the lead on the final lap and that allowed Kennedy to complete the double and also take early command of the title race. Lee Johnston (Ashcourt Racing Yamaha) and Perie’s teammate Harry Truelove joined him on the podium.
Perie grabbed the holeshot from Kennedy with Johnston slotting into third and the leading three riders quickly pulled away from the rest of the field although Rhys Irwin and Eugene McManus crashed out together on lap four.
By lap ten, Perie and Kennedy had edged away slightly from Johnston who was doing all he could to keep in their slipstream and they’d opened up a healthy five second lead over fourth placed Luke Jones (Highsparks Motorsport). He, in turn, was 1.5s clear of Jaimie van Sikkelerus and Truelove.
Back at the front and Perie was continuing to keep Kennedy at bay and at half race distance, they’d pulled more than a second clear of Johnston who looked like he’d now have to settle for third.
Indeed, Perie and Kennedy were lapping half a second a lap quicker on each lap, with the latter continuing to exert pressure on his rival, and it was clear the duo would dispute the win, just as they had done in countless races last year.
Lap 18 saw the first change of the lead as Kennedy took the lead at Copse and he immediately opened up a gap of two tenths of a second. Johnston was secure in third but further back, the battle for fourth continued to rage between Jones, van Sikkelerus and Truelove.
With five laps to go, Perie set the fastest lap of the race to put himself onto Kennedy’s back wheel once more and it was now his turn to pile on the pressure. He made it count too as he slipped up the inside at Copse at the start of the penultimate lap.
Kennedy responded with a brave move at Maggots on the final lap only for Perie to go back in front at Brooklands. Kennedy had to run wide when he hit a neutral but Perie lost the front a split second later and that gifted the win to Kennedy.
Johnston came through for second with Truelove getting the verdict for third from van Sikkelerus and Jones. Eunan McGlinchey took sixth ahead of Josh Day, Jack Scott – the first of the GP2 finishers – Damon Rees and Harvey Claridge, the latter joining Scott on the GP2 podium.
