Home hero Booth-Amos delivers at Donington Park

PTR Triumph Racing’s Tom Booth-Amos produced a sensational ride to claim victory in Race One of the FIM World Supersport World Championship at Donington Park, overcoming a six-place grid penalty to delight the home crowd.

Celebrating his 100th World Supersport start, Booth-Amos delivered one of the standout performances of his career, charging from ninth on the grid to claim his second World Supersport victory and his first since Phillip Island last season. It was a fitting result for the British rider, on a British Triumph, with a British team, at their home track.

Having qualified third, the #69 rider was demoted six places after receiving a penalty for exceeding the permitted number of slow sectors during Superpole. Any hopes of a straightforward afternoon disappeared before the lights went out, but Booth-Amos wasted little time carving his way through the field in front of a packed, sun-soaked Donington Park crowd.

Making decisive passes as he worked his way through the field, Booth-Amos soon hit the front before putting the hammer down. Lapping consistently quicker than his closest challengers, he edged clear of championship rivals Albert Arenas and Jeremy Alcoba before crossing the finish line almost two-and-a-half seconds ahead to secure a memorable home victory.

To complete a near perfect afternoon, Booth-Amos also set the fastest lap of the race, earning pole position for Sunday’s Race Two as he looks to complete a dream weekend at Donington.

The victory marks a significant milestone for Booth-Amos, who celebrated his 100th start in the best possible way, while providing PTR Triumph Racing and Triumph Motorcycles with a memorable home win at one of the championship’s most iconic circuits.

Tom Booth-Amos: “Yeah, a good day, a very good day. You know I kind of thought I would be there or thereabouts but I didn’t think I would be as strong as I was so I’m very happy. To get a win at home is a special thing for myself, for the team and for Triumph.  It’s a nice day to say the least, so thank you to the team, they worked great as always, Triumph for providing a great bike that can win the race, let’s see if we can do the same tomorrow.”

Teammate Oli Bayliss lined up eighth on the grid after gaining a position following Booth-Amos’ penalty, with the PTR Triumph Racing duo starting side by side on the third row of the grid. The Australian made a strong start to move into seventh before a small mistake on lap two cost him valuable ground, dropping him back to tenth. With much of the 19-lap race spent in clear air, Bayliss maintained a consistent pace before closing back onto the leading group in the closing stages. His determined charge was rewarded with seventh place at the chequered flag, securing another solid points finish for the Australian.

Oli Bayliss: “Not too bad of a day here at Donington. I got a pretty good start to the race. The first lap was not bad and on the second lap I had a bit of a moment going in to the last turn, ran really wide and I think I lost four or five positions so we got our head stuck back in. The next lap I made a little mistake going into the second to last turn and we’ve got some work to do to help stopping the bike a little bit but I mean our pace was good. We had a two second gap to the main group at one stage but caught up to them and then obviously in the end it split up a bit. No, it’s not really a bad day for us, a good day for the team, Tom did well finishing first so we’ll try and get a bit closer tomorrow.”

PTR Triumph Racing Factory Team Manager Simon Buckmaster: “Fantastic result you can’t get better than that, to win as a British team on a British bike at the British round with a British rider. Oli rode good he had the pace there to make the box but early on he made a mistake and you have to come back from that so a great job in seventh. I just want to say congratulations as always to the whole team. What a team unit! I can’t congratulate everybody in our team enough for the job that they do and also to both the riders Tom and Oli. A fantastic day, we look forward to tomorrow and see if we can do it again and get Oli up there challenging for the podium as well.”

Tom Booth-Amos makes history with Donington double

Sunday’s 19-lap FIM Supersport World Championship Race Two took place in front of another packed Donington Park crowd under glorious sunshine, with Booth-Amos lining up on pole position after setting the fastest lap in Saturday’s race (1’28.919). Although the #69 rider was shuffled back to third when the lights went out, he quickly settled into a fierce three-way battle with Can Öncü and Albert Arenas for the race lead.

The lead changed hands several times during the opening stages before Booth-Amos moved to the front with 11 laps remaining to the delight of the home fans. Drama unfolded a lap later at the Melbourne Hairpin when contact from Öncü forced the PTR Triumph Racing rider wide, dropping him from first to fifth; a manoeuvre that landed Öncü with a one position penalty for irresponsible riding.

Refusing to let the setback define his race, Booth-Amos immediately began his fightback. Showcasing the pace of the Triumph Street Triple RS, he worked his way back through with some more decisive overtakes before reclaiming the lead at the start of lap 16. From there, he controlled the closing stages to take the chequered flag and complete a memorable home double.

The victory was Booth-Amos’ third career World Supersport win and completed a historic weekend, making him the first British rider to win both World Supersport races in a weekend. The maximum points haul also moves the Shropshire rider up to fifth in the championship standings.

Tom Booth-Amos: “It’s been an incredible weekend. To take two race wins and the fastest lap award at our home round is really special. To do it as a British rider, on a British Triumph, with a British team makes it even more meaningful. The crowd has been amazing all weekend and to win at home for the team, the factory and all the fans is an incredible feeling. I’m absolutely over the moon and can’t thank everyone enough for their support.”

Teammate Oli Bayliss endured a more difficult afternoon. Starting tenth on the grid, the Australian made another strong launch and immediately closed on the group ahead before an incident involving another rider cost him valuable ground. Struggling with rear grip as the race progressed, Bayliss was unable to recover the lost positions and crossed the line in 16th.

Oli Bayliss: “Not our best day today, something is going on and I’m struggling a lot with drop of tyres. I felt good in warm up but it just didn’t happen. Thanks to the team for the work and we’ll try and find something for the break. Now it’s back to BSB for some more racing. Good job to Tom over the weekend.”

PTR Triumph Racing Factory Team Manager Simon Buckmaster: “Another fantastic day for Triumph and for PTR the team and everyone that works with us. I can’t say enough about all the people behind this. Triumph have given us such a fantastic bike that we have made from a road bike, starting all those years ago in 2021, to be at this point winning both races at our home round is a true achievement. I can’t thank everybody enough. Oli today started pretty good but he tried to make a move on Mahias into Foggy Esses but it was a little bit late and he went back to tenth and it’s such a hard field. He felt the tyre started to drop but unfortunately he ended up 16th and out of the points which doesn’t show his true ability. It’s just so tough now in World Supersport, everyone is doing the same lap times, obviously we want better for him but it doesn’t take away what a fantastic weekend it was for everyone involved.”