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Luke Stapleford has raced for not one, but two teams as he makes his full-time debut in the FIM Supersport World Championship this year.

Having convincingly won the British Supersport title in 2015, Stapleford stepped up to the world scene on a permanent basis with CIA Landlord Insurance Honda; however, this relationship was to last for only two rounds as the two parties split after Thailand. The British rider returned at Assen with Profile Racing, stunningly qualifying on the front row of the grid – a feat he would later repeat at Donington.

It was also at Donington Park where Stapleford, riding the Triumph Daytona 675, picked up his best result of the season so far with fifth position; this followed a sixth place finish with the same Triumph bike as a wildcard entrant last year.

“It was a bit of a shock, really!” says Tris Palmer, Team Manager of Profile Racing, as he recalls the front row of Assen. “Our best qualifying before that was tenth in Thailand and then we didn’t finish the race there. To go from that to miss Aragon, drag out a Triumph we hadn’t used and qualify second on the grid at Assen was brilliant for the team and for Luke. It got everybody’s confidence back up.

“It’s been tough since then. We have had two front rows and a best finish of fifth at Donington, but that was at tracks we know and have raced at with the Triumph before. With Italy and some of the other places such as Sepang, we haven’t been there before: we have no base setup and Luke doesn’t know the tracks, so it’s a massive learning curve for us. At those races, we are just happy to get some points and learn it all for next year.”

Although a first full season brings its obvious challenges, there have also been benefits for Profile Racing. Coming from the British series where rider aids such as traction control were not allowed, no adaptation was required for Stapleford when this feature – plus others, such as anti-wheelie – were removed from the technical regulations in World Supersport for the start of 2016.

“We have changed the bike backwards a little bit, to put the kit electronics on, but we haven’t lost any power,” Palmer continues. “The engine builders have done a great job of it and we are pretty much where we were last year. It has worked out really well for Luke on this bike, as it is not a lot different to what he had before, whereas a lot of the other riders have lost a bit of power. It has actually brought our bike a little bit closer to theirs, so it’s been good for us.”

Palmer goes on to emphasise how he, Stapleford and the team have been on the back foot due solely to starting a race weekend on an unknown race track.

“You definitely ‘lose’ the first day because Luke has to learn the track and set the bike up,” Palmer continues. “When you don’t know the track, you are learning the gear pattern for the circuit. It’s just time. We need more laps! At the end of the weekend it feels like where you should have been starting it! It is hard.”

During the WorldSBK summer break, Stapleford has impressed the motorcycle world by making a brief return to the British series and claiming two Supersport podiums at the Snetterton circuit in England, winning one race and claiming a close second in the other.