British rider Fenton Seabright (PHR Performance Triumph) soared to new heights at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours as he landed his maiden FIM Sportbike World Championship win in Race 1 and capped off the weekend strongly with a podium in Race 2. He has been one of the fastest-growing names in WorldSPB, and now not only does he have his first podium double under his belt, but riding away from the Acerbis French Round, he has now taken four podiums from the last three rounds.
“SALVADOR IS A DIFFICULT RIDER TO BE UP AGAINST, I KNEW HE WAS GOING TO COME IN STRONG”
The weekend kicked off with a second-row effort from Seabright, a 1’46.043s, a half second slower than Championship leader David Salvador (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI) on pole. He maintained his P5 position over the first three laps, before a thunderous Lap 4 that was capped off by a Turn 6-7 move on Xavi Artigas (MTM Kawasaki) for P1. From there, Salvador and Seabright went head-to-head, trading overtakes for the leading position with Salvador’s teammate Antonio Torres close behind. As the race wound down, the fight for P1 heated up; Salvador struck in the first sector at Turn 4, cementing the move in Turn 5. Salvador took the lead at Turn 13, and despite a Turn 14 attack from Seabright, the Spaniard returned the favour at Turn 15 to finish the race in P1. However, the Englishman was ruled the victor later on by FIM WorldSBK Stewards as he had exceeded track limits at the final Turn 17 and was penalised one position down to P2.
After landing his first win in the WorldSBK paddock, Seabright said on Saturday: “It’s an amazing feeling; we’d been hunting for this all season; we knew it was at our fingertips, and we just had to put the last bits together to grasp it fully. It’s an amazing feeling to be up on the top step and hear your national anthem. Salvador is a difficult rider to beat; I knew he was going to come in strong. he, Torres, and I all had the pace. I knew it was going to be elbow to elbow on the last lap, and it was. It was a great battle and I’m glad I came out on top. I still can’t even believe it. Seeing my team in Parc Ferme waiting for me by the number 1 was an amazing feeling.”
“WE’RE ALL LEARNING AS YOUNGSTERS, I’M SURE BY THE END OF THE SEASON YOU WON’T STOP SEEING US”
On Sunday, the Brit saw lights out from pole position but got bogged down into the first corners and sat down in P8 at the outset of Lap 2. A lap later, he was up to P4, and he was soon tailing his Race 1 foe Salvador once again by Lap 3. Carter Thompson (Team BrCorse) entered the fray for the top spot, passing the #73 on Lap 5. Seabright briefly led on Lap 8 before falling all the way down to P5 with just two laps to go. Fortunately for the Brit, he found a way past Pepe Osuna (Deza-Box 77 Racing Team) and Championship leader Salvador with a daring Turn 5 move in what was a stunning final lap to show himself to his second podium in two races.
On his Sunday and his season from here, Seabright said: “It was great. I had a bit of a moment in the morning’s Warm Up, I pulled my arm a bit hanging onto the bike, and it didn’t help in the Race. We settled in nice and easy and kept chipping away. Sunday felt like a harder battle than Saturday; it was a lot more aggressive. It was a great accomplishment for the team. It was a weekend to remember, winning in a World Championship race on Saturday, then topping off the weekend with a podium. We’ll try to keep this momentum going to Cremona. The oldest in the team is 25, we're a new team in the World Championship. We’re all learning as youngsters; I’m sure by the end of the season you won’t stop seeing us.”
Can Seabright continue his upward trajectory in the final rounds to come? Next up: Cremona! Tune in on Friday, September 25th, tune in with the WorldSBK VideoPass! Now 70% off!