Friday

Jason O’Halloran second quickest despite crash on opening day at Knockhill

Jason O’Halloran was on fire for the McAMS Yamaha team on the opening day of action in the fourth round of the 2023 Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Knockhill, rounding out practice second on the timesheets despite a crash meaning he missed most of the second session.

Having been happy with where he was at after the team’s private test at the Scottish circuit earlier this month, O’Halloran was quick from the off, storming to the top of the timesheets in the first flying laps of opening free practice. Improving as the session went on, he was never displaced at the top of the timesheets with his quickest lap of 47’734 securing him the top spot by over two tenths of a second.

What was even more encouraging was his last lap of the session, on a set of tyres with well-over race distance on them, he was just half a second off his quickest lap of the session.

The quickest lap was a strong one too, as he remained second on the combined times despite a crash at turn seven the opening five minutes of the session. O’Halloran was fortunately all good after tucking the front, but the bike required some TLC however with an impressive team effort, he was able to return to the track for the final two minutes to get one final flier at the end.

Ending the day second overall, he will progress straight through to tomorrow’s second qualifying session with the qualification format back to the normal two session qualifier after Donington’s one lap Superpole.

Jason O’Halloran
Free Practice: 1st           Time: 47’734

“We had a really good session this morning and I felt really good on the bike. We got loads of laps and we had a really good setting. We tried a couple of setting changes this afternoon as we had the time, it took me a couple of laps to get a feeling with it, when I started to push I had a crash at turn seven. It was a pretty standard crash for here, a lot of people go down there, I just went in a bit too hot, too wide and tucked the front. The bike went over the barrier so we had to try and get it back but when it did get back the boys did a mega job to get me back out for a lap at the end. It’s a shame to have missed the session, but it was good to get a lap at the end to make sure things were all OK.”

Steve Rodgers
Team Principal

“It’s been a really good day, we came here in a good place from the test, that meant we knew where we were for the first practice session and because of that we had a pretty much perfect session, staying on the same tyres throughout and never leaving the top of the timesheets. That meant we knew we could afford to try something different in session two, but unfortunately Jason went down early on and he missed most of the session. Crashes happen, but fortunately we were in such a happy place after first practice that we feel like we haven’t lost a lot. The boys did a mega job to get him back out at the end to make sure all was OK, so we’ll see what tomorrow brings.”

Saturday

Podium delight for Jason O’Halloran and McAMS Yamaha in Bike Social Sprint Race

It was a day of threes for Jason O’Halloran on the second day of the fourth round of the 2023 Bennetts British Superbike Championship as the Aussie converted his third place on the grid into a podium finish, crossing the line third in the Bike Social Sprint Race.

Quick throughout the weekend, the team were feeling confident ahead of Qualifying and O’Halloran delivered. Building up his pace as he’s renowned for, he moved into third on the timesheets mid-way through the session but still had more to give. Improving his time with just two minutes left on the clock, O’Halloran pushed on to try and achieve pole and while his final lap was even quicker, traffic at the hairpin meant he’d improve in time and not position – narrowly missing out on pole.

A strong launch from the front row of the grid saw O’Halloran lead into turn one and for the opening lap, but the sheer speed of the Ducati saw Glenn Irwin fly past over the start finish. He’d then lose a further position to Kyle Ryde as Irwin and the two Yamahas broke away from the closing pack. O’Halloran was looking strong, setting the quickest lap of the race in the early stages.

The leading trio remained together, with the gap between one another just enough for there to be no overtaking opportunity around the very short lap, leaving the result as Irwin, Ryde and O’Halloran taking third.

Keeping hold of the fastest lap, O’Halloran will start the first of tomorrow’s two longer races from pole position.

Jason O’Halloran
Qualifying: 3rd          Race 1: 3rd

“It’s always good to get the first race over as while practice gives you an idea of where you are, you never know until you get into a race situation. We got a good start and the three of us were pretty much identical on pace, but that’s the first time I’ve been around other people all weekend so it was nice to be able to see where our bike is strong and where it’s weak. There are some areas we need to improve, as both Glenn and Kyle had a little bit more than us in that one so we’ll have a look at it overnight to see if we can find a little bit of extra speed, but also I’m confident the longer races should also suit us a bit more.”

Steve Rodgers
Team Principal

“It’s always nice to finish on the podium, at a track like this the Sprint race is very much that – a Sprint! It’s over quite quickly and the pace was super-hot, with Jason, Glenn and Kyle all setting pretty much identical lap times throughout. There are clearly some areas we need to look at improving, but Jason has traditionally always been stronger in the longer races as the tyre wears so we need to bare that in mind – our pace on used tyres has been super strong this weekend, although Kyle and Glenn didn’t drop off in the race either. Still, there’s another 10 laps tomorrow so it does change things a little.”

Sunday

Jason O’Halloran secures a second podium at Knockhill

The McAMS Yamaha Team continued their podium form on Sunday as Jason O’Halloran battled his way to third in race two before an unfortunate crash from the lead ended his weekend early at Knockhill for round four of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship.

After a podium finish in the BikeSocial Sprint on Saturday, O’Halloran made a strong launch from the pole, leading into turn one before slipping back to second at McIntyre’s. Settling into second, the O’Show kept his powder dry in the wheel tracks of fellow Yamaha rider Kyle Ryde, but a small mistake saw the Australian lose drive out the hairpin and slip back to fourth.

With five laps remaining, the 35-year-old eyed up a move to return to the podium positions, but a crash for Glenn Irwin ahead promoted him back onto the rostrum. Keeping up the pace, the number 22 rider crossed the line for his second podium of the weekend, setting the third fastest lap which would see him line up third for race three.

Making an equally impressive start to the final race, O’Halloran burst into the lead and held his ground until a mistake at Clark’s on lap two saw him crash out of contention unhurt.

O’Halloran sits sixth in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings 65 points adrift of the series leader.

The McAMS Yamaha Team will return to a two-strong lineup at Snetterton across the 7-9th July.

Jason O’Halloran
Race 2: 3rd
Race 3: DNF
Championship: 6th (98 points) 

“Overall, it’s been a strong weekend with two podiums and a good pace. We worked hard over the weekend and made steps in the areas we needed to. The last race we got to the front and I knew I had to push but unfortunately bottomed out which lifted the front and I crashed. It’s such a tough championship now with so many fast bikes and riders so you have to take some risks to get the rewards and that’s what I tried today and sadly it didn’t pay off. Still, two podium finishes is really positive and I can’t wait to get to Snetterton.”

Steve Rodgers
Team Principal

“Overall a strong weekend, Jason was quick all weekend and to take two podiums was exactly what we needed. We felt we had enough to win, especially with the steps we’d made across the weekend and Jason made a great start but unfortunately just decked the bike out and the front went. It was a massive shame as we knew he had the pace this weekend, but the good news is he’s all OK and we’ll try again at Snetterton.”