The 2021 Bennetts British Superbike Championship is underway with the official testing action kicking off at Silverstone this morning, as the two-day test got underway in cool but dry conditions.

The opening 40-minute session was led by Jason O’Halloran who moved to the top of the times in the closing minutes for the McAMS Yamaha team, holding a 0.268s advantage over reigning champions VisionTrack Ducati as Josh Brookes moved into second place.

Gino Rea made his return to Buildbase Suzuki with a strong start to the day, posting the third fastest time, with Kyle Ryde dropping to fourth in the final minutes after the Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW rider had led earlier in the opening session.

Glenn Irwin completed the top five for Honda Racing as his new teammates Ryo Mizuno and Takumi Takahashi made their official debut in the Championship, with some initial laps towards the second half of the opening session.

Christian Iddon was back in action on the second of the VisionTrack Ducatis in sixth place ahead of Dan Linfoot, who had his first opportunity to test the new TAG Honda this morning. Tommy Bridewell was the first rider to venture out onto circuit and he posted the eighth fastest time with Joe Francis completing the top ten.

Bennetts British Superbike Championship Official Test, Silverstone, Session 1:

1. Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 55.1616s
2. Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati) +0.268s
3. Gino Rea (Buildbase Suzuki) +0.358s
4. Kyle Ryde (RICH Energy OMG Racing BMW) +0.412s
5. Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing) +0.540s
6. Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) +0.717s
7. Dan Linfoot (TAG Honda) +1.056s
8. Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +1.355s
9. Takumi Takahashi (Honda Racing) +1.374s
10. Joe Francis (iForce Lloyd & Jones BMW) +1.974s