The McAMS Yamaha team is prepared for battle as the 2022 Bennetts British Superbike Showdown gets underway at Oulton Park this weekend.

Both Jason O’Halloran and Tarran Mackenzie are in the eight rider secured places in the shootout for the 2022 British Superbike crown with O’Halloran second in the current standings and Mackenzie third.

Over the final three rounds, every point matters with 25 points available for a win, 20 for second and 16 for third as the traditional scoring format resumes during the Showdown period. With 225 points remaining on the table, anything can happen over the last nine races split between Oulton Park, Donington Park and the finale at Brands Hatch.

Oulton Park has been a happy hunting ground for O’Halloran in the past. The Aussie has taken five victories at the Cheshire circuit and while missing out on the rostrum there earlier this year, he’ll be keen to return to the sharp end as he looks to start the Showdown in the best possible manner. 13 points behind points leader Ray, the game is on for O’Halloran as he looks to put to use the extensive work he’s carried out with crew chief Les Pearson to perfect the bike for the final three rounds.

For Mackenzie, the story is very similar to 12 months ago. Heading into the Showdown exactly the same amount of points behind – 30 – the series leader, the reigning champion feels little pressure ahead of the final three rounds knowing all too well how such a gap can be reduced. Oulton had previously been a tricky track for Mackenzie, but he got that monkey off his back with a win and two further podiums in Cheshire 12 months ago. However, having missed the first visit to Oulton Park in 2022 through injury, he admits the weekend is somewhat of an unknown for him.

Tim Neave returns to action on the Edwards 1902 R1 in the Superstock class buoyed by his podium success last time out at Snetterton. Having taken a strong top six finish at Oulton Park earlier in the year, he’ll be looking to build on that with a view to ending the 2022 season on a high.

Practice gets underway on Friday ahead of Qualifying and racing for the Superbike and Superstock class on Saturday with the weekend’s final races taking place on Sunday.

Jason O’Halloran    
Championship: 2nd (1048 points)
“I’m really looking forward to getting stuck in this weekend. Snetterton was a bit of a rubbish weekend for us with everything going wrong, but it’s better to have those things happen in the main season than in the Showdown. By the end of the weekend we were in a good place and Race 3 was our strongest so we left in a good position. This year is completely different for me, we’ve approached things in a different way to ensure we can have the strongest bike possible for the three showdown rounds and I genuinely believe we are in a strong position with that. After two rounds off the podium, my aim is to enjoy riding the bike and get back on the top step and if we can do that over the next two rounds, we should be there or thereabouts at Brands Hatch.”

Tarran Mackenzie
Championship: 3rd (1031 points)
“For me this weekend is a bit of an unknown, I had a really good round at Oulton this time last year with a win and two podiums but this year, I missed the first round there through injury so I’m not too sure what to expect! It’s a circuit I enjoy and we made some great progress with the bike there in 2021, which led to my first Oulton win. We’re taking the Showdown round by round, to be in the fight is exciting as at one point I wondered whether I’d even make the Showdown given my injuries. The aim, as always, is to walk away with three strong results, it’s the first round of the season where you get proper points rather than podium points. All I know is I feel like I’m riding better than I ever have, the bike is in a great position and sort of like last year, there’s not really any pressure!”

Tim Neave
Edwards 1902 Superstock 
“I’m excited to get to Oulton Park this weekend. The podium at Snetterton was a real boost for the whole team after the year we’ve had, so hopefully the upward trend will continue. We learned a lot about the bike at Oulton earlier in the year, so I’m looking forward to putting that into practise this weekend and looking to end the year on a high.”

Steve Rodgers
Team Principal
“So far in 2022 we have won more races than any other team this year, so in theory if we can continue that in the Showdown then we should be in a strong place at the end of it! Jason has taken a bit of a different approach this year and we are confident it will pay off. For Tarran to be so close after missing the first two rounds is fantastic, we know that our bike can be strong over the final three rounds but that means we know our competition will be strong too! There is a very long way to go and I think BSB fans are in for a very exciting final three rounds!”