BSB Thruxton: Jason O'Halloran masters mixed conditions to complete the hat-trick

Published: 01 August 2021

Jason O'Halloran beat Danny Buchan in race three at Thruxton

Jason O’Halloran secured his second hat-trick of the 2021 Bennetts British Superbike season after mastering the mixed conditions in race three at Thruxton.

Rain had been falling prior to the final race; however, a dry line was beginning to appear during the build-up to the race, and this led to various tyre choices throughout the grid. O’Halloran opted to go for the intermediate rear and, despite some fresh rainfall in some areas of the track, was duly rewarded in the mixed conditions.

Race Two: Jason O’Halloran secures the double

O’Halloran stuck with Peter Hickman and Tarran Mackenzie, who were on wets, in the opening stages and overtook them as the track became dryer. Danny Buchan was also on an intermediate rear and became the McAMS Yamaha rider’s closest rival for the victory.

The Aussie eventually crossed the line with an advantage of 0.826s over Buchan to secure his seventh victory of the year. O’Halloran now has a 42-point lead over Christian Iddon in the standings, and a podium credit advantage of 16.

Meanwhile, it’s Buchan’s fourth podium of the year and he’s now level again with Tarran Mackenzie in the podium credits chart, with 14 to his name. Buildbase Suzuki’s Danny Kent secured his maiden BSB podium in third spot.

Ryan Vickers capped off a brilliant weekend in fourth, whilst Andrew Irwin completed the top five for SYNETIQ BMW. It’s Irwin’s best result so far on the M1000 RR. Glenn Irwin was sixth and was handed a two-second, long lap equivalent, penalty for cutting the chicane.

Early leaders Mackenzie and Hickman came home in seventh and eighth respectively, whilst Christian Iddon and Bradley Ray completed the top 10. Gino Rea and Lee Jackson were 11th and 12th, whilst Dan Linfoot was 13th on the Tag Racing Honda. Josh Brookes’ struggles continues in 14th, with Storm Stacey taking the final point.

Tommy Bridewell ended the race in 18th after making the decision to come in and switch to a slick rear tyre for the final few laps.

Rory Skinner returned to the pits at the end of lap 16 and retired from the race. Xavi Fores, Brian McCormack and Luke Hopkins also retired by returning to their respective garages.

BSB Thruxton: Jason O’Halloran leads a McAMS Yamaha one-two in race two

First published: 1 August 2021 at 14:23 by Josh Close

Jason O’Halloran continued his dominance at Thruxton by leading a McAMS Yamaha one-two in the second Bennetts British Superbike race of the weekend.

O’Halloran made a fantastic start and took the lead of the race heading down into the first corner. From that moment on, O’Halloran began to pull away from the field and, after a little bit of tyre conservation in the middle of the race, eventually crossed the line with an advantage of 3.597s.

Race One: Jason O’Halloran secures win number five of 2021

O’Halloran’s main title rival Christian Iddon failed to finish the race after being hit by Lee Jackson whilst in third spot. Jackson tried to go down the inside of Iddon at turn three but was unable to stop his Kawasaki in time before making contact with the PBM rider. Iddon looked to be in some discomfort afterwards after being left trapped under his Ducati as it slid off the track but confirmed to Eurosport afterwards that everything is okay.

O’Halloran now holds a 24-point lead in the stands and has 34 podium credits to his name, whilst Iddon remains on 23.

Tarran Mackenzie was second after battling his way through the order, whilst avoiding all the chaos going on around him. It’s the first one-two result for the McAMS Yamaha team since they joined the grid in 2017.

Glenn Irwin completed the podium after the Honda Racing UK team completely rebuilt his Fireblade overnight following his crash in race one. Irwin was in second for the majority of the race and did well to fight back after being caught by multiple riders in the closing stages.

Bradley Ray matched his best result for the Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW team in fourth, leading a string of BMW riders. Peter Hickman was fifth ahead of Kyle Ryde, whilst the SYNETIQ BMW duo of Danny Buchan and Andrew Irwin were seventh and eighth respectively. It’s Irwin’s best result for his new team so far.

Danny Kent fought back to take ninth after being handed a long lap penalty, whilst Gino Rea completed the top 10 ahead of Rory Skinner and Tommy Bridewell. Xavi Fores and Dan Linfoot finished 13th and 14th, whilst Japanese rider Takumi Takahashi secured his first-ever point in 15th.

Josh Brookes’ woes continued down in 16th, with the Australian ending the race 31.689s behind the race winner.

Ryan Vickers had an entertaining race which unfortunately ended in crash. Early in the race Vickers ran in too deep at the chicane and forced Iddon off the track as well, with both riders cutting the corner. Vickers failed to drop back one second and was handed a long lap penalty as a result. Vickers duly took his penalty but re-joined the circuit in a risky way, cutting in front of Ray.

Vickers remained in the battle for a podium but crashed out of fifth on the final lap of the race. Bjorn Estment also crashed out of the race at the Club Chicane.

The third and final Superbike of the weekend is scheduled to begin at 16:30.

BSB Thruxton: Jason O’Halloran takes dominating victory in race one

First published: 31 July 2021 by Josh Close

Jason O’Halloran clinched his fifth win of the season at Thruxton after dominating the opening Bennetts British Superbike race of the weekend.

The Australian led every lap of the race and was left unchallenged by his rivals, who were unable to stay within touching distance of O’Halloran. As a result, O’Halloran is now a single point behind Christian Iddon in the standings and has extended his advantage in terms of podium credits. O’Halloran now has 29 podium credits, six more than Iddon.

Qualifying: Jason O’Halloran secures his second pole of 2021

The race came to a premature end on the penultimate lap due to a fast crash for Glenn Irwin. The Honda Racing UK rider was challenging for a podium when he fell, with his Fireblade left lying in the middle of the circuit. Fortunately, nobody hit the bike.

Iddon finished in second place, whilst Peter Hickman secured the final podium position for FHO Racing BMW. It’s Hickman’s sixth podium in seven races at Thruxton. Ryan Vickers converted his impressive grid position (6th) into an even better race result in fourth, with Lee Jackson completing the top five.

Danny Kent was sixth for Buildbase Suzuki, which is his best result so far this season. Bradley Ray was seventh ahead of Gino Rea, whilst Tarran Mackenzie and Tommy Bridewell completed the podium. Mackenzie was sixth as the red flags were waved, however he was handed a penalty equal to taking a long lap penalty which he was unable to take in time.

Andrew Irwin secured his best result so far for SYNETIQ BMW in 11th, ahead of Xavi Fores and teammate Danny Buchan. Buchan was handed a long lap penalty on lap 10 whilst running in 12th spot. Teenagers Rory Skinner and Storm Stacey clinched the final two points which were available in the race.

Dan Linfoot was unable to match his qualifying performance (7th) after falling down the order to 16th, whilst 2020 champion Josh Brookes also failed to score points in 17th after another difficult race.

The safety car was deployed on the opening lap of the race following a collision between Kyle Ryde and Joe Francis at the first corner. Ryde had clipped the kerb on the inside and was sent across the circuit, with Francis unable to avoid him. Fortunately, both riders were able to walk away afterwards.

Tomorrow’s BSB races are due to take place at 13:30 and 16:30.

BSB Thruxton: Jason O’Halloran secures second pole of 2021

First published: 31 July 2021 at 14:16 by Josh Close

Jason O’Halloran secured his second pole position of the 2021 Bennetts British Superbike season at Thruxton in a season which ended with all six manufacturers being represented inside the top six.

The McAMS Yamaha rider posted a best lap-time of 1:14.428 to take top spot with a comfortable cushion of 0.407s. Glenn Irwin claimed his best qualifying result of the season in second place for Honda Racing UK.

Friday: Lee Jackson tops the timesheets on a wet and windy day

Ryan Vickers, who secured pole and won at Thruxton in the Superstock 600 class in 2018, qualified in third for the Royal Air Force Regular & Reserve Kawasaki squad. However, Vickers has been given a three-place grid penalty a delayed reaction to a red flag in FP1.

As a result, Peter Hickman moves up onto the front row and he’ll be hopeful of extending his impressive run of form at the Hampshire circuit. Hickman has five podiums, including one victory, from the last six races at Thruxton.

Christian Iddon is promoted to fourth ahead of Danny Kent, with Vickers slotting into sixth following his penalty. Dan Linfoot recorded his best qualifying result of the season in seventh spot. Friday’s pacesetter Lee Jackson was eighth, with Tarran Mackenzie and Bradley Ray completing the top 10.

Danny Buchan just missed out on a spot inside the top 10 on the SYNETIQ BMW, qualifying just ahead of Gino Rea and Kyle Ryde. Xavi Fores was 14th ahead of Andrew Irwin, whilst Storm Stacey will start race one from 16th after making it through to Q2 for the first time. Rookie Rory Skinner was 17th on the FS-3 Racing Kawasaki.

Tommy Bridewell completed the top 18 and was seen shaking his head inside the Oxford Products Racing Ducati pit box. Bridewell completed four laps in Q2 and admitted to Eurosport afterwards that a decision had been made to make a change to the bike prior to the session which didn’t pay off.

The big story of Q1 was that reigning champion Josh Brookes failed to make it through into Q2 and will start the opening race from 20th on the grid. Brookes will be in the middle of row seven, in between Joe Francis and Bjorn Estment.

Takumi Takahashi, Dean Harrison, Ryo Mizuno, Brian McCormack, and Luke Hopkins complete the grid for race one.

The opening Superbike race of the weekend is due to begin at 16:15 this afternoon (July 31).

BSB Thruxton: Lee Jackson tops wet and windy opening day

First published: 30 July 2021 by Josh Close

Lee Jackson was fastest the opening day of action at Thruxton after banking a strong lap-time before the rain arrived at the Hampshire circuit.

The FS-3 Racing Kawasaki rider set his best lap-time, a 1:17.213, before the rain began to fall in FP1. The final 20 minutes of that session was wet, whilst this afternoon’s FP2 session took place in mixed conditions and was eventually red flagged due to standing water. As a result, tomorrow morning’s FP3 session will be extended.