BSB Knockhill: Jason O'Halloran beats FS-3 Racing Kawasaki duo to clinch victory in race two

Jason O’Halloran came out on top in an entertaining second Bennetts British Superbike Championship race of the weekend to clinch his first-ever win at Knockhill.

The Aussie fought his way through championship leader Bradley Ray and the Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Racing Kawasaki duo of Lee Jackson and Rory Skinner, taking advantage of a safety car in the early stages to catch the front two.

O’Halloran made the race-winning move on Rory Skinner coming down the start/finish straight after the latter suffered from a wheelie on the exit of the hairpin on lap 27.

O’Halloran pulled away from Skinner and Jackson, who entertained fans with an intense battle of their own. O’Halloran has moved to within 21 points of Ray, who ended the race in fourth, in the standings, whilst he’s now accumulated 21 podium credits – only six fewer than the championship leader.

Meanwhile, it’s the FS-3 Racing team’s first-ever double podium finish. Skinner now has four this season, whilst Jackson has stood on the rostrum five times so far in 2022.

Tommy Bridewell was best of the rest in fifth, finishing ahead of MCE Ducati’s Josh Brookes and SYNETIQ BMW rider Danny Buchan. Glenn Irwin was eighth, whilst Kyle Ryde, who was challenging for a podium in the early stages, and Tarran Mackenzie completed the top 10.

Mackenzie had to fight his way through the order from 29^th on the grid after missing the Ebay Sprint Race on Saturday afternoon. A crash during Q1 led to his crew needing to do a complete rebuild of his R1.

Tom Sykes was 11^th on the second PBM machine, whilst Chrissy Rouse impressed in 12^th. Tom Neave, Danny Kent and Ryo Mizuno secured the final points available in today’s opening race.

Peter Hickman and Andrew Irwin crashed out of the race at the final corner on lap two. The safety car was deployed on lap nine following an incident involving Storm Stacey and Leon Haslam at the same section of the track. Ryan Vickers retired from the race on lap 22.

The third and final BSB race of the weekend at Knockhill is due to begin at 16:30.

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BSB Knockhill: Bradley Ray dominates the opening race to secure his third win of 2022

First published: 18 June 2022 by Josh Close

Bradley Ray has extended his championship lead to 33 points after dominating the opening Bennetts British Superbike Championship race at Knockhill.

The Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha rider led from start to finish and at one stage held an advantage of over two seconds. Ray eventually crossed the line with a 1.676s lead over Jason O’Halloran.

Ray, who know has three victories in 2022, posted the fastest lap of the race on lap 12, a 47.434, which means he’ll also start tomorrow’s opening race (June 19) from pole position. Ray has finished on the podium in nine of the 10 races so far this season.

Rory Skinner completed the podium after coming out on top in a battle with Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Racing Kawasaki teammate Lee Jackson. The duo were closing in on O’Halloran in the closing stages but ultimately ran out of laps.

Danny Buchan finished fifth ahead of Kyle Ryde, who was running in third until lap 17. A move from Skinner upset his rhythm, and Ryde was consequently overtaken by Jackson and Buchan at the final corner.

Glenn Irwin was seventh for Honda Racing UK, whilst Tommy Bridewell and Storm Stacey were eighth and ninth respectively. Josh Brookes completed the top 10, getting the better of MCE Ducati teammate Tom Sykes and fellow veteran Leon Haslam.

Peter Hickman, Andrew Irwin, and Ryan Vickers secured the final points on offer this afternoon.

Christian Iddon had to start from the back of the grid following a collision with Josh Owens on the sighting lap. The Buildbase Suzuki team got his bike ready just in time for the warm-up lap, however Iddon retired on lap five. Owens failed to start the race.

Tarran Mackenzie did not take part in the race following his crash in Q1 earlier on in the day. Whilst Mackenzie is fine, his R1 required a complete rebuild – the second of the day – by his crew. Despite their best efforts, Mackenzie’s R1 was not ready to race.

Dan Jones crashed at turn seven on lap eight, whilst teammate Dan Linfoot retired on the 17^th lap.

Race Two is scheduled to begin at 13:15 on Sunday afternoon, with the weekend finale pencilled in for 16:30.

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BSB Knockhill: Bradley Ray secures pole for the first time in 2022

First published: 18 June 2022 at 14:23 by Josh Close

Bradley Ray has secured his first pole position of the 2022 Bennetts British Superbike Championship season at Knockhill.

The championship leader pipped Jason O’Halloran to top spot by just 0.005s after posting a best lap-time of 47.131. It’s a great turnaround for Ray, who had to go through Q1 after only completing six laps in Friday’s practice sessions.

The Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha rider missed the two-day test held at Knockhill a couple of weeks’ ago after undergoing arm pump surgery.

Ray and O’Halloran will be joined on the front row by Lee Jackson, who continues his impressive run of form for Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Racing Kawasaki rider.

2022 double race winner Danny Buchan was fourth on the SYNETIQ BMW, whilst Rory Skinner will start his home race from fifth on the grid. The Scot was on a quick lap when he tucked the front at Clarks (T7), but was quickly back to his feet and walked away.

Kyle Ryde made it three Yamaha riders inside the top six on the second OMG Racing machine, whilst Glenn Irwin heads row three for Honda Racing UK. Christian Iddon will line-up alongside Irwin for Buildbase Suzuki.

Tommy Bridewell and Josh Brookes completed the top 10 on their respective Ducati V4 Rs, whilst Storm Stacey and Danny Kent were 11^th and 12^th respectively. Tom Sykes will start the eBay Sprint Race from 13^th, ahead of Senior TT race winner Peter Hickman.

Leon Haslam topped Q1 but could only manage to qualify 15^th after seeing a couple of laps being cancelled for heading onto the blue paint which separates the track from pit-lane down the start/finish straight.

Andrew Irwin qualified 16^th after sneaking into Q2 with his final flying lap in Q1. Ryan Vickers starts 18^th after crashing at turn three in the early stages of Q2.

Elsewhere, 2021 champion Tarran Mackenzie is down in 19^th after enduring a tough Saturday so far. The McAMS Yamaha team had to rebuild his R1 after a crash in FP3 this morning, only for Mackenzie to suffer another big crash at turn one during Q1.

Once again, his bike suffered a lot of damage after getting airborne. Mackenzie was taken to the medical centre but is thankfully ok. His team are now in a race against time to the bike ready for the first race.

The eBay Sprint Race is due to begin at 16:30 today (June 18).

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BSB Knockhill: Jason O’Halloran beats Glenn Irwin to top spot on day one

First published: 17 June 2022 by Josh Close

Jason O’Halloran holds the advantage heading into the weekend at Knockhill as the 2022 Bennetts British Superbike Championship bursts back into life after a four-week break.

With FP1 ruined by wet conditions, with Rory Skinner and Tarran Mackenzie both opting to miss that session, FP2 became an even more important session for the grid. The dry conditions had returned, but there were strong winds in the area.

Buoyed by his double victory at Donington Park, O’Halloran went quickest with around five minutes remaining, recording a best lap-time of 47.648. That was enough to beat Honda Racing UK rider Glenn Irwin by 0.112s, with Tommy Bridewell a further 0.013s back in third.

Kyle Ryde posted his best lap-time of the day on his final lap to finish fourth for Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha. Josh Brookes completed the top five after previously leading the session with just over five minutes remaining on the clock.

Lee Jackson was the leading Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Racing Kawasaki rider in sixth, ending the opening day ahead of an impressive Storm Stacey and local favourite, Skinner. Last year’s double race winner Danny Buchan was the leading BMW rider in ninth, with Tom Sykes ensuring that both MCE Ducati riders finished inside the top 10.

Christian Iddon and Peter Hickman are the final two riders to automatically make it straight into Q2. Iddon topped FP1 on his Buildbase Suzuki but crashed at turn two in the second practice session.

Mackenzie missed out on a Q2 spot by just 0.002s and will need to go through Q1 tomorrow afternoon (June 18). Andrew Irwin ended the day in 14^th and also had a crash during FP1, with championship leader Bradley Ray down in 15^th after a difficult afternoon. The Yamaha rider went down at turn nine in FP2.

Elsewhere, Leon Haslam finished down in 20^th, just over a second slower than O’Halloran’s lap-time. Danny Kent was 21^st on his return from injury. The 2015 Moto3 World Champion suffered a concussion, as well as bruised and punctured lungs in a crash at Craner Curves during FP3 at Donington.

FP3 takes place on Saturday morning at 10:20, and will be followed by Q1 at 13:15. Q2 is scheduled to begin at 13:34, whilst the opening BSB race of the weekend (eBay Sprint Race) is set follow at 16:30.