BSB: O'Halloran: 'I clicked with the bike straight away'

Jason O’Halloran has said he ‘clicked straightaway’ with the McAMS Yamaha he’ll ride in the 2019 Bennetts British Superbike championship after a shakedown test at Almeria.

The Aussie’s Yamaha switch sees him move from Honda after a decade with the Japanese marque, with many suggesting the jump could be what he needs to become a regular BSB frontrunner.

After three days on track, O’Halloran’s quickest lap was 1’35.498, just over two tenths slower than new team-mate Tarran Mackenzie, who is familiar with the R1 after an impressive rookie campaign this year.

“It was a pretty good test to be honest,’ O’Halloran told MCN. “I seemed to click with the bike straight away, immediately I could tell it was a user-friendly bike and something that’d be really nice to ride.

“It’s chalk and cheese comparing the Yamaha to the Honda, there aren’t even any similarities. It’s so different. The Honda had become quite aggressive and had quite a lot of power and not a lot of front contact and it was quite difficult to ride fast. The Yamaha is more planted and you can ride it in a more normal way. The power delivery on it is unbelievable, it’s so smooth!”

“I think I have to go back to riding how I used to ride, you sort of adapt over the years to what you’re riding and you have to change style a little bit to get the best out of what you’ve got. I think the Yamaha takes me back to my more natural style, so I’m looking forward to getting back out on it.

“I didn’t lose anything over the last few years, I just had a difficult time with trying to get the best out of what we had. I think this test shows I haven’t lost any ability I’ve just had to land in the right position.”

Picture: Tim Keeton/Impact Images