BSB Thruxton: Jason O'Halloran wins race two after sensational Yamaha battle

Jason O’Halloran’s place in the Bennetts British Superbike Showdown is confirmed after he came out on top of an almighty battle with Tarran Mackenzie and Bradley Ray.

The trio put on an absolute classic at Thruxton, fighting tooth and nail all the way to the finish line. They couldn’t be separate as they raced up towards the Club Chicane, with Mackenzie leading on the exit, only to be beaten to the line by a slightly smoother O’Halloran.

The gap between the two McAMS Yamaha duo was only 0.079s, with all three podium finishes covered by 0.086s. It’s O’Halloran’s 22^nd BSB victory and his seventh in the last 11 races. He now holds a 28-point lead over Ray in the standings, and moved onto 47 podium credits.

Behind all of the chaos at the front, Peter Hickman came home in fourth for FHO Racing BMW. The multiple-time Isle of Man TT race winner stuck with the Yamaha R1s for as long as he possibly could, until he had to retreat due to his tyres.

Lee Jackson enjoyed a positive second half of the race to finish as top Kawasaki rider in fifth, narrowly beating Glenn Irwin and Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Racing teammate Rory Skinner to the finish line.

Danny Buchan’s weekend improved in eighth spot, whilst Leon Haslam and Tommy Bridewell completed the top 10. Haslam was running inside the top five in the early stages of the race.

Tom Sykes started the race well and was as high as fifth at one stage, only to fall back down the order and finish outside of the top 10 in 12^th, behind Christian Iddon.

Andrew Irwin fought back from 31^st on the grid to finish 13^th. The SYNETIQ BMW rider was handed a two second, long lap penalty equivalent, penalty for cutting the Club Chicane.

Ryo Mizuno and Josh Brookes secured the final two points on offer. Despite looking strong in the early laps, Kyle Ryde ended the lap outside of the points in 18^th.

Storm Stacey was forced to start from pit-lane after his chain came off during his sighting lap, eventually finishing in 24^th position. Meanwhile, Luke Mossey returned to the pits at the end of the warm-up lap to retire. Tom Neave also retired from the race.

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

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BSB Thruxton: Jason O’Halloran takes his sixth win of 2022 to extend championship lead

First published: 13 August 2022 by Josh Close

Jason O’Halloran has extended his lead in the Bennetts British Superbike Champion after securing his sixth win of the season in the opening race at Thruxton.

The Aussie came out on top of an early battle with Glenn Irwin to initially break away after a handful of laps, however he was soon joined by Bradley Ray and McAMS Yamaha teammate Tarran Mackenzie in the battle for the win.

However, the duo behind him began to battle each other in the final few laps, exchanging positions multiple times. As a result, O’Halloran was able to pull away once more and take the chequered flag.

It’s O’Halloran’s sixth win in the last six races, whilst he hasn’t finished lower than second in the last 10 races. He now leads Ray in the championship by 19 points, and has 42 podium credits to his name – compared to Ray’s 31.

Meanwhile, Ray went down the inside of Mackenzie at the Club Chicane on the final lap, only for the latter to take the tighter line coming out of the chicane and win the race to the line by 0.003s.

Early leader Glenn Irwin got the better of Peter Hickman to take fourth, whilst Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Racing Kawasaki duo Lee Jackson and Rory Skinner got the better of Leon Haslam in the closing stages to finish sixth and seventh respectively.

Tom Sykes was the leading Ducati rider in ninth, with Tommy Bridewell completing the top 10 on his Oxford Products Racing Ducati.

Ryan Vickers beat Christian Iddon to 11^th, with Kyle Ryde (13^th), Danny Buchan (14^th) and Ryo Mizuno taking the final points on offer today. Josh Brookes’ woes continued down in 20^th, with newcomer Tito Rabat crossing the line in 26^th.

There was heartbreak for Andrew Irwin on the grid as his SYNETIQ BMW failed to start the warm-up lap. He was set to start the race from third.

Luke Mossey and Chrissy Rouse came together at the end of the opening lap, with both riders going down at the Club Chicane, whilst 2021 podium finisher Danny Kent also crashed out of the race.

Sunday’s BSB races at Thruxton are scheduled to take place at 13:30 and 16:30.

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BSB Thruxton: Jason O’Halloran dominates to take third pole of 2022

First published: 13 August 2022 at 13:29 by Josh Close

Jason O’Halloran dominated the qualifying session at Thruxton to take his third pole position of the 2022 Bennetts British Superbike Championship season.

The McAMS Yamaha posted a best lap-time of 1:13.942 in the scorching heat to overcome the challenge of Peter Hickman by 0.356s. O’Halloran’s lap-time was just +0.287s off the all-time lap record at Thruxton.

O’Halloran will be the favourite for this afternoon’s race having completed the hat-trick at Thruxton last year. He’s also on a fantastic run of form which has seen the Aussie win five of the last nine races, whilst he finished second in the four races that he didn’t win.

It’s Hickman’s best qualifying result of the year so far, whilst Andrew Irwin also celebrates his best 2022 qualifying performance in third spot. The SYNETIQ BMW rider’s previous best this season was eighth.

Glenn Irwin heads row two for Honda and will start race one alongside Bradley Ray and reigning champion Tarran Mackenzie.

Lee Jackson was the quickest Kawasaki rider in seventh, narrowly getting the better of Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha rider Kyle Ryde. Luke Mossey completes row three ahead of his first race for the iForce Lloyd & Jones BMW team.

Danny Kent completed the top 10 ahead of Rory Skinner and Ryan Vickers, with both riders getting back in the BSB groove after their respective wildcards MotoGP and WorldSBK respectively.

Tom Sykes (13^th), Leon Haslam (14^th) and Tommy Bridewell (15^th) endured tough sessions and will have plenty of work to do in this afternoon’s race. Chrissy Rouse, Christian Iddon and Ryo Mizuno completed the top 18 after making their way through the Q1 session.

Josh Brookes, the current official lap record holder at Thruxton, failed to make it through Q1 on his MCE Ducati. As a result, the Aussie will start race one from 26^th.

Danny Buchan will also start down the grid in 20^h after struggling on the SYNETIQ BMW. Newcomer Tito Rabat qualified in 30^th (+2.679s).

The opening race of the weekend is due to start at the earlier time of 3:40pm (August 13).