A smokin Sunday in Scotland for the O’Show

2022 British Superbike Championship
Round Four – Knockhill – Sunday

Bennetts British Superbike Championship
Knockhill Race Two

Jason O’Halloran overcame his Knockhill demons to claim his first ever Bennetts British Superbike Championship race win at the Fife circuit, holding off his title rivals to put McAMS Yamaha back at the top of the podium in the second race.

At the start of the race Kyle Ryde hit the front of the pack ahead of championship leader Bradley Ray and Rory Skinner, but the local contender was into the lead by the time they crossed the line to complete the first lap.

The race was over prematurely for Peter Hickman and Andrew Irwin as the pair crashed out on the second lap at the Hairpin.

At the front, Skinner was trying to hold off Ray and O’Halloran, who had pushed Ryde down the order, but on the eighth lap Leon Haslam and Storm Stacey crashed at the Hairpin, causing a BMW Safety Car intervention.

When the race resumed, Skinner was still able to hold off Ray and O’Halloran initially, but the McAMS Yamaha rider was on a charge. On lap 22, Ray got slightly out of line coming into the Hairpin and O’Halloran seized the opportunity to move ahead.

O’Halloran then had Skinner in his sights as he hunted his elusive first race win in Scotland. He made his move to hit the front of the field with four laps remaining as Lee Jackson had joined the trio ahead of him to join the fight for the podium.

As O’Halloran had the marginal edge, the Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki riders were duelling for second place and Skinner led the teammates on the final lap, before Jackson made his move after trading blows for several laps.

Jackson held off the counter attack from Skinner as the pair awarded the Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki team their first double podium finish with Ray taking the chequered flag in fourth place.

Tommy Bridewell completed the top five for the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team as he had an advantage over Josh Brookes, Danny Buchan and Glenn Irwin. Ryde meanwhile dropped to ninth as Tarran Mackenzie salvaged tenth place following his back of the grid start after he missed yesterday’s eBay Sprint race.

Race Two Results

Bennetts British Superbike Championship
Knockhill Race Three

Jason O’Halloran celebrated a double Bennetts British Superbike Championship race win at Knockhill on Sunday, holding off standings leader Bradley Ray in the final race of the weekend by just 0.993s as the McAMS Yamaha rider banished his previous bad luck at the Scottish circuit.

At the start of the third race, local hero Rory Skinner was bidding to add a hat trick of podium finishes to his tally at his home round, and he launched into the lead on the Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki ahead of O’Halloran and Ray.

Skinner though crashed out of the lead on the fifth lap and that left Ray, who had moved into second, and O’Halloran to have a Yamaha duel for supremacy at the front of the field.

Ray was holding the advantage until there were just five laps to go when the McAMS Yamaha rider made his attack; diving down the inside at the Hairpin to take the lead.

O’Halloran was able to edge a 0.993s over Ray at the chequered flag, with the battle for third becoming a five-way scrap during the race before Lee Jackson fought off the opposition to claim his second podium finish of the weekend.

Jason O’Halloran – P1

“It’s been an incredible weekend, yesterday I was absolutely buzzing with second. This isn’t the best track for me, but I enjoyed the race yesterday and I was looking forward to today. The guys have done a great job with the bike, improved it a bit off the back of yesterday and it felt incredible and managed to get another pair of wins. We’ve had four wins in the last six races, six podiums from six races and we are closing down the podium points and championship leads. An awesome couple of weekends, I’m feeling super strong in the races, in complete control and I can’t wait to keep progressing and getting stronger as the season moves on.”

Danny Buchan had carved his way through the field on the SYNETIQ BMW to claim fourth place to secure his best result of the season so far after making a move on the dicing pack of Tommy Bridewell, Glenn Irwin and Josh Brookes.

Glenn Irwin – P6

“I have really enjoyed riding the Fireblade this weekend, it’s been so refreshing to come back to BSB after the TT. I think for all us we’ve had a lot of success this year at various events and to come back here and continue to be strong, after flying about road racing is important for me. It’s a huge step forward at Knockhill compared to last year, so I’m happy. I threw the kitchen sink at it to get Bridewell at the end. I want to say a big thanks to Honda Racing UK, it’s been a fun weekend; Harv said to me ‘carry on what you learnt at the TT to BSB’, the riding is so different but I’m calm at the TT as you can’t afford to be any other way, and I think that approach this weekend has been evident throughout the whole garage and it’s been a fun weekend.”

Josh Brookes – P7

“We’ve shown some promise this weekend and although the results don’t show it, we’ve been a lot closer to the front and closer to fighting where we should be. We brought the progress made at Donington here to Knockhill, not a circuit I’ve enjoyed the best results in the past, and we’ve made constant steps in the right direction. We had a bit of a lull in qualifying but other than that, we’ve moved forward and whilst I was disappointed to have made a mistake in the final race, the fact we were in third place at the time is positive. It’s been a better showing all round and we can be optimistic heading into the next round.”

Tarran Mackenzie closed in on Brookes over the final laps, taking eighth place for the McAMS Yamaha team with Kyle Ryde and Tom Sykes completing the top ten.

Tom Sykes – P10

“The weekend started off well and despite not riding here for so long, I felt at home in the wet conditions on Friday. I was fastest for the most part and I felt really comfortable but despite me doing a rain dance, it was dry conditions that prevailed and that’s where we are struggling. There are lots of areas that the MCE Ducati is really good in, but in a couple of crucial ones, we have a lot of work to do. It’s tough and I’m finding I’m not able to perform to my best ability but hopefully we can find an improvement soon.”

Bradley Ray leads the championship on 216 points to O’Halloran’s 200.

Race Three Results

Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings

British Superstock 1000 Race Two

Richard Kerr held off a hard-charging Billy McConnell to win the second race at Knockhill by a mere 0.023sec.

The AMD Motorsport rider took the lead from points leader Brayden Elliott on lap eight and when Elliott took himself out of contention with a crash on lap 12, McConnell was able to close in to begin a challenge.

The Australian stalked Kerr for a few laps and made an attempt on the lead with five to go but then made a final go with a sweep inside the hairpin on the final lap – but was unable to outdrag him up the hill, leaving Kerr to take his first class win.

Richard Kerr – P1

“I was a wee bit disappointed after Saturday’s race having led for quite a long time especially as I missed out on a podium as well but I learnt a lot. It was my first time leading in the Superstock class so it was a bit of an unknown for me but on Sunday, I knew more what to expect and when Brayden was leading I felt I had better pace so got to the front and did my own thing. We’d got the bike dialled in really well so I tried to stay as smooth and as consistent as I could. Billy showed me his wheel with a few laps to go but the bike was a missile along the start and finish straight so I got back immediately and although he did the same on the final lap, I was able to get the drive down and get the verdict. I’m absolutely over the moon and after seven years in the paddock, it’s great to get a win. I’m really happy for my Dad too as he’s been with me the whole way so a huge thank you to the whole AMD Motorsport team and my personal sponsors. I’ve gained a lot of confidence from these last two rounds, at two very different circuits, so let’s keep the momentum going.”

Billy McConnell – P2

“We came up to Knockhill for a one-day test a couple of weeks ago and put a lot of work in which paid dividends this weekend as the bike was perfect and it’s been a strong meeting for us. After the rain on Friday, it didn’t help when I chucked the bike into the fence in practice and it kind of put our plans out of the window but I had a sneaky beer on Friday night and we re-grouped and re-built and came back with a different attitude on Saturday. Pole position and the win was the perfect way to bounce back. There were a few yellow flags and I had to wait for my opportunity whilst the last four laps were quite nerve-wracking as I was getting a bit of arm pump and hearing noises from the bike and all sorts! We got the win and I was hoping for more of the same on Sunday but a few of the other boys had other ideas and Richard rode really well. I tried to get the power down as much as I could coming out the hairpin but he just edged me out although to leave here 10 points off the lead, compared to the 55 when we came in, it’s been a more than successful weekend so a big thanks to the whole team.”

Tom Ward was third ahead of Davey Todd, while FHO Racing by Kobelco’s Alex Olsen took fifth.

Despite that DNF Brayden Elliott retains the championship lead by a point over Tim Neave. Billy McConnell is third, a further nine-points behind.

South Australian Levi Day finished 14th.

British Superstock 1000 Race Two Results

British Superstock Championship Points

Britsh Supersport / GP2 Race Two

Jack Kennedy extended his championship lead as he stormed to a Knockhill double with a comfortable win over Luke Stapleford.

Although it was Appleyard Macadam’s Harry Truelove who got the holeshot at the start of the race, the reigning champion wasted no time and was ahead within three corners.

As Kennedy stretched a lead and Gearlink Kawasaki’s Stapleford settled into second, the big battle was for third, as Eugene McManus found himself scrapping with Truelove and the second Appleyard Macadam Yamaha of Bradley Perie.

It became a fight to the end, as Truelove tried in vain to find a way past and make it stick before losing out to Perie who dived down the inside into fourth at the hairpin leaving McManus to power up the hill to take third and his first class podium.

In GP2, Korie McGreevy took the victory as he crossed the line sixth, with Jack Scott second and Cameron Fraser third.

Britsh Supersport / GP2 Race Two Results

British Supersport Championship Points

British GP2 Championship Points

National Junior Superstock Race Two

Louis Valleley took the first race win of the day at Knockhill to move to the top of the points table as he beat yesterday’s winner Franco Bourne.

Valleley found his way to the front shortly after early leader Max Cook crashed on lap eight, and managed to hold off a charging Bourne to take the win by 0.339secs.

Asher Durham crossed the line third, just ahead of Seth Crump while a beaten bruised Owen Jenner – who started from pole after a race against the clock to get his Yamaha fixed after massive crash in the first race – was fifth.

Young Aussie Jacob Hatch carded P12.

Junior Superstock Knockhill Race Two Results

Junior Superstock Championship Points

British Talent Cup Race Two

Johnny Garness (MLav VisionTrack Academy) enjoyed a redemptive Race 2 at Knockhill as the number 57 returned to the top step, bouncing back from a crash out the lead on Saturday. The drama was instead reserved for Sullivan Mounsey (Wilson Racing/J&S Accessories) and Evan Belford (City Lifting by RS Racing), with the former crashing out and collecting the latter. Carter Brown (MLav VisionTrack Academy) came through to take second, just pipping Troy Jeffrey (ThorneyCroft56 Racing) at the line.

The early stages saw a three-rider fight as Mounsey took off, Garness then took over and Belford was once again on podium-fighting form. No one was able to pull away, but the drama hit on Lap 7 as Mounsey overcooked it, lost control and as he went down, made contact with Belford. The number 52 tumbled with him into the gravel, riders ok but leaving Garness with more than three seconds in hand.

That was a comparable gap to the one he enjoyed on Saturday before sliding out, but this time there were no such dramas. The number 57 kept it pinned to take another win and extend his points lead, bouncing back in style.

Brown, meanwhile, was locked in a duel with Jeffrey. The number 21 impressed again but just lost out, the two crossing the line spit by little but with Brown ahead to limit the damage in the standings, losing only five points to Garness.

Kiyano Veijer (Microlise Cresswell Racing) beat teammate Harrison Dessoy to fourth, ahead of Rhys Stephenson (Rocket Racing) and another small gap back to Bailey Stuart-Campbell (Team 151s/Lextek). Harrison Crosby (Rocket Racing) got the better of Lucas Brown (SP125/Amphibian Scaffolding) in a close finish between the two.

Harrison Mackay (Wilson Racing / Super Soco) completed the top ten, pipping Ryan Hitchcock (City Lifting by RS Racing) by just 0.004 over the line.

British Talent Cup Race Two Results

British Talent Cup Championship Points