O’Halloran extends BSB lead and books spot in showdown

2022 British Superbike Championship
Round Six – Thruxton – Sunday

British Superbike Race Two

Jason O’Halloran claimed victory to secure his position in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship Showdown following a sensational final lap of race two, out dragging Tarran Mackenzie and Bradley Ray to the line with just 0.165s covering the top three.

The final lap started with Ray heading the trio across the line, but O’Halloran went for a decisive move at Church, diving down the inside of the Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha.

Ray cut back though and was edging ahead on the high-speed run to the Club Chicane for the last time, but Mackenzie was also in the mix and the trio were side-by-side, but the defending champion was the hardest on the brakes.

Mackenzie was leading O’Halloran and Ray into Club but as the trio exited on the drag to the chequered flag, the Australian got the best drive and he was able to beat his McAMS Yamaha teammate to the line by just 0.079s with Ray in third. There was just 0.165s covering the top three at the finish, with O’Halloran’s victory his second of the weekend.

Peter Hickman equalled his best result of the season with a fourth place finish for the FHO Racing BMW team; he had been in the leading group in the early stages of the race but was able to hold enough of a margin over the chasing pair of Lee Jackson and Glenn Irwin.

Rory Skinner was seventh on the second of the Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki with Danny Buchan moving into eighth in the closing stages ahead of Leon Haslam and Tommy Bridewell who completed the top ten.

British Superbike Race Two Results

British Superbike Race Three

Defending champion Tarran Mackenzie was victorious in the final Bennetts British Superbike Championship race of the weekend, taking his first Superbike win at Thruxton by just 0.019s, following another final lap thriller in front of a packed crowd at the Hampshire circuit.

The race went down to the wire between the leading three contenders and Bradley Ray started the final lap in the lead on the Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha with the McAMS Yamaha pairing of Mackenzie and double race winner Jason O’Halloran in close company.

Mackenzie dived for the inside at Church, grabbing the lead, but Ray was instantly retaliating to run alongside the reigning champion on the run down to the Club Chicane; however, Mackenzie had just enough to keep Ray at bay on the drag to the finish line.

O’Halloran had been there right to the finish too, recovering from a big moment earlier in the lap to be back in the fight to the finish, with just 0.293s covering the top three at the chequered flag.

The podium scores this weekend means that both O’Halloran and Ray are now confirmed Title Fighters for the Showdown with six races remaining to decide the final six positions.  O’Halloran extended his lead over Ray in the championship out to 24-points.

It was disappointment for Peter Hickman on the FHO Racing BMW though; he had been holding another strong fourth place when a technical problem forced him to retire mid-race and then the fight for fourth became a six-way tussle in the closing stages.

Glenn Irwin emerged at the front of the chasing pack to take fourth place; his consistent weekend and a crash for Kyle Ryde in race three means the Honda Racing UK rider has now moved ahead in the overall standings into fifth position after round six.

Lee Jackson completed the top five for Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki team, getting ahead of Leon Haslam on the VisionTrack Kawasaki and Tommy Bridewell who surged his way through the pack on the Oxford Products Racing Ducati.

Andrew Irwin ended his weekend on a positive with eighth place for the SYNETIQ BMW team, with Rory Skinner and Tom Sykes completing the top ten.

A DNF for Brookes capped off what had been a tremendously disappointing Thruxton weekend for the two-time champ. A single point scored across the three bouts at Thruxton a hefty blow to what were already quite distant chances of making the Showdown. Brookes had dug deep in the opening race on Sunday and, after starting from 24th on the grid, he moved forward throughout the race and was rewarded for his efforts with 15th and a hard-earned championship point. To add further insult, Josh had actually found some form in this final encounter of the weekend and was working his way towards the top ten before his MCE Ducati developed a problem that forced him to retire from the race. That notwithstanding, the progress made has buoyed his confidence ahead of the next round at Cadwell Park.

British Superbike Race Three Results

Manufacturer Points

Rider Quotes

Jason O’Halloran

“We won two races this weekend and took a third, the fastest lap of the weekend and felt really comfortable in all of the races. I managed the first two races quite well and in the last race I got a worse start so it changed the strategy, I sat behind Taz and Brad for as long as I could and then I probably went to the front one lap too early thinking I had more tyre than I did. Maybe I pushed too much too soon and cooked the tyre a bit, but they were very enjoyable races. I love racing here, it’s more like a cycling race than a tyre race as you’re conserving the tyres and thinking about strategy. It would have been easier if there was two of us, as when there’s three it makes the strategy a bit more tricky. I’m really enjoying it at the minute and looking forward to Cadwell Park.”

Tarran Mackenzie

“I’m really happy, that was a good way to end the weekend! I felt like I had a chance to win yesterday and that gave me some good confidence for the races. I felt great in all of the races, unfortunately I just got out-dragged in race two but we managed to get the job done in race three! I felt strong and led a lot of laps which is important for me as I made a big step forward in my riding and figured some stuff out during the weekend which was perfect. To win after leading for a lot of laps and then having a last lap scrap was fun, it was a bit of a ballsy move into Church. I’m over the moon for the team and I’m looking forward to carrying that momentum.”

Glenn Irwin

“Overall it’s been a good weekend, we’ve had a 4th, 6th and another 4th, so in terms of points it has been good. The second race today was a strange one, the bike didn’t change from yesterday but for some reason we struggled throughout the whole of the race. We made some changes for the final race and it was better, at the start there were some riders being over eager, which stopped me from getting closer to the front guys and getting away with them. I then had to plan the race, be smart and work out a realistic position, which I thought was fifth, then Pete [Hickman] went out and it was fourth. I was pleased with how the Fireblade was in the final race and to rebound and pass so many people is enjoyable and makes our Showdown challenge much stronger, which is always the goal. We’re now heading to the teams’ home round, which is nearly mine as we don’t have one at home, so I’ll take Cadwell Park as mine!”

Tom Sykes

“It’s disappointing to finish tenth and 12th as that’s not what I came to BSB for but I’m not able to do any better than that at present. It was obviously nice to be at the sharp end and run in the top six for most of each race but there was little grip left at the end in either race. I rode conservative at the beginning and waited before making my move but when the time came, there wasn’t the grip to allow me to make that move. I know both my own and the team’s capabilities, so we’ll keep working hard as it’s not in our ethic to do anything but that.”

Josh Brookes

“To come away today with just a single 15th place finish is massively disappointing but we made progress in each race and whilst it’s obviously come a bit too late, I was really happy with the bike in the last race. It was chaotic in the first few laps, like BSB often is, but I out drove some riders at the back of the track which was a real thrill as I hadn’t been able to do that all weekend. The changes to the set-up worked and the bike was working really well but all of a sudden, it stopped, like the ignition had been turned off or something. It’s frustrating that we couldn’t show the improvements in an end result, but I never give up and my spirits have improved so I’ll come out fighting at Cadwell.”

British Superbike Championship Points

British Superstock Race Two

Alex Olsen banked FHO Racing with Kobelco’s second win of the year as he doubled up with a second win, a day after getting his first victory of the year.

In a shortened eight-lap race following a red flag after a crash by David Allingham, Olsen saw off a hard charge from Billy McConnell to take the spoils by 0.339secs.

Charlie Nesbitt fought his way through the field to grab third, just ahead of Davey Todd as Richard Kerr crossed the line fifth.

Previous championship leader Brayden Elliott crossed the line in seventh while countryman Levi Day finished 17th.

Billy McConnell’s second place extended his lead over Davey Todd to 24-points.

Billy McConnell

“With second and fourth place finishes, it’s been a good weekend overall and whilst it would have been nice to have taken another victory, I’m pleased to have extended my championship lead. Both races were tough, for different reasons, with the front reservoir snapping off around lap six in the first race which led to the fluid bottle rattling around! It was upside down at one stage and the front brake was getting a bit spongy so it was damage limitation really. We improved the package for Sunday and swapped the rear for the re-start so had the package to win but I had a few scares with the front. I hung in there and it was better to get a second than a DNF and we’ve gained some good points over our rivals this weekend.”

British Superstock Race Two Results

British Superstock Championship Points

British Supersport Race Two

Jack Kennedy stole the win after a four-bike scrap in a hectic last lap of Thruxton.

As backmarkers came into play on the final laps, Kennedy was able to sneak ahead at the final corner to beat Bradley Perie over the line by 0.323s.

Behind, Sprint race winner Jack Scott took third after leading a lot of the race on his GP2 machine, as Luke Stapleford – who had also taken his turn leading some of the race – was fourth, just ahead of Jamie Perrin.

Scott’s P2 overall was also P1 in class, with Cameron Fraser the second GP2 machine home in 15th, just one place ahead of third GP2 rider Harry Rowlings.

Kiwi Damon Rees recovered from an early crash on Saturday to be the 14th Supersport machine across the line.

British Supersport Race Two Results

British Supersport Championship Points

GP2 Championship Points

British Junior Superstock Race

Max Cook leads the championship by 14 points after coasting to a commanding win over Aaron Silvester.

Leading from the start, Cook’s only serious pressure came from Franco Bourne who crashed on lap five and from there, he was never challenged as he brought his Yamaha home more than five seconds clear.

Third was New Zealand’s Zak Fuller, who saw off a challenge from Asher Durham in the closing laps while Edmund Best took fifth.

Young Aussie Seth Crump was seventh while countryman Jacob Hatch bagged a few points for 13th place.

British Junior Superstock Race Results

British Junior Superstock Championship Points