2021 Bennetts British Superbikes
Round 11 – Brands Hatch
O’Halloran fights back at Brands Hatch to hold off Iddon and Brookes in free practice as Showdown kicks off
Jason O’Halloran began his fightback for the Bennetts British Superbike Championship crown at Brands Hatch today, topping the SUPERPICKS combined free practice times for McAMS Yamaha as he bids to overhaul the ten-point deficit in the standings to teammate Tarran Mackenzie.
O’Halloran’s best lap came in his final run of the day on the Grand Prix circuit, toppling the VisionTrack Ducati pairing from the top of the times in the final three minutes of the session.
Jason O’Halloran
“It has been a really positive day for us and I feel that is probably our best day in two rounds so I am happy with that. I got that good feeling back that I had with the bike in the middle of the year, so I am really chuffed with that. It was a really solid run at the end of the day and I was looking like I would improve on the last lap but I got caught up in a bit of traffic, but I feel comfortable and confident. We will make a few little changes in the morning and then we will be ready for race one.”
Christian Iddon holds third in the standings heading into tomorrow’s opening race of the title-deciding weekend, 15 points adrift of Mackenzie and he was second fastest at the end of the opening day’s action, edging out his teammate Josh Brookes by 0.033s.
Lee Jackson fired the FS-3 Kawasaki into fourth place in the final moments of the session, narrowly moving ahead of Peter Hickman on the FHO Racing BMW as four manufacturers completed the top five positions.
Championship leader Tarran Mackenzie ended the day sixth fastest, 0.256s adrift of his McAMS Yamaha team-mate, as 0.516s covered the top 14 riders ahead of tomorrow’s Qualifying session and opening BikeSocial race.
Danny Buchan held off Gino Rea for seventh place with Bradley Ray and Glenn Irwin completing the top ten, nudging Tommy Bridewell out of the top ten by 0.038s.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch
SUPERPICKS Free Practice combined result
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Jason O’HALLORAN | Yamaha | 1m25.229 |
| 2 | Christian IDDON | Ducati | +0.103 |
| 3 | Josh BROOKES | Ducati | +0.136 |
| 4 | Lee JACKSON | Kawasaki | +0.236 |
| 5 | Peter HICKMAN | BMW | +0.246 |
| 6 | Tarran MACKENZIE | Yamaha | +0.256 |
| 7 | Danny BUCHAN | BMW | +0.266 |
| 8 | Gino REA | Suzuki | +0.337 |
| 9 | Bradley RAY | BMW | +0.345 |
| 10 | Glenn IRWIN | Honda | +0.353 |
| 11 | Tommy BRIDEWELL | Ducati | +0.391 |
| 12 | Joe FRANCIS | BMW | +0.448 |
| 13 | Rory SKINNER | Kawasaki | +0.462 |
| 14 | Andrew IRWIN | BMW | +0.516 |
| 15 | Kyle RYDE | BMW | +1.089 |
| 16 | Josh OWENS | Kawasaki | +1.471 |
| 17 | Luke MOSSEY | Honda | +1.520 |
| 18 | Dean HARRISON | Suzuki | +1.662 |
| 19 | Ryan VICKERS | Kawsaki | +2.140 |
| 20 | Takumi TAKAHASHI | Honda | +2.155 |
| 21 | Bjorn ESTMENT | Suzuki | +2.199 |
| 22 | Storm STACEY | Kawasaki | +2.410 |
| 23 | Leon JEACOCK | Suzuki | +2.702 |
| 24 | Joe SHELDON-SHAW | BMW | +2.764 |
| 25 | Ryo MIZUNO | Honda | +2.990 |
| 26 | Brian McCORMACK | BMW | +4.035 |
| 27 | Luke HOPKINS | Honda | +4.536 |
| Qualifying Lap time (107.5% of 1m25.229) = 1m31.621 | |||
| 28 | Jesse TRAYLER | BMW | +6.750 |
Bennetts British Superbike Championship Standings
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Tarran MACKENZIE (Yamaha) | 1127 |
| 2 | Jason O’HALLORAN (Yamaha) | 1117 |
| 3 | Christian IDDON (Ducati) | 1112 |
| 4 | Tommy BRIDEWELL (Ducati) | 1106 |
| 5 | Danny BUCHAN (BMW) | 1061 |
| 6 | Peter HICKMAN (BMW) | 1059 |
| 7 | Josh BROOKES (Ducati) | 1047 |
| 8 | Glenn IRWIN (Honda) | 1041 |
| 9 | Lee JACKSON (Kawasaki) | 230 |
| 10 | Bradley RAY (BMW) | 227 |
| 11 | Gino REA (Suzuki) | 184 |
| 12 | Ryan VICKERS (Kawasaki) | 176 |
| 13 | Rory SKINNER (Kawasaki) | 169 |
| 14 | Andrew IRWIN (BMW) | 152 |
| 15 | Kyle RYDE (BMW) | 104 |
| 16 | Dan LINFOOT (Honda) | 69 |
| 17 | Xavi FORÉS (BMW) | 52 |
| 18 | Danny KENT (Suzuki) | 49 |
| 19 | Storm STACEY (Kawasaki) | 44 |
| 20 | Joe FRANCIS (BMW) | 29 |
| 21 | Dean HARRISON (Kawasaki) | 26 |
| 22 | Ryo MIZUNO (Honda) | 11 |
| 24 | Luke STAPLEFORD (Suzuki) | 10 |
| 23 | Bjorn ESTMENT (Suzuki) | 9 |
| 25 | Tim NEAVE (Suzuki) | 7 |
| 26 | Takumi TAKAHASHI (Honda) | 6 |
| 27 | Naomichi URAMOTO (Suzuki) | 6 |
| 28 | Josh OWENS (Kawasaki) | 3 |
| 29 | Michael DUNLOP (Suzuki) | 2 |
| 30 | Luke HOPKINS (Honda) | 2 |
| 31 | Joe SHELDON-SHAW (Kawasaki) | 1 |
| 32 | Brian McCORMACK (BMW) | 1 |
