Jason O’Halloran wins opening Brands BSB encounter

2022 British Superbike Championship
Round Five – Brands Hatch – Saturday

British Superbike Qualifying

Jason O’Halloran saved his best until last to claim pole position in SUPERPICKS Qualifying ahead of the opening Bennetts British Superbike Championship eBay Sprint race, edging out McAMS Yamaha team-mate Tarran Mackenzie with a last lap flier on the on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit.

O’Halloran went for one final attack at the pole position and as he took the chequered flag he was 0.212s ahead of his team-mate Tarran Mackenzie, who secured his first front row start of the season for McAMS Yamaha.

Championship leader Bradley Ray completes the front row on the Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha, holding off Tommy Bridewell who heads the second row on the Oxford Products Racing Ducati.

Kyle Ryde had another strong session to hold fifth place in SUPERPICKS Qualifying with Josh Brookes completing row two on the MCE Ducati.

Rory Skinner was seventh despite an incredible save at Paddock Hill Bend with Ryan Vickers in eighth place on the FHO Racing BMW with Attis Sports. Leon Haslam and Lee Jackson completed the top ten.

British Superbike Qualifying Results

British Superbike Sprint Race

Jason O’Halloran claimed his fifth win of the 2022 Bennetts British Superbike Championship season for the McAMS Yamaha team at Brands Hatch, emerging victorious ahead of an incredible three-way dogfight for the final two podium positions.

On the opening lap, O’Halloran led the pack from Tarran Mackenzie with Bradley Ray in third and the leading trio would ultimately battle for the podium positions, however Tommy Bridewell quickly carved through the pack and soon was dicing with the Yamahas.

At the front, O’Halloran held the edge ahead of Ray and Mackenzie, but on the seventh lap, the defending champion moved into second to pile the pressure on his McAMS Yamaha teammate.

Bridewell moved from seventh during the opening laps through into fourth and had closed down the leading Yamaha riders with the top four duelling for the opening victory of the weekend on the Grand Prix circuit.

On the ninth lap as the pack exited Surtees, O’Halloran had a moment, which left the chasing pack scattering and Mackenzie lost momentum as a consequence. Ray grasped the opportunity to take the lead, but O’Halloran soon regained his speed and was back at the front of the pack by the end of the lap.

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O’Halloran then led Ray, Bridewell and Mackenzie, but Bridewell fought his way into second on the Oxford Products Racing Ducati with a determined move on the championship leader ahead of him into Paddock Hill Bend on lap 12.

O’Halloran had the advantage with a consistent run of fast laps, but behind the scrap for the final two podium places continued. On the penultimate lap, Bridewell was second ahead of Mackenzie and Ray.

Mackenzie ran wide onto the kerb on the exit of Graham Hill Bend and that unsettled the McAMS Yamaha, giving Ray the opportunity to get ahead. The Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha rider ran wide at Surtees though and that dropped him into fourth place.

On the final lap, Mackenzie moved into second with a move on Bridewell at Druids and he held off the counter attack to become the tenth different podium finisher of the season, claiming his first rostrum of 2022 in second place. Bridewell took his second top three finish of the year in third place.

Kyle Ryde was fifth on the Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha with Josh Brookes taking sixth to move into the top eight in the standings for the MCE Ducati team. Rory Skinner, Leon Haslam, Lee Jackson and Christian Iddon completed the top ten just ahead of Peter Hickman.

Jason O’Halloran – P1

“It was a good race! I got a really good start, got to the front and I just wanted to settle in and see what the lap time was like. I saw low 25s and no-one was showing me a wheel, so I didn’t push on beyond that point and risk a crash or ruin the tyre. We probably could’ve gone a bit faster than that, but the only wheel I got shown was when I made a mistake and nearly went down. We probably can make a few improvements for tomorrow, but I am really happy to get my third race win in a row on my 200th start and 20th win so nice little number there. I am really looking forward to the longer races tomorrow. There’s a long way to go in the championship and I’m just enjoying myself and I just want to win as many races as I can and have as much fun as I can. A massive thanks to everyone at McAMS Yamaha as they’ve given me a fantastic bike again.”

Josh Brookes – P6

“Starting from the second row was a bit more like it but just before the start, the bike temperature went up to 120 degrees. I thought it was from the heat of the day and although it dropped, it only went to 110 rather than the 90 it usually runs at. It distracted me in the early laps and allowed the front five riders to get away but when I realised it wasn’t going to get any worse, I concentrated on getting into a decent rhythm. It was a bit frustrating as we’re so close to the front group now but we’re making progress all the time and to now be in the top eight is something. We’ll hope to make another step tomorrow.”

Tom Sykes – P13

“It didn’t take me too long to get into the 1:25’s on Friday, which is a very respectable time around the Brands GP circuit, and I hoped to progress from there, but I haven’t been able to do what I’d like with the bike. Corner entry is fine but, in the middle and on the exit, it’s not doing what I’d expect and I’m losing a lot of time which is really disappointing. We’ll keep working and will hopefully find something for tomorrow.”

Glenn Irwin – DNF

“I was really disappointed to make a mistake in Race 1 and crash, especially on the first lap. We came here with new ideas this weekend, they definitely have some potential, but like anything you have good and bad. So thought I’d use Race 1 as a back to back, in mind that we have two races tomorrow to give ourselves the best possible chance, but turn two was where my race ended. Brands Hatch GP isn’t a strong track for us, which is something that frustrates us all because we can’t just put our finger on the issues, but saying that we have some good tracks coming up and if I can have a DNF on the not so strong tracks, it’s not a positive but I’ll take it and hope we can have success on the strong circuits.”

British Superbike Sprint Race Results

British Superbike Championship Points

British Superstock Race One

Billy McConnell took the spoils in the first National Superstock scrap of the weekend, beating the returning Richard Cooper by 0.192secs.

Milenco by Padgetts Motorcycles’ Davey Todd was third, followed by the CFS Filtration No Bull Racing machine of Brayden Elliott.

Fifth was Alex Olsen, aboard the FHO Racing with Kobelco BMW, in a race which was red-flagged five laps early.

British Superstock Race One Results

British Superstock Championship Points

British Supersport Race One

Jack Kennedy continued his Supersport domination as he powered to a win by 8.266secs over Appleyard Macadam’s Harry Truelove.

From pole, Mar-Train Racing rider hit the front as soon as the lights changed and wasn’t troubled for the remaining 12 laps.

Truelove kept in touch for a few laps but the gap soon began to creep up between him and Kennedy, as he had to fight to keep Gearlink Kawasaki’s Luke Stapleford at bay.

Stapleford eventually took third, with leading GP2 rider Jack Scott fifth and Bradley Perie fifth.

Kiwi Damon Rees came home in eighth.

Korie McGreevy was the second GP2 rider home in ninth position, with Harvey Claridge third, in 14th.

British Supersport Race One Results

British Supersport Championship Points

GP2 Points