Thruxton was a successful weekend for the Australian contenders as the O’Show was unstoppable in Bennetts BSB, whilst Ben Currie completed a double in the Quattro Group British Supersport Championship.
After victory in the BikeSocial Sprint Race yesterday, O’Halloran was hungry to repeat the feat and maintain his impressive win rate at Thruxton, which he did in impressive style to claim eight of the last nine races at the circuit.
However, he was made to work for it in both races as Yamaha, Honda and Kawasaki all celebrated podium success and for Team Green, their first top three finish in 2023 as Lee Jackson became the eleventh different podium finisher of the season.
In the second race of the weekend O’Halloran carved his way through the pack to claim victory, coming from tenth at the end of lap one to snatch the lead in the closing stages to hold off Jackson who took both his and the Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki team’s first podium of 2023.
O’Halloran had started seventh on the grid, but at the end of the opening lap, he was down to tenth and then had to work his way back through the pack. It wasn’t until the final five laps when he had moved into fourth and then he was battling for the lead with Jackson with three laps to go.
After trading positions, the Australian was able to make a break on the final two laps to maintain his impressive winning form at Thruxton, celebrating his 25th race win in Bennetts BSB.
Jackson meanwhile had pushed through to second after an intense battle that featured no less than eight riders throughout the 20-lap contest. The Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki rider had the edge over the fight for third, but it was disappointment for his teammate, rookie Max Cook, who had been mixing it with the more established contenders all weekend.
The local contender was embroiled in the tussle in the front group, but on lap 14 it got congested into the Chicane and he ended up on the kerb and consequently crashed out unhurt.
The pack continued to shuffle with positions constantly changing and it was a traditional Thruxton dogfight until the finish, with nothing separating the top eight contenders.
Rookie Nesbitt continued his impressive performance this weekend to return to the podium holding off Ryan Vickers on the leading LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha who had been one of six different riders to lead the pack during the race.
In the final race of the weekend, again O’Halloran had to fight his way through to the front; ending the opening lap in tenth place, losing a place from his ninth place grid position. The O’Show once again though delivered a calculated performance to work his way through the pack, keeping his calm to move up the order. At mid-race distance, he was seventh and it wasn’t until the closing laps that he made his final charge.
O’Halloran moved from fourth to second on lap 18 of 20 with a decisive move to pass both Nesbitt and Jackson. The Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki rider though fought back to regain the lead, but on the penultimate lap, the McAMS Yamaha emerged ahead and then held off the counter challenge to take the triple win.
The treble victory has launched O’Halloran from sixth in the standings before round seven, up to third ahead of Cadwell Park on the August Bank Holiday.
Jackson and rookie Nesbitt returned to the podium for the second time today as Cook celebrated equaling his strongest result in his first Bennetts BSB season with another fourth place. Nesbitt celebrated at the end of his home round, giving the MasterMac Honda by Hawk Racing team a treble podium in only his seventh round in the Superbike class.
Vickers was the leading LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha in fifth place ahead of Leon Haslam on the leading BMW.
Championship leader Tommy Bridewell finished in 14th and 15th place today, in his worst finish of the season. The BeerMonster Ducati rider still maintains his advantage at the top of the standings, but it has been reduced to 26.5 points over teammate Glenn Irwin.
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha)
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) +1.176s
- Charlie Nesbitt (MasterMac Honda by Hawk Racing) +2.185s
- Ryan Vickers (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) +2.773s
- Jack Kennedy (Mar-Train Yamaha Racing) +2.807s
- Kyle Ryde (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) +5.090s
- Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team) +7.259s
- Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad Team) +7.407s
- Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +7.728s
- Danny Kent (Lovell Kent Racing Honda) +8.021s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Thruxton, Race 3 result:
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha)
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) +0.213s
- Charlie Nesbitt (MasterMac Honda by Hawk Racing) +0.334s
- Max Cook (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) +0.929s
- Ryan Vickers (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) +1.145s
- Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad) +3.014s
- Kyle Ryde (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) +3.927s
- Storm Stacey (Starline Racing Kawasaki) +4.142s
- Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) +5.927s
- Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +8.002s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:
- Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati) 263
- Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati) 236.5
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 212.5
- Kyle Ryde (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) 208
- Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad) 201
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) 185.5
- Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) 178
- Ryan Vickers (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) 175
- Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 159
- Danny Kent (Lovell Kent Racing Honda) 115
McAMS Yamaha
“That’s the best weekend of my career, coming off the back of a couple of average rounds to bounce back like this is exactly what we needed.
“We’ve clawed a lot of points back this weekend with pole position and three race wins which is incredible. I’m now Yamaha’s most successful rider in terms of race wins and have 26 BSB wins which is just incredible.
“And I’ve won eight of the last nine races at Thruxton which is another amazing stat!
“This is exactly what the team needed and I think we can carry this momentum forward now to Cadwell Park which is my favourite race of the year.”
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