Jason O’Halloran delivered a dream start for McAMS Yamaha delivering two emphatic victories at the Cheshire circuit on Sunday, making him unbeatable as the 2021 Bennetts British Superbike Championship commenced.

Starting from pole position thanks to his late charge in Saturday’s opening race, O’Halloran held the lead on the run into turn one, but the typical BSB opening lap fight saw the Aussie drop to third behind the Ducati of Christian Iddon and the BMW of Peter Hickman.

Knowing he had the speed to match the fast race pace being set, the ‘O’Show’ bided his time before picking off Hickman at Lodge corner and settled back into his rhythm behind the leader, where he stayed up until the last lap.

Shadowing Iddon, O’Halloran had just one chance to get passed, and made an emphatic, race winning move on Iddon at the final corner. Pulling his R1 down at the apex, the Yamaha rider held on over Deer’s Leap to claim his second race win of the season.

Team-mate Mackenzie’s second race of the weekend was unfortunately hampered after getting caught up in another riders’ technical problem. ‘Taz’ made a bright start to the 18-lap race, settling into the leading group at the end of the opening lap. Slipping to sixth on the second lap, the #95 looked comfortable aboard his R1 but drama would unfold on lap five. Whilst battling Tommy Bridewell, the Ducati rider suffered a mechanical failure, forcing Ashby-de-la-Zouch rider to run straight on at Hizzie’s chicane, demoting the Scott to 11th. A strong second half of the race however saw him climb back into the top six, taking ten points.

A strong lap time from O’Halloran meant he would start the third and final race on the front row, with Mackenzie lining up in sixth.

The third and final race got underway in beautiful conditions in Cheshire and once again the McAMS duo were at the front of the pack. O’Halloran found himself once again behind Iddon and looked comfortable behind the Ducati. The Aussie held back before launching an attack on the final lap with a brave move into Island Bend before pulling the pin to take a third victory on the bounce, completing a clean sweep to open the season.

Mackenzie’s third race was also strong. A bright start saw him feature in the podium positions throughout the race. The Scottish rider was the fastest rider on track and eventually crossed the line to take fourth.

Three victories from three races means Jason O’Halloran leads the charge to Knockhill with a 75 points total with Mackenzie in fourth on 34. Yamaha also top the constructors standings and McAMS Yamaha head the team standings.

In Superstock, Ian Hutchinson put his Edwards 1902 Yamaha inside the top ten, taking a solid tenth place in Cheshire to open his campaign.


Jason O'Hallloran

Race 1 - 1st
Race 2 - 1st
Race 3 - 1st

“That was a very good weekend! It’s always nice to start with a win but starting with three is pretty special! I’ve won five of the last six races and it’s just been a perfect start for us. We’ve been one of the strongest in pre-season but to put it into some races is a different thing and we were able to do that this weekend in all conditions. Winning yesterday was good because it’s the first one of the year but to win the two today in the way I did shows we’ve taken a step forward and that’s signs of things to come.”


Tarran Mackenzie

Race 1 - 5th
Race 2 - 6th
Race 3 - 4th

“It was a good weekend because we were able to progress in every session. We came here with a target of trying to get into the 34’s and that’s what we were able to do. We chipped away at it each session; we had a little mishap in the second race but when I did come back on track I had good pace. I knew that if I could go with the leaders, I could get dragged round and that was the case. It’s another step towards getting on the podium and fighting for wins, I think we need to find a little bit more, but I can’t complain. Oulton Park’s an important track because we come back here later in the year for the Showdown so it’s nice to make that step and go home with a smile on my face!”

Steve Rodgers

“What can I say? That was a mega weekend! You can’t get better than starting the season with three victories, and to win in the way Jason did today was really impressive. He remained calm throughout the races and made the move when it mattered on the last lap which was simply brilliant. Tarran had a really good weekend. He hasn’t had the best of results at Oulton in the past, his target was to get some top five finishes and I think he exceeded that goal by showing his speed in the final race and getting in the mix for the podium. You can’t complain with how we started this season, now we’ve just got to keep it up for the next ten rounds!”


Bennetts British Superbike Championship – Oulton Park – Race 1

1 Jason O'Halloran McAMS Yamaha Yamaha
2 Christian Iddon VisionTrack Ducati Ducati
3 Tommy Bridewell Oxford Products Ducati
4 Peter Hickman FHO Racing BMW BMW
5 Tarran Mackenzie McAMS Yamaha Yamaha
6 Glenn Irwin Honda Racing Honda
7 Kyle Ryde RICH Energy OMG Racing BMW
8 Lee Jackson FS-3 Racing Kawasaki Kawasaki
9 Ryan Vickers RAF Regular and Reserves Kawasaki Kawasaki
10 Josh Brookes VisionTrack Ducati Ducati


Bennetts British Superbike Championship – Oulton Park – Race 2

1 Jason O'Halloran McAMS Yamaha Yamaha
2 Christian Iddon VisionTrack Ducati Ducati
3 Peter Hickman FHO Racing BMW BMW
4 Danny Buchan SYNETIQ BMW MOTORRAD BMW
5 Bradley Ray RICH Energy OMG Racing BMW
6 Tarran Mackenzie McAMS Yamaha Yamaha
7 Josh Brookes VisionTrack Ducati Ducati
8 Lee Jackson FS-3 Racing Kawasaki Kawasaki
9 Glenn Irwin Honda Racing Honda
10 Josh Brookes VisionTrack Ducati Ducati


Bennetts British Superbike Championship – Oulton Park – Race 3

1 Jason O'Halloran McAMS Yamaha Yamaha
2 Christian Iddon VisionTrack Ducati Ducati
3 Tommy Bridewell Oxford Products Ducati
4 Tarran Mackenzie McAMS Yamaha Yamaha
5 Peter Hickman FHO Racing BMW BMW
6 Josh Brookes VisionTrack Ducati Ducati
7 Lee Jackson FS-3 Racing Kawasaki Kawasaki
8 Danny Buchan SYNETIQ BMW MOTORRAD BMW
9 Ryan Vickers RAF Regular and Reserves Kawasaki Kawasaki
10 Glenn Irwin Honda Racing Honda