Jason O’Halloran started the season with a bang for the McAMS Yamaha team, securing two rostrum finishes on the 2020 YZF-R1, taking third in both of Sunday’s races.

After a tough opening race saw him have to fight back from 19th to eighth after avoiding another rider’s crash, O’Halloran was fired up for race two and a better start saw him in the mix from the off. Settling in to the leading group in fifth, he bided his time before picking off the two riders ahead and chasing down the runaway Hondas at the front.

After a move on Andrew Irwin for second, it looked as though the Aussie could be looking for a win but a hard move from the Northern Irishman saw Jason drop back to fourth with three laps to go. A mistake Tommy Bridewell saw him move back into third, but he wasn’t quite close enough to make a move on the Hondas on the final lap until the duo made small mistakes at the final turn. However, O’Halloran just missed out on second on the drive to the line.

Tarran Mackenzie took a step forward in the second outing to improve his pace, but struggled to get through the pack. He finished seventh but secured a front row start for the final race of the day.

A strong start in that final race saw Mackenzie second in the early stages, but he’d then fade back and eventually cross the line seventh after having taken a step in the wrong direction with his set-up.

O’Halloran got hit by Andrew Irwin on the run down Craner curves on the opening lap, which saw him drop back to eighth. Again, he picked off the pack and made his way up to fifth. Josh Brookes then crashed out moving him up to fourth and he wasted no time in getting on the back of the Hondas in second and third. He looked to make a move on Andrew Irwin for third but couldn’t quite make it stick, crossing the line fourth.

However, following an investigation, Andrew Irwin was disqualified from the race for his collision with Josh Brookes, thus moving O’Halloran up to third in the overall result. Mackenzie moved up to sixth.

After a weekend of solid points finishes, O’Halloran sits fourth in the championship standings with 40 points and Mackenzie sixth with 28.

Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Donington Park, Race 2 Result

1 Andrew Irwin Honda Racing Honda
2 Glenn Irwin Honda Racing Honda
3 Jason O'Halloran McAMS Yamaha
4 Kyle Ryde Buildbase Suzuki
5 Danny Buchan FS3 Racing Kawasaki
6 Josh Brookes Vision Track PBM Ducati
7 Tarran Mackenzie McAMS Yamaha
8 Christian Iddon Vision Track PBM Ducati
9 Tommy Bridewell Oxford Products Racing Ducati
10 Hector Barbera OMG Racing BMW


Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Donington Park, Race 3 Result

1 Tommy Bridewell Oxford Products Racing Ducati
2 Glenn Irwin Honda Racing Honda
3 Jason O'Halloran McAMS Yamaha
4 Christian Iddon Vision Track PBM Ducati
5 Danny Buchan FS3 Racing Kawasaki
6 Tarran Mackenzie McAMS Yamaha
7 Kyle Ryde Buildbase Suzuki Suzuki
8 Ryan Vickers RAF Regular and Reserves Kawasaki Kawasaki
9 Lee Jackson Massingberd-Mundy Kawasaki Kawasaki
10 Hector Barbera RICH Energy OMG Racing BMW


Tarran Mackenzie

Race 2 - 7th
Race 3 - 6th
C'ship - 6th

“I didn’t come here for three sevenths but I’ll take it after this weekend as I had two massive crashes, the first one could have been quite nasty so I was lucky to walk away, I’m glad I am wearing the kit I am! That knocked me back a little bit and we’ve been chasing a setting all weekend, each race we made a step forward. In the second race the bike felt really good and I had a strong race towards the end and that put me on the front row for race three. We made a small change for the last race and I think that, while it wasn’t a massive change, it was enough to change how the bike felt and unfortunately it didn’t work.

“We’ll use the information we’ve gained this weekend to better ourselves at Snetterton.”

Jason O'Halloran

Race 2 - 3rd
Race 3 - 3rd
C'ship - 4th

“It was great to be back on the podium earlier today, it’d have been nice to be further up in race two but I got caught up in some chaos at the start. I got hit by Andrew Irwin at Craner on the first lap, ran wide and almost crashed so I lost ground and had to come through the field.

“I’m really pleased with my pace, the bike felt really good – in the last race it was probably even better than it’s been all weekend. I really feel we’ve got the pace to be at the front – which we are but we can still improve. I’m really looking forward to Snetterton but if there’s one thing I’ll take away from this weekend is maybe I have to get the elbows out a bit more!”


Steve Rodgers - Team Owner

“This weekend has been a solid start to the season for Jason, the first race was frustrating as we knew he had the pace as he showed today.

“He got beat up at the start in both races which meant he had to fight back on both occasions, which is a shame as he had the pace to run with the winners as he showed, but a podium and crossing the line fourth show his potential. Fourth in the championship, only three points off third is a good place to start!

“We saw some very aggressive riding from certain riders today, and while aggression does play a part there also needs to be respect for the riders around you. The sport is dangerous enough without dangerous riding.

“Taz had a tougher weekend but he made a lot of progress, so we’ll take the points and build on it at Snetterton.”