Jason O’Halloran and McAMS Yamaha launched themselves into contention for the 2020 Bennetts British Superbike championship with a stunning double victory at Oulton Park this weekend.

After a clever ride saw the Aussie take the spoils in the opening race on Saturday, he wouldn’t have to wait long to return to the top step as he made the most of another pole position start to dominate the second outing.

Taking the holeshot, O’Halloran led the way from lights to flag despite Ducati’s Christian Iddon keeping him honest throughout. The victory saw him close the gap to the championship lead to just five points ahead of the day’s final race at Oulton Park.

Starting the second race fourth, team-mate Tarran Mackenzie got a strong start but struggled with the bike fully fuelled in the early stages, before mounting a comeback later in the race to take a solid sixth.

O’Halloran set off for the final race from fourth on the second row of the grid, launching off the line to sit second after the race start. He’d move back to third in the early stages where he’d remain for the remainder of the race, just unable to secure a pass on the defensive Christian Iddon. Clipping the Ducati as he looked up the inside on the final turn of the last lap, the Aussie would then lose drive onto the straight and lose out on a sixth consecutive rostrum finish, crossing the line fourth. Team-mate Mackenzie was ninth.

O’Halloran’s magnificent weekend, which saw him crowned Bennetts Rider of the Round by Eurosport Viewers, launched him from fifth in the standings to second, just two points off the championship lead with six races remaining across the final two weekends – meaning it’s all to play for at Donington Park and Brands Hatch with O’Halloran having been the most consistent rider of 2020 with more podiums so far than any of his title rivals.

A solid points haul for Mackenzie moves him up to sixth overall, 53 points off the title lead.

Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Oulton Park, Race Two:

1 Jason O'Halloran McAMS Yamaha
2 Christian Iddon VisionTrack Ducati
3 Danny Buchan Massingberd-Mundy Kawasaki Kawasaki
4 Josh Brookes VisionTrack Ducati
5 Lee Jackson Massingberd-Mundy Kawasaki Kawasaki
6 Tarran Mackenzie McAMS Yamaha
7 Andrew Irwin Honda Racing Honda
8 Bradley Ray Synetiq BMW Motorrad BMW
9 Luke Mossey RICH Energy OMG Racing BMW
10 Peter Hickman Global Robots BMW


Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Oulton Park, Race Three:

1 Josh Brookes VisionTrack Ducati
2 Christian Iddon VisionTrack Ducati
3 Lee Jackson Massingberd-Mundy Kawasaki Kawasaki
4 Jason O'Halloran McAMS Yamaha
5 Danny Buchan Massingberd-Mundy Kawasaki Kawasaki
6 Glenn Irwin Honda Racing Honda
7 Bradley Ray Synetiq BMW Motorrad BMW
8 Peter Hickman Global Robots BMW
9 Tarran Mackenzie McAMS Yamaha
10 Luke Mossey RICH Energy OMG Racing BMW


Jason O'Halloran: Race 2 - 1st, Race 3- 4th, C'ship - 2nd.

“I had a feeling we would be strong this weekend, but I didn’t know how it was going to go! We were fast from Friday, I had a great feeling from the first lap, we qualified on pole, won the first race, won the second race and then had a good scrap in the second race for the win and fair does to them as they rode well. I nearly run into the back of Christian into the last corner and had to roll off, so that helped Lee get the speed on me to the line. All in all it has been a fantastic weekend, we came in 44 points down and now we’re two points behind in the championship so I’m really looking forward to getting to Donington Park. It’s a track I enjoy, we had a great round there on the national track and I think our package can be really strong there. We are in it. There are six races left and it’s all to play for and I’m going to give it my all.”

Tarran Mackenzie: Race 2 - 6th, Race 3 - 9th, C'ship - 6th

“It’s been a tough weekend compared to Silverstone, we started on the back foot from FP1 and we were working away trying to be as close as possible. Race one was probably my strongest race, starting 16th and managing to catch the front group and setting quite good lap times, which put us in a good position for race two. I struggled in the second race, after an OK start I got knocked back a bit and then had strong mid-race pace and came back through, I was quite happy with sixth place. We made a couple of changes for the final race which helped in some areas but affected me in others, which we aren’t too sure why, so it was nothing to write home about! I’m happy to love Oulton Park in one piece and get ready for Donington Park in two weeks’ time.”

Steve Rodgers - Team Owner

“What an incredible weekend? Coming here, we knew we were in the fight as we were only 20 points off second in the championship so we knew a strong weekend here and it would be game on and Jason took that challenge on and walked away with what has to be one of the best weekend’s he’s ever had in BSB. The way he won on Saturday was clever and calculated and he went on to build on that by controlling the second race for a lights to flag win. It was a shame to lose out on the podium in the final race, but his consistency has put him where he is – two points off the title lead with just two rounds remaining. It’s game on now!”