It was a weekend of mixed fortunes for the Honda Racing team as the fourth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship took place at Snetterton. With both Dan Linfoot and Jason O’Halloran reunited with the squad, the plan for the weekend was to build and collect points aboard the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade.

Unfortunately the first race of the day ended abruptly for Honda’s duo, after a solid qualifying for both riders they lined up on the grid with Linfoot sixth and O’Halloran tenth. Both riders received a good start off the line, but the race came to an end at turn two, on lap one, when the pair were involved in an incident on track and taken out by another rider.

Linfoot was left unhurt from the incident, but the ‘The O’Show’ was taken to the medical centre and already nursing an injury, was declared unfit to take part in the second race. Although no further injuries were found, the MSV medical team have advised O’Halloran to be checked out by his specialist as a precaution.

With unfinished business after race one, Linfoot went into the second race on a mission. Starting from 11th on the grid, the 29-year old made the most of the CBR’s power and started picking off his rivals. During the closing stages of the race he took fourth place and scored the fastest lap of the race on the final lap (1:49.005).

Eventually crossing the line fourth, he collected vital points towards the overall championship where he’s now sitting 11th. Having been away from racing for nine weeks after an accident at the second round, Linfoot impressed with his pace and progress throughout the weekend.

The Honda team will now regroup and focus on an upcoming test at Knockhill, before heading back to Scotland for the fifth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, which takes place 6-8 July.


#4 -  Dan Linfoot

I started the first race sixth on the grid, but that didn’t last very long! I made a good start, but as I’m rusty on the bike I didn’t brake very well in to turn one, I went into the second turn and had a clatter from behind and that was me down the road, taken out by another rider. I’m disappointed as we had a good qualifying and there was potential there for a good race, but more importantly I needed a race under my belt to get my confidence back. I was 11th on the grid for the second race, we got an average start and I settled into the group I was in; there was an immediate gap at the front to us, so I just settled into the group and set a target that if I was the first rider home in my group I’d be happy. Towards the end of the race I made better pace and found another level; it helps to have a fast bike! We finished fourth, which is more than I expected to be honest on my comeback and we’ve collected good points to start moving up in the standings. What’s positive is that we finished at the front with very little bike time, so with the test at Knockhill then more days on the Fireblade we should be ready for a podium or two at the next round!

#22 -  Jason O'Halloran

My weekend at Snetterton hasn’t really gone to plan, with the incident in race one and my race coming to a premature end! Unfortunately I was taken out on the second corner of the first lap and was declared unfit for the second race. I am majorly disappointed, it’s been a crazy five weeks to even get here and then to do what we did yesterday, just missing out on Q3. We had pretty strong pace and I was feeling good coming into the race and hoping to score some points. It’s disappointing not to finish and not to be able to take part in the second race, but sadly this is bike racing and sometimes it doesn’t always go to plan. It’s such a shame as I love Snetterton and I know if I was 100% fit, this weekend would have been a completely different story, but for now I have to focus on the next round – we have three weeks, so it’s back on the rehab train for me and make sure I’m fit and ready to go at Knockhill.

Havier Beltran -  Team Manager

It’s been a mixed weekend for us at Snetterton. Race one was devastating for both Dan and Jason with the incident at turn two, it was clearly not their fault and for both riders to go out in that way, on their return to racing after injuries was just devastating. Jason has taken a knock to his arm and a bash to his foot, he’s a bit battered and bruised but I know he’ll bounce back from this – I wish him a speedy recovery. It was a great result for Dan in the second race, he had a good start and wasn’t too far away, he slowly chipped away throughout the race. As he’s said across the weekend, he’s riding in a different area at the moment as he’s not 100% fit, but I think there’s a lot more to come from him this season. I’m happy with the set-up this weekend and what we’ve managed to achieve under the circumstances, so it’ll now be all systems go as we look ahead to the test at Knockhill and then the next round in the series.