Jason O'Halloran had the edge in the opening Bennetts British Superbike Championship SUPERPICKS Free Practice session at Brands Hatch, taking the lead in the times in the final two minutes to displace Danny Buchan by 0.135s.
O’Halloran had been climbing the order throughout the session, moving inside the top ten at the midway point and was then into third ahead of the final ten minutes. However, his final run saw the Australian improve again and he moved into the leading position in the closing moments.
The McAMS Yamaha rider’s improvement meant that Buchan was eased back into second place following a strong start to his weekend with the SYNETIQ BMW team as he carried his pace from Knockhill into round three.
Tarran Mackenzie meanwhile was leading the session in the final ten minutes, however the session ended in the gravel at Westfield for the second McAMS Yamaha rider. He was unhurt and ended the opening SUPERPICKS practice 0.233s adrift of his teammate.
Christian Iddon led the VisionTrack Ducati charge in fourth place, just ahead of Peter Hickman on the FHO Racing BMW.
Tommy Bridewell had been inside the top three earlier in the session for the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team, but he dropped to sixth in the closing stages just ahead of Lee Jackson and Bradley Ray.
Dan Linfoot and Kyle Ryde completed the top ten as Glenn Irwin and defending champion Josh Brookes just missed out in eleventh and twelfth respectively.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch, SUPERPICKS Free Practice 1:
1. Jason O'Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 1m:26.255s
2. Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW) +0.135s
3. Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) +0.233s
4. Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) +0.458s
5. Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW) +0.463s
6. Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +0.491s
7. Lee Jackson (FS-3 Kawasaki) +0.628s
8. Bradley Ray (Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW) +0.679s
9. Dan Linfoot (TAG Honda) +0.930s
10. Kyle Ryde (Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW) +0.948s