Jason O'Halloran became the first rider to confirm his place in the 2021 Bennetts British Superbike Championship Showdown after the previous round at Cadwell Park and heads to Snetterton this weekend with the focus purely on bagging additional Podium Points.
O’Halloran is no stranger to the Showdown, but this marks the first time that he has been the first rider to be confirmed, following his strongest campaign to date so far in 2021, with his victory in race three in Lincolnshire sealing his place as a Title Fighter. However, the McAMS Yamaha rider knows that Snetterton hasn’t been the strongest track for them in the past, which is something he is eager to change this weekend.
Speaking ahead of the weekend, O’Halloran said: “Cadwell Park was another really strong weekend for us, but we have been strong all season really. I expected us to have a good round there as it is one of my favourite circuits, but heading there I knew that some of our rivals had tested and we hadn’t. I didn’t really know what to expect in that respect and we had the test on the Thursday evening, but the mixed conditions made it a bit of an unknown still going into the weekend.
“By the end of Friday we had found a good direction but Hicky had been doing an amazing job all weekend and he was super strong, so I pushed him as much as I could in the first two races. To win in the last one was just the icing on the cake. I have wanted to win there for many years so I was chuffed to bits with that. We confirmed our place in the Showdown and strengthened our position with the Podium Points, as they are what we need to build up before the final championship fight.
“I can’t wait to get back to Snetterton although it is a bit of a difficult one for me. On the Honda I was really strong there, I had my first win there, and was pretty much on the podium every time on the Honda. Since I have got on the Yamaha it has been a track that perhaps hasn’t been as strong as some other tracks for us. I am not sure why, but the last couple of years hasn’t quite gone our way when we have been there, but I am really confident ahead of this weekend.
“It’s a track that I love and I feel that the improvements that we have made will make the Yamaha stronger this year and I think we should be in a position to challenge for top positions. We obviously have two rounds left now before the Showdown and for us now we just need to keep scoring as many Podium Points as possible.”