Jason O'Halloran reignited his Bennetts British Superbike Championship title hopes with a stunning treble victory at Thruxton and now as the title fight reaches Cadwell Park this August Bank Holiday weekend (26/27/28), the McAMS Yamaha rider is determined to carry the momentum.
O’Halloran has resided in Lincolnshire since joining Bennetts BSB and counts Cadwell Park as his home round, which he is now eager to get underway after one of the best weekends of his career last time out.
“It was an incredible weekend at Thruxton for us from start to finish,” reflected O’Halloran. “Pole position and three race wins was about as good as it gets! They were really enjoyable races; in the first race on Saturday I just got to the front and paced the race out and managed to win. I didn’t do an amazing lap time in the race as I was thinking about winning the race and managing the tyre, so the lap time didn’t really come into play, but that meant that I started on row three for race two which made things a little bit more tricky and difficult.
“I really had to think about the races a lot, be patient and manage the tyre, the way I was opening the gas and accelerating, and just being aware of what was happening with the rear tyre - how much I was using and reading the race too. I had to read the race ahead of me, who was at the front and who was spinning or moving around too much, and just trying to assess and take it all in whilst racing around at 150mph!
“All three races were difficult in their own way but I felt really comfortable and in control. The bike was working fantastic and we managed to nail it, so it was a really important weekend overall. It wasn’t something I really thought about before the weekend, but afterwards I got something like 50 points back on Tommy, which was great. After Brands Hatch we thought ‘wow we are nearly 100 points behind now in the championship’, so to bring that back to 50 in one weekend is great for us all and everyone in the McAMS Yamaha team.”
O’Halloran’s deficit reduced to 50.5 points after Thruxton, with Cadwell Park marking the last round of the Main Season before the points are raised over the final three rounds as all riders remain in with a shot of the title.
“Now we look forward to Cadwell Park and try to take this momentum forward,” said O’Halloran. “It is a track that I love, a home track for me in the UK; I love everything about it. But it is difficult – it is a tough track and it is always a tough race there. A lot of riders go fast there so I expect another competitive weekend.
“Obviously, I haven’t ridden there since the race last year, so I am looking forward to getting up to speed and get the feeling with the track to get into a rhythm ready for the races.
“We have to get on the front foot and attack now and take every race as it comes to us. But more than anything, enjoy it and try to win some more races - that’s my life and that is what gives me the buzz. At Thruxton I won my 26th BSB race and my 25th for Yamaha which is again a stat that is fairly incredible, so hopefully now we can build on this for the rest of the year and get ourselves right back in the championship fight.”
O’Halloran will be flying solo for McAMS Yamaha this weekend after a decision was made not to extend 2014 Moto2 World Champion Tito Rabat’s initial three-round agreement with the team.