Jason O'Halloran is gearing up for the return of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship this weekend (June 16/17/18), feeling boosted by victory last time out at Donington Park as he bids for a winning repeat at Knockhill.
O’Halloran had a torrid start to his 2023 campaign, but at Donington Park, he returned to winning ways for the McAMS Yamaha team as he bids to close the deficit.
Arriving at Knockhill, O’Halloran holds sixth in the overall standings and a 49-point margin to bridge to Tommy Bridewell at the top of the standings, but the Fife circuit proved to be a strong circuit for Yamaha last season and the Australian hopes history can repeat itself.
The McAMS Yamaha team also completed a recent two day test at the Scottish circuit in preparation for this weekend’s races, and O’Halloran is eager to put that experience to good use in this weekend’s three races.
O’Halloran said: “We had a good two day test at Knockhill. The first day was really good and probably one of the hottest days we have had on track this year, so we got plenty of laps in and worked through a few things that we haven’t had a chance to test in the first few rounds, so that was good to be able to do that.
“We found a few small things, nothing that we tested was a huge step forward, we were just looking to find some marginal gains and I think we found a few small things which was nice. I felt pretty comfortable on the bike straight away and the two or three things we tested were good and we will use those on the race weekend.
“On the second day we tried an engine that we have tried a few times now but I think we will probably stick with the one that we raced at Donington Park as I feel a bit more comfortable on that.
“It was obviously nice to win at Donington Park, it was a bit of a rollercoaster weekend; we were really strong in practice and qualifying and then had a tyre issue in the first race, which was disappointing. Then it was really good to win the second race and it was an amazing race to be a part of. The Safety Car bought it to life and it was pretty frantic for a good few laps there, so once I got to the front, I put my head down and managed to stay in front to win our first race of the year.
“That was my 23rd race win in BSB, which was a great feeling, especially on the GP track as that was my first on that layout; I have won on the National but never on the GP in BSB. The last race was a bit disappointing again as we had another small issue, which prevented us from being up on the box, but all in all, it was a positive weekend and good to get a race win.
“Looking to Knockhill, last year I had a second and a double win on the Sunday and it was the first time I had ever won at that track in any class, so it was a big achievement as it has always been for whatever reason a bit of a struggle for me there over the years.
“I have always had decent pace but never get a great a result so to win two last year was a great feeling. I had a good feeling at the test so going back there I want to be challenging for the podium and wins if possible as we need to be scoring consistent points to try and iron out a few issues to have a good, solid weekend from start to finish.
“I am feeling good in myself, I did load of laps in the Knockhill test – I was the last one out on track and rode all the way until the chequered flag on the last day to try and maximise the time we had available. So hopefully that pays off on the race weekend and we can look forward to a successful weekend.”