Jason O'Halloran is just two points adrift of Glenn Irwin in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings ahead of this weekend’s three rounds and the McAMS Yamaha rider is ready to go all out in a bid to grasp the standings advantage at Donington Park.
O’Halloran became the eighth different winner on the 2020 list, and the Australian returned to the top step in fine form with a double dose of wins, but narrowly missed a dream finish to the weekend when Lee Jackson defeated him for the final podium position in round 12.
O’Halloran said: “Oulton Park was a huge weekend for us; I didn’t realise Glenn was out of race two until afterwards and that gave us 25 points straight away. I looked at race one and I had something like 15 points back on him. I was thinking if I could win the next couple and he finished in a similar position to where he was, then I would have been near enough equal anyway, so it was a bit of a bonus to get some of those big points back on Sunday morning.”
O’Halloran has been 2020’s highest podium scorer so far with seven, leading five for Glenn Irwin, Josh Brookes and Christian Iddon, and that consistency has put him in with his best shot yet of fighting for title glory at the final two events.
O’Halloran added: “We have been consistent; I look at some races so far this year and I am disappointed, like race one at Donington Park. I got caught up in Danny’s crash, ran off the track and had to come back up to eighth. I did the same in race three at Snetterton; I ran off the track avoiding Ryan’s crash and had to come back. There have been races where I feel like we could have had better results as well. It’s been a good year but there are still some races that have frustrated me a little bit.
“If you look as a whole every Friday we have been near the top and again in qualifying and then in the races we have been on the pace if we have finished first or seventh for whatever reason, we have had good speed. It’s been a good solid year from that point of view and I can’t see what we can’t continue that this weekend.”
O’Halloran though is determined to maintain his momentum with the McAMS Yamaha team this weekend, at a circuit where he claimed a pair of podium finishes on the National circuit back in August.
O’Halloran concluded: “BSB is hard; we have seen it so much this year with guys who are winning races one weekend and then outside the top ten the next – it is a difficult championship. I have had a lot of podiums now, a couple of wins and I am going to the Donington Park with the attitude that we need to maximise the package we have, and out of myself and then we should be battling for the podium and wins.
“Tasting the victory at Oulton Park, you never forget the feeling, it is the feeling that keeps you going for all the times that you don’t win, but when you get it back you then want more of it. I am going to Donington Park to win again, I feel like we have the speed and the ability to do that. That is what we are there for and I definitely want to be on the podium and winning races again.”