A chassis change has resulted in the fastest time for Jason O’Halloran at the Bennetts British Superbike Championship (BSB) test in Portimao, Portugal, this week.

The Australian, who wound up second fastest on the final day of the previous test in Spain, recorded his fast-time on the final final run of the day in the closing 10 minutes to push former MotoGP regular Scott Redding (Be Wiser Ducati) back into second by 0.127s.

Transitioning to McAMS Yamaha for 2019, O’Halloran sampled teammate Taz Mackenzie’s YZF-R1, prompting him to change chassis after discovering a positive feeling with his partner’s machine.

“That was exactly what we needed to end this test,” said O’Halloran. “We had a difficult end to Monteblanco because although we were fast, we had a few issues with the bike. We changed the frame there and it became really aggressive so we persevered with it here. I went out on Taz’s bike and his was completely different.

“I sat out a bit this afternoon whilst the boys changed the frame for me and when I went back out it felt immediately better. I did a run on old tyres and did my best time on the used tyres and then I came in and we put some new tyres in and I went out to have a bit of a go. It got me up front and I am feeling confident now heading to Silverstone and being up the sharp end.”

Fellow Australian Josh Brookes (Be Wiser Ducati) was fourth fastest, as compatriots Billy McConnell (OMG Racing Suzuki) and Ben Currie (Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki) were 18th and 26th respectively. The BSB will now head to Silverstone on 9 April for the final pre-season test of the year.