2020 British Superbike Championship Round Four
Oulton Park Sunday wrap

Images Dave Yeomans

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British Superbike Race Two

Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) celebrated his second victory of the weekend on Sunday at the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park, riding a perfect race from opening lap to the chequered flag, winning from Christian Iddon and Danny Buchan.

O’Halloran had started from pole position but he had VisionTrack Ducati’s Iddon for close company with Buchan also in the breakaway trio in the later stages of the race as they replicated their podium finishing performances of Saturday.

O’Halloran’s victory was all the more crucial in the championship standings as there was a huge disappointment for leader Glenn Irwin when he was forced to retire with a technical problem, slashing his advantage from 30-points before the race, to just five.

Josh Brookes was able to make strides forward in more ways than one, as the former champion on the second of the VisionTrack Ducatis carved his way through from seventh on the opening lap into a fourth place at the chequered flag.

Lee Jackson on the second of the Rapid Fulfillment FS-3 Kawasakis also showed his rapid pace to claim fifth place after making a move on Andrew Irwin on the final lap with Bradley Ray also in the pack in eighth. Luke Mossey and Peter Hickman completed the top ten, just ahead of Tommy Bridewell on the Oxford Products Racing Ducati.

Race Two Results

British Superbike Race Three

O’Halloran became the eighth different winner of the season on Saturday for McAMS Yamaha, and he was able to follow it up with a second consecutive win in Round 11 earlier on Sunday, however O’Halloran was denied the chance to claim the first hat trick of wins in the 2020 Bennetts British Superbike Championship as Josh Brookes hit back in fighting form in race three.

Brookes was able to turn the disappointment of earlier in the weekend into a stunning victory in Round 12, holding off his VisionTrack Ducati teammate Iddon and Jackson to celebrate the final win in Cheshire.

Brookes had managed to hold the lead into Old Hall for the first time ahead of double race winner O’Halloran and Iddon with the Kawasaki pairing also in close contention. Iddon was looking for a way to move ahead of O’Halloran, and on lap three he powered head over his Australian rival as he bid to keep him at bay.

He then had his teammate in his sights, and he was looking for a chance to make a move. Iddon went for a dive on the brakes into Lodge on the eighth lap, but a determined counterattack put Brookes back at the front before they crossed the line for lap nine.

Iddon was still pressing Brookes and with three laps to go, he looked set to make a move at Hizzy’s, but it cost him ground and gave his teammate the edge he needed over the final laps to claim his second win of the 2020 season.

Meanwhile Iddon was under pressure from O’Halloran and Jackson as the scrap for the final podium positions continued, which went down to the wire on the final lap, with Iddon able to hold strong in second place.

For O’Halloran the chance of a hat trick of podiums ended at the final corner when Jackson made a determined move at Lodge to grab third place and hold the 0.096s advantage at the chequered flag.

O’Halloran claimed fourth place, but a determined weekend for the McAMS Yamaha rider now launches him into second in the title fight ahead of Donington Park and just two points adrift of Glenn Irwin, who ended the final race of the weekend in sixth place for Honda Racing.

Josh Brookes – P1

“Up until the final race, it had been a very difficult weekend and I hadn’t been able to push very hard or do much overtaking but the team have given me loads of support and never stopped working. The bike they gave me for the last race was brilliant. I had really good pace earlier in the day but I wasn’t able to sustain it all the way to the end which was why I dropped back to fourth so we got our heads together and made some more changes. The result meant I wasn’t able to lap as quickly but I could lap more consistently and keep it all the way to the end. I’ve won a fair few BSB race before, but I’m pleased to get a win again today and this one was particularly enjoyable.”

Christian Iddon – P2

“I didn’t manage a win this weekend but I’m really happy with three second place finishes. In the first race, I looked at Jason’s back wheel for 18 laps but simply wasn’t able to do anything about and it was a really hard race, harder than Saturday for sure; it was actually quite difficult to breathe the pace was that hot! I was hanging it out as best I could, but Jason pulled the pin at the end and it was another second for me. In the final race, this time it was Josh in front of me, but I felt stronger than him mid-race. But then I messed up the chicane near the end and that was that. I had to go from attacking to defending but I’ve taken a good haul of points across the three races and the championship’s back on now.”

Jason O’Halloran – P4

“I had a feeling we would be strong this weekend, but I didn’t know how it was going to go! We were fast from Friday, I had a great feeling from the first lap, we qualified on pole, won the first race, won the second race and then had a good scrap in the second race for the win and fair does to them as they rode well. I nearly run into the back of Christian into the last corner and had to roll off, so that helped Lee get the speed on me to the line. All in all it has been a fantastic weekend, we came in 44 points down and now we’re two points behind in the championship so I’m really looking forward to getting to Donington Park. It’s a track I enjoy, we had a great round there on the national track and I think our package can be really strong there. We are in it. There are six races left and it’s all to play for and I’m going to give it my all.”

Glenn Irwin – P6

“The first race today, for sure it was annoying to have to retire, we’ve had a pretty perfect record with no crashes and that’s a big part of the quest of what we want to achieve. In the last race I was doing some maths with the championship standings and I threw everything at it to try and pass Danny, which would have meant if Jason stayed where he was we would have been equal in the championship. But Lee passed Jason, which meant we’ve just kept the title lead. This was probably our weakest track so far, but it’s a new bike and this year we didn’t expect to be where we are. So I think we need to remind ourselves of that and we probably would have been happy with fifths and sixths here this weekend without the success we have enjoyed. That last race was the fastest of the weekend and I gave it all I could as I know what’s at stake, I also felt I owed the team a stronger performance, I felt more ready before that last race after the set back. Thanks to the boys, we did make positive changes and it’s the best the bike was all weekend, thank you.”

Race Three Results

British Superbike Championship Standings

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British Supersport

Rory Skinner climbed back to the top step of the Quattro Group British Supersport podium with a close-fought victory in the Feature race. It was race one victor Brad Jones who grabbed the holeshot, but current series leader Skinner was in close contention. As the leading duo began to pull away from the pursuing pack, the battle for third started to heat up as James Westmoreland, Lee Johnston and Harry Truelove continued to trade places throughout the opening half of the race.

Back at the front, Skinner had found a way past his team mate but was unable to shake off Jones. Pulling away from the pursuing pack, by the halfway stage they had built a seven second lead over the rest of the field.

Remaining in flying formation, the closing stages of the race saw Skinner try and edge out a small lead over his team mate but Jones was quick to respond. As they started the final lap, the pair were separated by just 0.1s, but Skinner was able to fend off the fast-charging Jones.

The battle for third remained just as intense as three contenders were joined by Bradley Perie and the GP2 machines of Mason Law and Jack Scott. Trading places throughout the final stages, it eventually went down the way of Perie, with Truelove securing fourth ahead of Westmoreland, Johnston and the leading GP2 machine of Charlie Nesbitt.

British Supersport Race

British Supersport Standings

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Superstock 1000

Chrissy Rouse cruised to victory in the second Pireli National Superstock 1000 race, taking victory by 1.9s. Leaping off the line, Rouse was immediately able to grab the holeshot and then control the race from the front, not being challenged over the 14 laps.

Behind him, race one victory Lewis Rollo had a lonely race in second place whilst third place saw Fraser Rogers claim the final rostrum position. Tim Neave finished fourth, ahead of Australian Brayden Elliot, Hedger, McConnell and Hutchinson.

Superstock 1000 Race (Top 15)

Superstock 1000 Standings

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Superstock 600

Ben Luxton extended his series lead in the Pirelli National Superstock 600 race with a second victory in the final race at Oulton Park. It was race one winner Luxton launched off the line to hold 0.5s lead over Caolan Irwin by the end of the opening lap. However, as the race began to heat up Zac Corderoy soon took over front running, leading the way at the end of lap four ahead of the Irwin brothers and Alderson.

A red flag on lap six saw the race called to a halt. A six lap restart saw Corderoy grab the holeshot to lead for much of the race, but as they headed onto the final lap it was Luxton leading from Caolan Irwin. At the chequered flag Luxton was able to fend off Corderoy with Irwin completing the podium.

Superstock 600 Results (Top 15)

Superstock 600 Standings

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British Junior Supersport Championship

Owen Jenner was back on the top step in the Hel Performance British Junior Supersport Championship, taking the win by 3.3s. It was Jenner who grabbed the holeshot, but the young rider was not able to get away over the opening laps as nine riders stayed within one second of each other.

As the race began to play out though, Jenner was able to steadily pull away to take another win. Australian Seth Crump finished second 3.314-seconds off the winner, while Dawson completed the podium in third place.

Junior Supersport Race (Top 15)

Junior Supersport Standings

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Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup

Levi Day doubled up on Ducati TriOptions Cup victories with a last lap overtake in the second race of the weekend. Elliot Pinson grabbed the holeshot, maintaining the lead over the opening few laps before current series leader Josh Day took over front running. Pulling a small gap over the pursuing pack, his lead began to decrease as Levi Day moved up to second and began setting a string of fast laps.

Coming down to the final lap, Levi was able to find a way through Josh to take his second win of the weekend. Pinson completed the podium in third ahead of Shoubridge, Cox and Neve.Owen Jenner was back on the top step in the Hel Performance British Junior Supersport Championship, taking the win by 3.3s. It was Jenner who grabbed the holeshot, but the young rider was not able to get away over the opening laps as nine riders stayed within one second of each other.

Levi Day

“What a birthday, done the double! Took the win in the second race of the Ducati Tri Options Cup today at Oulton Park, and set a new lap record also. What a great weekend shared with my amazing wife Katie Day and Max and my awesome team and sponsors. Darren, Paul and Nigel worked so hard to give me an amazing bike and it was awesome all weekend. A big thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday or sent me messages after the race, I’ll get back to you soon and really appreciate it all! Huge thank you to all the sponsors and people who make it possible for us to do this.”

Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup Race

Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup Standings

Source: MCNews.com.au