Image: Supplied.

Australian Jason O’Halloran has cemented his future in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship (BSB) by signing a contract extension with McAms Yamaha for the 2020 season.

O’Halloran displayed incredible form at the beginning of the year, however much of his 2019 campaign has been hindered by a shoulder injury, which currently sees him ranked 10th in the championship standings.

The number 22 will once again be joined by Tarran Mackenzie, with the duo set to pilot the all-new 2020 Yamaha YZF-R1 in the new season.

“I’m really happy to stay with the team again for next year,” said O’Halloran. “This season hasn’t panned out how I wanted it to given we’ve had two separate injuries, one at the start of the year and now the shoulder. It’s been frustrating as it’s the first year where I feel the potential of the bike and myself hasn’t been maximised.

“From a positive point of view that means there’s more to come, especially as I’m really enjoying riding the Yamaha and even though I’m struggling with my shoulder, the results are still encouraging. I’ve a lot of time for Steve and the team so I’m glad to be staying on and with a new R1 on the way hopefully there’s another step for us to take in 2020.

“The focus for me now is to get fit and healthy for 2020 and then we can learn from our mistakes, put them into practice and have a stronger year with the new bike.”

The next stop of the current BSB season is scheduled for 20-22 September at Assen in the Netherlands.

Image: Supplied.

The BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team has extended its contract with Tom Sykes that will see him through the 2020 season in the Motul FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK).

Sykes, who recorded 13-7-9 scorecard at Portimao’s 10th round on the weekend, has earned three podiums in his first season aboard the new BMW S 1000 RR, while next year’s he’s set to be joined by Eugene Laverty.

“I’m very excited and proud to be continuing into the 2020 season with the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team,” said Sykes. “After such a successful year so far with the all-new BMW S 1000 RR, which is still very early in its development gives me great motivation moving forward.

“I really enjoy the development part and we are certainly moving in a strong way. Of course, with the support from the whole of the team and the prestigious BMW brand my expectations for the 2020 season will certainly move higher and back to where I feel most natural.”

Team principal Shaun Muir added: “As expected we have taken the option in Tom’s contract and extended it for a further year, this is good for our continuity and for the development for the BMW S 1000 RR. We hope that we can we progress further up the grid and fight for regular podium finishes in 2020.”

Sykes currently sits eighth in the championship standings as three rounds remain in the current season.

Image: Russell Colvin.

Kawasaki BCperformance’s Bryan Staring always anticipated Winton’s fifth round to be one his most challenging stops of the 2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK), the Western Australian thankful to exit the Victorian venue with minimal damage to his title campaign.

The former champion qualified in P8 before piecing together a 7-4 scorecard for sixth overall, losing just 11 points on leader Mike Jones (DesmoSport Ducati) in the standings, with the advantage now stretched to 19 as the series heads into a pair of strong and favoured circuits of Staring’s.

“This weekend was definitely about damage limitation with two finishes today,” Staring commented. “The first one was seventh, which wasn’t too bad, and race two with fourth position, we couldn’t have hoped to finish that high based on how things were looking beforehand.

“I’m very happy with that and I’m happy to come out of Winton with points on the board and without losing too many points in the championship. I’m very happy to get to the final two circuits of the year, which I’m very much looking forward to.”

The ASBK now heads to Phillip Island for the second time this season on 4-6 October, marking the penultimate stop on the calendar.

Alvaro Bautista admits he ‘didn’t have anything left’ in his slender 0.111s victory over Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) in race two at Portimao’s 10th round of the 2019 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK), which saw the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati rider return to the winners circle for the first time since round seven in July.

The Spaniard, who recorded a 4-2 scorecard in the opening encounter and Superpole race, put on an incredible charge in race two despite still dealing with a shoulder injury, where he managed to fend off four-time champion Rea on the final lap to claim victory.

“It has been a very tough weekend for me, especially physically because my shoulder is still not at 100 percent,” said Bautista. “I felt worse this morning after yesterday’s race so I tried to start well in the Superpole Race. Unfortunately, I lost a lot of positions and used up most of my energy, but I finished second which meant that I could start from the front row in race two.

“In the afternoon I again made a bad start, lifting the front of the bike up and losing some positions but I was still in the leading group so was not too worried. Mid-race I felt my pace was stronger so I decided to go for the lead and push hard until the end.

“I could manage the advantage but in the last two laps I felt every drop of energy leave me, luckily it was the last lap because I didn’t have anything left. It was my first time here in Portimão and I’m happy to get a win again after more than two months.”

The WorldSBK rookie still maintains second in the standings, 91 points behind Rea as the series heads to Magny-Cours in France on 27-29 September.

Image: Foremost Media.

Reigning champion Troy Herfoss believes race two shouldn’t have been called off yesterday afternoon at Winton’s fifth round of the 2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK), the Penrite Honda Racing rider stating the decision to abort the outing that had already been declared wet ‘didn’t make sense’.

Race two was initially reduced to 10 laps after two restarts due incidents at turn two – the first claiming Mark Chiodo (Penrite Honda Racing) in a nasty high-side that also saw Kyle Buckley (Kawasaki BCperformance) crash heavily, while the restart saw Daniel Falzon (Yamaha Racing Team) and Lachlan Epis (Kawasaki) crash separately at the same turn.

Officials declared a wet race upon the second restart, although the field of riders remained on slicks. Worsening conditions just four laps in prompted the encounter to be called off completely, just as Herfoss passed both Mike Jones (DesmoSport Ducati) and Wayne Maxwell (Team Suzuki Ecstar Australia) for the lead.

However, only positions held on the previous lap counted towards the race result with just half points paying, crediting Jones the win over Maxwell and Herfoss, which added to the New South Welshman’s frustration.

“It was a good race day, although obviously starting from 12th it was difficult to move forward,” Herfoss explained. “The first race I had the pace to run with the front guys, but I think third place was our best result anyway. In race two there was a lot of carnage – they declared the race wet and then it rained and they called it off – it didn’t make sense, so I’m pretty disappointed about that.

“I understand the safety side of things because we’re on slick tyres, but when it’s a wet race, you’ve got a choice to run wet tyres or dry tyres, so to me, there was no reason to stop.

“To be fair, the next race was dry anyway. When the red flag came out I was in the lead and my lap-time before that was almost my fastest of the weekend. I hope the guys that crashed are alright, but now we move on to Phillip Island.

Herfoss suffered two major setbacks on Saturday when he crashed heavily in both free practice and qualifying, forcing him to start from P12 on the grid. He put on a heroic performance to earn a pair of thirds for third overall. He’s currently ranked fourth in the championship standings.