Triple Threat in Thruxton Heat for McAMS Yamaha
McAMS Yamaha continued their Bennetts British Superbike domination with two further victories at Thruxton on Sunday, extending their unbeaten streak to eight races as Jason O’Halloran and Tarran Mackenzie took another win apiece in two thrilling races.
After their fourth consecutive 1-2 on Saturday, the duo went in to Race 2 as favourites but expected a strong challenge from OMG’s Bradley Ray once again. Series leader O’Halloran took the lead from the start and led for most of the race, until an almighty battle in the closing stages saw the Aussie, Mackenzie and Ray scrapping it out for the honours. It would all come down to the final lap, when the trio entered the Club Chicane three abreast. O’Halloran managed to drag it to the line to take the win from his team-mate by 0.079 seconds with Ray third.
Again starting second (Mackenzie) and third (O’Halloran) for the final race of the weekend, this time it was the reigning champion who took the lead. O’Halloran was initially knocked back to fourth, but fought back to third quickly where he sat comfortably as the leading trio tried to conserve their tyres.
Mackenzie continued to lead the way, but O’Halloran wanted to try and get to the front on Lap 14, first passing Ray with a brave move at Club before repeating it on his team-mate a lap later, but he couldn’t keep hold of the lead. The duo again fought it out, pushing hard in the final stages. A moment for O’Halloran on the final lap saw him just lose touch of Mackenzie and Ray, with Mackenzie securing the win with a stunning move at Church and holding off Ray at the final chicane. O’Halloran crossed the line third.
O’Halloran now leads the championship by 24 points over Bradley Ray with a 13 point lead in the crucial podium points table. The Aussie has also now confirmed his position in the title fighters’ showdown. Mackenzie moves up to seventh, further consolidating his position in the showdown but now sits third in the podium points behind his team-mate and Bradley Ray. McAMS Yamaha now lead the teams championship after six consecutive double rostrums with Yamaha now holding a commanding 160 point lead in the manufacturers table.
Tim Neave rounded out his first weekend back in the National Superstock championship with an eleventh placed finish in the second race.
The championship resumes in two weeks’ time for the ‘Party in the Park’ at Lincolnshire’s Cadwell Park.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Thruxton, Race 2 result:
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha)
- Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) +0.079s
- Bradley Ray (Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha) +0.165s
- Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW) +7.181s
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki) +11.410s
- Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing UK) +11.970s
- Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki) +12.286s
- Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW) +13.872s
- Leon Haslam (VisionTrack Kawasaki) +15.081s
- Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +15.390s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Thruxton, Race 3 result:
- Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha)
- Bradley Ray (Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha) +0.019s
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +0.293s
- Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing UK) +10.573s
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki) +11.846s
- Leon Haslam (VisionTrack Kawasaki) +11.900s
- Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +12.018s
- Andrew Irwin (SYNETIQ BMW) +12.156s
- Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki) +12.232s
- Tom Sykes (MCE Ducati) +16.767s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings after Thruxton:
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 331 – SHOWDOWN CONFIRMED
- Bradley Ray (Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha) 307 – SHOWDOWN CONFIRMED
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki) 219
- Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki) 199
- Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing UK) 192
- Kyle Ryde (Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha) 173
- Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) 170
- Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 158
Credit to McAMS Yamaha