At last, we can go racing with our beloved premier domestic championships, the Bennetts British Superbikes series, overseen by Jonathan Palmer’s Motorsport Vision organisation.
At Bike Directory we are here to connect the dots so have decided we will use a holistic approach to our coverage of the series, so although we will concentrate on the premier class, we will also slot in some bits and pieces from the support series and anything else we think will be of interest.
The weekend saw 4,000 spectators allowed into Oulton Park, so right there is the elephant in the room. In a few weeks, the British Formula One Grand Prix will allow 140,000 spectators into Silverstone, and although we wish those in the Formula One world the best (let’s hope they get to see some overtaking!), those statistics are incongruous, considering Oulton is a sprawling 200-acre site.
Looking at one aspect of the support series we have to highlight the fantastic achievement of thirteen-year-old Casey O’Gorman in the Honda British Talent cup, who won both races at the weekend, with his Microlise Cresswell Racing team and mentor Shane “Shakey” Byrne, six times BSB champion. Casey said that in race one Shane had told him to “stay calm and it will come to you”, solid advice, just the kind of magic dust a young rider needs.
Another piece of interest is the advent of FHO Racing, the team headed up by Faye Ho, who has taken over the Smiths BSB team, with riders Peter Hickman and Xavi Fores. You will see that Hickman did well, Fores sadly side-lined by a scaphoid injury after a pre-race spill. Perhaps we should not have to mention it, but it is significant that FHO is the only current female owned team in the series (Rebecca Smith used to run Smiths BSB), it’s an interesting story so check them out on fhoracing.com.
Those of you who have been with us for a while will know that we have been following the great talent that is Rory Skinner since his British Talent Cup Championship win in 2018, and through his privateer year in 2019 with support from Chris Walker. Last year Rory won the British Supersport Championship on his Appleyard/Macadam Yamaha, and this year has hit the ground running in the premier class aboard his FS-3 Racing Kawasaki.
It’s a “watch this space” moment as we follow Rory once again.
Race 1 – Saturday
Despite the lack of spectators, it was a great atmosphere under the sun at Oulton Park for race one, as the riders lined up on the grid. Christian Iddon shot away at the start with Jason O’Halloran on his tail, Tommy Bridewell third and Tarran Mackenzie fourth. It was not until lap 8 of 14 that Jason O’Halloran decided to make the race his own as he slid past Iddon with Tommy Bridewell in a solid third, Peter Hickman fourth and Tarran Mackenzie fourth.
Iddon fought back a couple of times, but over the line, it was the win for Jason O’Halloran McAMS Yamaha, P2 Christian Iddon, Vision Racing Ducati, P3 Tommy Bridewell, Oxford Products Racing Ducati, P4 Peter Hickman FHO Racing BMW and P5 Tarran Mackenzie, McAMS Yamaha. So Jason did the business as predicted by one of our staffers in a pre-race piece. Rory Skinner, FS-3 Racing Kawasaki P13.
Race 2: Sunday.
It was a blistering start by Jason O’Halloran from pole with this time Christian Iddon P2, Peter Hickman P3 and Tarran Mackenzie P4. Soon though it was Iddon in the lead with Hickman P2 in front of O’Halloran in P3.
Iddon led most of the race, with O’Halloran so so close, then on the final lap, Jason tucked his bike under Christian at the very last moment and took a well-timed and impressive win.
Results: Jason O’Halloran McAMS Yamaha, the win, P2 Christian Iddon Vision Racing Ducati, P3 Peter Hickman, FHO Racing BMW, P4 Danny Buchan SYNETIQ BMW Motorrad, P5 Bradley Ray, Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW and P6 Tarran Mackenzie McAMS Yamaha. Rory Skinner P12.
Race 3: Sunday
Results: The win to Jason O’Halloran, McAMS Yamaha, P2 Christian Iddon, Vision Track Ducati, P3 Tommy Bridewell, Oxford Products Racing Ducati, P4 Tarran Mackenzie, McAMS Yamaha and P5 Peter Hickman FHO Racing Ducati, P6 Josh Brookes, Vision Track Ducati. Rory Skinner P13.
It was a clean sweep for Jason O’Halloran and the McAMS Yamaha team with solid results for his teammate Tarran Mackenzie. It is going to be a rollercoaster season with races nearly every fortnight, so let’s hang on tight and see you at the races, hopefully, more real than virtual soon!
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Author: Martin Northern
Founder of Bike Directory
