BSB: McAMS Yamaha Stole The Show At Thruxton For Round Six Of The Bennetts British Superbikes.
By Dawn Hammersley
The McAMS Duo Dominated The Tarmac At Thruxton, With Bradley Ray Just Missing Out On Getting On The Top Step Of The Podium.
The Bennetts British Superbikes were at the Hampshire circuit of Thruxton for round six of the championship, the British weather was glorious and very hot. McAMS Yamaha’s Jason O’Halloran took pole position for the Ebay Sprint Race.
Race One–Ebay Sprint Race
Honda’s Glenn Irwin got the holeshot into turn one, Jason O’Halloran was eager to take control of the race and was leading by the end of the first lap. FHO Racing’s BMW’s Peter Hickman was in the mix at the sharp end with FS-3 Racing’s Lee Jackson.
Luke Mossey and Chrissy Rousse crashed out of the race at the end of lap one. O’Halloran was setting the pace at the front, Bardley Ray and Tarran Mackenzie were pushing to get past Hickman and Glenn Irwin. Josh Brookes was having a tough time, the former champion was down in 23rd place, team-mate Tom Sykes was in tenth place.
Ray and Mackenzie made their way up the order to challenge O’Halloran for the race win, there was nothing between between the two Yamaha riders of Ray and Mackenzie, O’Halloran maintained his hot controlled pace to take his sixth race win of the season, Tarran just managed to take second place as he got a stronger exit to the finish line than Ray.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Thruxton, eBay Sprint Race result:
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha)
- Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) +0.939s
- Bradley Ray (Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha) +0.942s
- Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing UK) +3.545s
- Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW) +4.081s
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) +6.185s
- Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) +7.203s
- Leon Haslam (VisionTrack Kawasaki) +9.385s
- Tom Sykes (MCE Ducati) +9.616s
- Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +11.438s
Race Two
Jason O’Halloran got the advantage and was leading the pack into turn one, Ray was second with Tarran Mackenzie in third place, Peter Hickman was in fourth place.
With just five laps remaining to the race Mackenzie took the lead at the chicane, Ray and O’Halloran were swapping paint a they were fighting for second position! Ray slipped underneath Mackenzie for the lead with three laps to go, Tarran was pushed back to third place.
O’Halloran crossed the finish line in first place with his team-mate in second, Ray had to settle for third place, Hickman held on to fourth place with Lee Jackson finishing in fifth place.
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
Race Three
Race three got under-way as did the previous two races with the Yamaha’s dominating the race, Mackenzie lead the way from the start line. Kyle Ryde got in the mix and was in third place until O’Halloran passed the Nottinghamshire rider.
FHO Racing’s Peter Hickman had to retire from the race with a mechanical issue as did BMW’s Danny Buchan. Yamaha’s Kyle Ryde Crashed out on lap seven.
With six laps to go O’Halloran took second place from Ray and was on the back wheel of his team-mate. The Australian took the lead with one lap to go, At the approach to Club the Yamaha riders were three-a-breast with Ray getting the better of the McCAMS riders. Tarran wasn’t giving up on the victory and passed Ray, all-three riders were having grip issues with their tyres.
Mackenzie held a tight defensive line into the final corner to take his third victory of the 2022 season, Ray was second with O’Halloran in third place. Both O’Halloran and Ray have now been confirmed for the showdown.
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
Up next for the Bennetts British Superbike Championship is Round Seven at Cadwell Park on 27-29 August.
Featured Images: Olithephoto.