Cycle News Staff | June 29, 2021
Jason O’Halloran secured the win in all three races in the opening round of the 2021 Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park.
Photos Courtesy of BSB / MotorSport Vision Racing
In the second race, O’Halloran took the lead on the opening lap after getting a flying start from the pole position, but Christian Iddon quickly made a move to hit the front of the pack. Iddon held the front position until the very last corner when O’Halloran outbrake his rival and keep his McAMS Yamaha ahead on the drag race to the checkered flag.
In the third race, O’Halloran, again, waited for a last-lap attack on Christian Iddon to pull a hat-trick at Oulton Park.
Tarran Mackenzie had fired himself into fifth place ahead of Kyle Ryde, Ryan Vickers and Lee Jackson with defending champion Josh Brookes in eighth place.
O’Halloran was shadowing Iddon throughout the race and on more than one occasion looked to find a way ahead, but the VisionTrack Ducati rider was holding him at bay.
As the leading pair renewed their rivalry from the earlier race, the positions behind were constantly changing as Hickman came under fire from Mackenzie, who made a move on the tenth lap to put himself in podium contention.
While the scrap for fourth continued, Tommy Bridewell was carving his way through from his 12th position start and he was soon piling the pressure on the riders ahead of him.
By lap 11, Bridewell was into fifth before he made a move on Hickman, who was beginning to suffer from arm pump, and then he was targeting Mackenzie.
Bridewell made his move on the McAMS Yamaha rider on lap 16 with a decisive move on the brakes as he bid to close the leading pair.
The victory would once again come down to a final lap decider as O’Halloran made a brave overtake on the run down Lakeside to lead into Shell Oils corner.
Iddon tried to retaliate but had to settle for second and consecutive run of podium finishes to lead the charge for VisionTrack Ducati.
Bridewell defended hard at Lodge on the final lap to hold off Mackenzie for third with Hickman completing the top five for FHO Racing BMW.
Brookes held sixth after a race-long battle with Jackson and Danny Buchan, as the trio got the better of Vickers. Honda Racing’s Glenn Irwin completed the top 10.
Supersport
In Supersport race one, Jack Kennedy made a perfect return to the Quattro British Supersport Championship, taking victory in the opening race at Oulton Park. It was Appleyard Macadam’s Bradley Perie who grabbed the holeshot, leading Kennedy and Ben Currie, with the trio separated by just a tenth of a second.
Lee Johnston was running fourth, but a string of fast laps saw him able to close up on Currie, while Perie and Kennedy were able to stretch their lead at the front.
Coming down to the second to last lap, Kennedy found a way past Perie on lap ten, fending off the fast charging Yamaha rider to take the win. Currie was able to find a way back past Johnston on the final lap to claim the final rostrum position.
Mason Law was the first of the GP2 machines home, fifth overall, ahead of Nesbitt, McGreevy, Truelove, Scott and Perrin.
In Supersport final race, Bradley Perie led into the first corner, with Korie McGreevy running second and Jack Kennedy third. Continuing to trade places throughout the opening laps, it allowed Lee Johnston in fourth to close up and join the leading pack.
Disaster would strike McGreevy on lap eight when he crashed out of third place. As they did in yesterday’s race, Kennedy and Perie were able to extend their lead out ahead of Johnston in third, who came under pressure from Ben Currie in the closing stages.
Unable to break away at the font, Kennedy and Perie were split by less than a tenth of a second. Coming down to the final lap, Perie was able to take the lead at the final corner to claim his maiden Quattro Group British Supersport win. Johnston was able to find a way back past Currie for third
- Jack Kennedy (HEL Performance/Bournemouth Kawasaki) 45
- Bradley Perie (Appleyard Macadam Yamaha) 45
- Ben Currie (Gearlink Kawasaki) 29
- Lee Johnston (Ashcourt Racing Yamaha) 29
- Harry Truelove (Truelove Brothers Racing Yamaha) 21
- Kyle Smith (Dynavolt Triumph) 15
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 75
- Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) 60
- Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW) 40
- Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) 34
- Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 32
- Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW) 25
- Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati) 25
- Lee Jackson (FS-3 Kawasaki) 25