Jason O’Halloran took a strong second place in the opening race at the fourth round of the 2022 Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Knockhill, matching his best-ever result at the scratchy Scottish track.
Having topped Friday’s running, the Australian was feeling confident for Saturday and after a strong final practice, he went on to fight for pole position in Qualifying 2, missing out by just 0.005 seconds to Bradley Ray.
It was a tough morning for reigning champion Tarran Mackenzie, who slipped off at the second turn in the final free practice session. The #1 rider was unhurt, but his R1 sustained significant garage leading to a full team effort to repair it ahead of Qualifying 1. Getting out for the session, Mackenzie was looking strong and had just topped the session when he lost the front at turn one. Again unhurt, the same couldn’t be said for his R1 and this time the damage would prove too much with the team unable to repair it in time for the afternoon’s race meaning the 26-year-old had to watch from the sidelines.
Getting a strong launch from the front row of the grid, O’Halloran slotted into second in the early stages before dropping back to third. He’d then move back to second, but the gap to Ray out front would prove insurmountable in the closing stages. Nevertheless he was happy to come home with his second ever rostrum at Knockhill.
O’Halloran will start tomorrow’s second race from fourth on the grid while Mackenzie will have to start from 30th position after missing Friday’s action.