BSB: O’Halloran Becomes Eighth 2020 Winner at Oulton Park

Jason O’Halloran became the eighth different winner of 2020 with a hard-fought victory in the opening race at Oulton Park.

The Yamaha rider set the fastest lap of the race on the final lap to keep Christian Iddon at bay and secure his second-ever BSB win. Danny Buchan rounded out the podium in third.

Glenn Irwin continues to top the championship on 168 point. O’Halloran moved into runner-up spot, 30 points off the lead, with Josh Brookes a further eight points behind in third.

Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing) stole the holeshot from polesitter Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) and led the field into Old Hall. Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing) punched his way up at the order at the lights and swiftly moved into second. The race was meanwhile over for Kyle Ryde (Buildbase Suzuki) before it even started when he went down at Shell Oils and had to pick his Suzuki out of the gravel.

O’Halloran reclaimed second going into Lodge on the opening lap while further behind, Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati) took Lee Jackson (Rapid Fulfillment FS-3 Kawasaki) for seventh. Glenn Irwin led the field over the line for the first time from O’Halloran, Andrew Irwin, Bradley Ray (Synetiq BMW Motorrad), Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati), Danny Buchan (Rapid Fulfillment FS-3 Kawasaki), Brookes and Jackson.

The front trio’s pace suggested that they could break away from the pack, forcing a reaction from Iddon who, unwilling to let the leaders escape, made his way into fourth on the second lap.

O’Halloran took the lead for the first time in the race on Lap 3 and as the Hondas behind him ruffled each other’s feathers, Iddon pounced to move into second. Andrew prevailed in the battle of the Irwin brothers, lining up in third and keen to retaliate on the Ducati.

O’Halloran failed to stretch out an advantage and lost the lead to Iddon at Lodge on Lap 5. The Australian found himself in a duel with Andrew Irwin and the two riders exchanged positions multiple times before the Honda rider managed to establish himself in second through Cascades on Lap 7.

The positions further behind kept swapping and changing with Buchan having made his way into fifth by Lap 9. Ray kept Brookes at bay for sixth while Jackson was still running in eighth.

After having briefly lost out to Glenn Irwin, O’Halloran made his way past the Honda and back into a podium spot on Lap 10, finding himself yet again in a battle with Andrew Irwin. The pair swapped paint with O’Halloran moving into second down Avenue before his rival sat him up at Druids and retaliated down Warwick Bridge. The Yamaha rider lined up another inch-perfect manoeuvre into Lodge on Lap 12 and this time kept Irwin behind him for good.

Iddon and O’Halloran started to stretch out a small gap at the front, leading to Glenn Irwin becoming impatient with his brother. He attempted a move into Lodge on Lap 13 but failed to stop his bike, sitting them both up and leaving the door open for Buchan who swept past into third.

O’Halloran grabbed the lead on the penultimate lap but could not shake off Iddon who pushed hard to hang on to the Yamaha. O’Halloran, however, set the fastest lap on the final lap to secure pole for Race 2 and crucially the race victory by three and a half tenths. Buchan crossed the line with a comfortable lead over the Hondas and rounded out the podium in third.

Andrew Irwin just stole fourth from his brother who had to settle for fifth but still leads the championship by a commanding margin. Jackson finished sixth ahead of Ray and Brookes who lost out in the fight for positions late in the race. Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) had found great rhythm in the late stages and almost caught up with the leading group but eventually came home in ninth while Gino Rea (Buildbase Suzuki) completed the top 10.

Luke Mossey (Rich Energy OMG Racing) took the chequered flag in 11^th from Peter Hickman (Global Robots BMW) and Ryan Vickers (RAF Regulars and Reserves Kawasaki) while Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing) crossed the line in 14^th and Keith Farmer (Buildbase Suzuki) took the last point on offer at his return to action.