Redding noses ahead of O’Halloran as Bennetts BSB heads to Portimao

The Bennetts British Superbike Championship official test at Monteblanco was a Ducati versus Yamaha standoff at the top of the times after the third and final day on track as former MotoGP contender Scott Redding nosed ahead of Jason O’Halloran by 0.193s to hold the final advantage.

The pair had been holding the leading positions on the final day and both riders continued to make improvements towards the end of the day, with O’Halloran closing in on Redding before the Be Wiser Ducati rider made another gain in his time to keep the McAMS Yamaha rider at bay.

Tarran Mackenzie on the second of the McAMS Yamahas overcame his huge high-side crash from yesterday to hold third place; he returned to the track today and improved his pace on the final day as he worked on further improvements with the team.

Glenn Irwin and the Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki continued to work through various winter improvements and he held fourth place on the timesheets, whilst team-mate Ben Currie suffered a heavy crash in the morning so he sat out the remainder of the day.

Xavi Forés continued to impress with Honda Racing as he held fifth and admitted he was impressed with the pace despite missing the chance to have another attack at flying lap in the closing stages of the final day.

Bradley Ray and the Buildbase Suzuki team had worked on further improvements on the areas they struggled with last season, which put him ahead of Honda Racing’s Andrew Irwin who continued to build momentum on his second visit to Monteblanco.

Josh Brookes was eighth fastest on the timesheets, the former champion struggled in the afternoon with sickness which hampered his progress on the final day, but the Australian is confident of the Be Wiser Ducati’s potential.

Luke Mossey maintained his position inside the top ten on his official test debut for OMG Racing Suzuki, holding off hard-charging rookie Ryan Vickers who impressed with a top ten finish on his debut with the RAF Regular and Reserve Kawasaki team.

Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Monteblanco official test combined result:

1. Scott Redding (Be Wiser Ducati) 1m:36.291s

2. Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +0.193s

3. Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) +0.613s

4. Glenn Irwin (Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +0.714s

5. Xavi Forés (Honda Racing) +0.792s

6. Bradley Ray (Buildbase Suzuki) +0.898s

7. Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing) +1.081s

8. Josh Brookes (Be Wiser Ducati) +1.134s

9. Luke Mossey (OMG Racing Suzuki) +1.177s

10. Ryan Vickers (RAF Regular and Reserve Kawasaki) +1.207s

For more information on the Bennetts British Superbike Championship visit www.britishsuperbike.com