Editorial Note: American Julian Correa was eighth-fastest during British Talent Cup testing Saturday at Snetterton. Scroll down to see those test time.
O’Halloran 0.568s under the Snetterton lap record to top times from Sykes
Jason O’Halloran set a blistering pace on the second day of Bennetts British Superbike Championship Official Testing at Snetterton this afternoon, lapping 0.568s under the existing circuit record to top the times by 0.068s for the McAMS Yamaha team.
There was a frantic end to the final session of the day as O’Halloran saved his best until last to post his lap-record breaking time with just under three minutes remaining before the chequered flag.
O’Halloran said: “It has been a really productive day for us and it is nice to be at the top of the timesheets. It wasn’t really part of the plan today, we just ended up there which was good. We worked through a lot of changes so thanks to the team as they put in a really big shift today.
“We are just continually working to see where we can take the bike and gain valuable information for the start of the season. There has been a lot of mental energy put into today and we want to keep improving.”
The Australian had snatched the leading position away from rival Josh Brookes who had been the first rider to dip into the 1m:46s barrier in the session earlier in the afternoon. The double champion had been heading the timesheets in the closing action of the day, before a small crash at Murrays in the final minutes, but he was uninjured and returned to the pitlane.
As Brookes returned to the garage, his teammate Tom Sykes proved he was continuing to get to grips with the Ducati on his return to Bennetts BSB. The former World Champion fired himself into second place and just 0.068s adrift of O’Halloran on his final run of the day.
Bradley Ray continued to hold his position in the top five, setting the fourth fastest time for Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha, edging out yesterday’s pace-setter Danny Buchan on the SYNETIQ BMW. The leading five riders setting a pace within the lap record time at the Norfolk circuit.
Rory Skinner was the leading Kawasaki contender in sixth place, as four manufacturers featured in the top six positions after day two on track.
FHO Racing BMW’s Peter Hickman narrowly held off Danny Kent for seventh position, the Buildbase Suzuki rider had a crash at Palmer in the closing stages, but just 0.003s separated the pair at the chequered flag.
Andrew Irwin made it both SYNETIQ BMWs in the leading ten as Tommy Bridewell completed the top ten after day two, with 0.091s covering the top 12 contenders with Kyle Ryde and Christian Iddon.
Former champion Leon Haslam was 15th for the VisionTrack Kawasaki team whilst defending champion Tarran Mackenzie was 16th.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, R&G Official Test, Snetterton, combined day two result:
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 1m:46.575s
- Tom Sykes (MCE Ducati) +0.068s
- Josh Brookes (MCE Ducati) +0.111s
- Bradley Ray (Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha) +0.456s
- Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW) +0.536s
- Rory Skinner (FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) +0.699s
- Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW) +0.739s
- Danny Kent (Buildbase Suzuki) +0.742s
- Andrew Irwin (SYNETIQ BMW) +0.832s
- Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +0.837s
For more information on the Bennetts British Superbike Championship visit www.britishsuperbike.com
