A colourful 2016 sees different riders taking to the podium each week
Do you know those seasons where there’s an unquestionable championship winner? Where you’re pretty sure you could place a bet three weeks in and come out a winner? Where you could perhaps predict that O’Halloran would win a particular race? That isn’t the flavour of the 2016 MCE Insurance BSB Championship.
The fifth race is done, dusted and a success for the sixth different winner of the season so far. The final podium looks tough to call, and ever more competitive than previous years.
Shane Shakey Byrne is still a hot favourite. He’s proved himself as the top point scorer thus far – sitting a smidge above second placed Haslam – he has 156 points to his 152. This still leaves a gap of 40 between Byrne and third place O’Halloran. Another crash for Byrne, such as Knockhill, would need to be on the cards for a chance of him to fall back down the table.
Practice makes for unpredictable racing
O’Halloran is in his second BSB season and the young rider is getting into the British Superbike racing swing of things. He finished in first for his Honda Racing Team, his first win of the season.
The practice race wasn’t a hint at his victory as O’Halloran began in third. O’Halloran rode top of the Honda pack, followed by his team mate Dan Linfoot sat in fourth. Shakey Byrne and JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider James Ellison took the lead.
Leon Haslam, the championship leader at the time of the race, didn’t look so fresh. He began in – unlucky for some, and him this time – position 13. Though, counting in seconds, he wasn’t even one behind him as he finished 0.9 of one later.
How super was O’Halloran in Race One this weekend?
In race one there was a giant collision early on – see the highlights video for a visual. Richard Cooper, Broc Parkes and James Ellison were all crashed out of the race. A corner later and Byrne wasn’t riding so smoothly either, riding onto the grass and straight into second to last position.
There was another crash less than two laps later due to a technical issue with Glenn Irwin’s bike. This caused Hickman and Laverty to fall, the off ensuring them out of the race.
The race continued and the front lead changed several times between O’Halloran and Ellison. Meanwhile Byrne fuelled himself with his annoyance from the earlier crash to power through.
The race ended as it began, in dramatic fashion. Linfoot and O’Halloran swapped places, forward and back. Once they reached the finish line there was a mere 0.2 seconds between them. O’Halloran just scraped the lead. Byrne’s powering through gained him a position in third. Billy McConell fought for fourth – the best result for the FS-3 Racing Kawasaki team all season.
A few other underdogs claimed their best race with Jake Dixon finishing sixth in his second event. Jakub Smrz came in at eleventh and Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha’s James Rispoli in thirteenth.
Race Two – a boost for Shane Shakey Byrne in the Championship standing
Shakey began with a third place under his belt and one podium for the weekend, starting him with confidence for race two. The top riders weren’t letting him have it easy. O’Halloran, Haslam, Laverty and Linfoot followed close behind. Byrne and Linfoot were head to head, competing for first place. O’Halloran pushed for a second podium finish of the weekend. Jenny Tinmouth halted the race as she crashed out and the red flag was flown.
O’Halloran rode well but his winning luck was short-lived as he came in at a respectable fifth. Ahead of the Honda Racing rider was his team-mate Linfoot in second. Beaten by a hair when top rider Shane Shakey Byrne pushed in. Laverty finished in third and Haslam fourth. This pushed him down the Championship tables to second. Shakey slipped past him to first.
An eventful weekend for an eventful year with six winners out of five races making for an exciting season. Round six takes place on 22/23/24 July and discounted tickets are available here. The riders will take on Thruxton for the first and only time this year.
A special mention and thanks goes to the BSB photography team for the action shots from Snetterton
