2022 British Superbike Thruxton- Qualifying Results
Jason O’Halloran produced a sub 1m 14s lap to claim pole position at Thruxton, round six of the championship.
As the season hit the halfway point it was O’Halloran who performed best in the heat to put his Yamaha on pole in the sticky, tricky conditions.
The McAMS Yamaha performed well despite the heatwave and allowed a well time run by the Australian to produce a best of 1m 13.942, one of the fastest ever laps of Thruxton and under the official lap record.
The session slowed towards the end with the extreme temperatures putting a stop to the fquick runs from earlier in the session.
With a hat-trick of wins under his belt at Thruxton last season, Jason O’Halloran arrived with great form at the circuit and had continued that promise by topping free practice ahead of qualifying. The ‘O Show’ is also the current championship leader, taking over at the top by ten points after the Brands Hatch races.
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Peter Hickman bucked the trend and put all of his effort into one late run which saw him leap his FHO Racing BMW straight into second with just four minutes of the session remaining at the time.
Ill Irwin impresses with third on the grid
Andrew Irwin battled illness, the track and himself to claim the final front row spot for SYNETIQ BMW Mottorad.
Irwin came through Q1 with the top time. Sitting at the top of the timesheets in the pits the #18 was looking to have setteled for that time as his Q2 progressor, when he had his lap cancelled and needed to return to track. Rattled, Irwin channelled that energy into a 1m14.606s to progress, just under the old lap record.
Continuing that form and pace into the second half of qualifying, Irwin sped his way to the third best time despite having stomach issues causing him to require frequent toilet visits.
His brother Glenn Irwin was close behind on the timesheets in fourth as top Honda.
Bradley Ray was the best of the Rich Energy OMG riders in fifth, only just quicker than reigning champion and fellow Yamaha rider Tarran Mackenzie who set the sixth best lap.
Lee Jackson was consistent and reliable again for Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki in seventh as the manufacturers top qualifier.
Kyle Ryde made up some places just before improvements halted to climb to seventh but was bettered seconds later by Jackson, dropping him to eighth on the second Rich Energy OMG Yamaha.
Luke Mossey, now on the iForce BMW after his shuffle with Tito rabat looked reinvigourated after his move and came through Q1, also briefly held seventh on his way to ninth on the grid.
Danny Kent is now back to full fitness and arrived with good memories of Thruxton, having taken his first BSB podium at the track last season. The former Moto3 champion found enough one lap speed to complete the top ten.
Elsewhere, Rory Skinner (cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki) had his first Moto2 wildcard race last weekend, in a busy August for the Scottish rider. With an impressive 21st place finish at Silverstone under his belt he needed to readjust and used his Q1 spell to get back in the groove on his way to eleventh.
Tommy Bridewell is a true local to the Thruxton track but has always found it to be somewhat of a bogey track for him - today was no different as he finished qualifying 15th for Oxford Products Ducati.
Ahead of him on track are Tom Sykes, who struggled to 13th for MCE Ducati after a much stronger opening day, and Leon Haslam, fresh from a successful Suzuka 8 hours, where he was part of the second placed outfit, in 14th for VisionTrack Suzuki.
BSB Thruxton Lap Record - Josh Brookes - Ducati - 1m 14.655s (2019)
2021 at Thruxton
Qualifying:
1. Jason O’Halloran
2. Glenn Irwin
3. Ryan Vickers
Race One (Sprint): Jason O’Halloran
Race Two: Jason O’Halloran
Race Three: Jason O’Halloran
Round Six Results (Brands Hatch)
Qualifying:
1. Jason O’Halloran
2. Tarran Mackenzie
3. Bradley Ray
Race One (Sprint):Jason O’Halloran
Race Two: Tarran Mackenzie
Race Three: Tarran Mackenzie
Tito Rabat makes British Superbike debut.
Tito Rabat was announced between rounds as TAG Honda’s replacement for Luke Mossey, who moves in turn to iForce Lloyd & Jones BMW to replace Dan Linfoot who did not finish the Brands Hatch weekend after his dearture.
The 2014 Moto2 champion has already cut seconds off his time in the practice sessions as he gets to grips with the competitive BSB championship, new machinery and a new track.
His qualifying debut saw him finish 18th in Q1 for 30th on the grid , 2.679s off the fastes lap in that session after Scott Redding, former British Superbike champion who he knows well from his Moto2 days, showed him around the track on a pushbike and in a car trip.
What else happened in Q1?
Official lap record holder Josh Brookes had looked to make steps forward last round, but was again unable to make it to Q2, a crestfallen Brookes looked unable to find an answer with his team in the pits after only managing the 14th best time in Q1 for 26th on the grid.
Danny Buchan, who slipped out of the showdown places in the last race, also did not progress in 8th in Q1 (20th).
Josh Owens started his race weekend with a bike issue in the first qualifying session and did not set a lap until the closing minutes, where he moved up to 16th, 28th overall.
