Mackenzie tips McAMS Yamaha to be back at sharp end

Bennetts British Superbike Championship leader Tarran Mackenzie is confident both he and the McAMS Yamaha team will pose more of a threat to rivals at Donington Park than it did at Oulton Park as he looks to extend his series advantage.

After scoring a win and a second-place finish in round one at Silverstone, Mackenzie endured a tougher second round at Oulton Park, even if the Scot took away positives from marked improvements in the races compared with qualifying.

Joint top of the BSB standings with Tommy Bridewell – but ahead on the ‘countback’ of his Silverstone win – Mackenzie expects the Yamaha R1 will be well suited to the sweeping curves of Donington Park

"Oulton Park was a tough round for us but it came good for me in race two with a fifth place, which doesn’t sound great but I was happy with the progress we’d made. Donington is a track I really like and it should suit the R1 a lot, so I’m really looking forward to going there.

“I definitely want to be back at the front and fighting for wins and podiums again, it’s where we know we are capable of being every weekend and I think the national circuit should suit the Yamaha quite well. I only live about ten minutes from the track so it’s my home round, I’ll have a lot of people looking on so I’m really looking forward to it."

Getting himself on the board at Oulton Park, despite revealing after the weekend he competed with fractured humerus, Jason O’Halloran says he is feeling back to his best again.

“I’m looking forward to Donington. I think the R1 is going to work really well there and I’m really looking forward to riding the bike there.

“I need to forget about Oulton Park, it was a difficult round because of my shoulder. I’ve had a few weeks off and I’m feeling better already. I’ve been through enough injuries now to know what I need to do, where I need to go and who I need to see.

“I’ve got a good team behind me who have helped me out in getting back to where I should be. I want to be fighting for race wins and get my first win of the season and that’s what we’re going to Donington to do so I can’t wait to get started and see how we go."

Unusually for this weekend’s triple-header event, the races will be conducted over the short National configuration of Donington Park.