KNOCKHILL
7th - 8th July 2018
BSB ROUND 5 – Knockhill
TOUGH WEEKEND NORTH OF THE BORDER FOR HONDA RACING
The fifth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship proved a tough weekend for Honda Racing as Dan Linfoot and Jason O’Halloran struggled to find form at Scotland’s Knockhill racing circuit.
After a close qualifying session yesterday with blistering lap times at the 1.3-mile track, the Honda duo lined up for the opening race of the day with Linfoot ninth and O’Halloran 12th on the grid.
Still carrying an ankle injury, ‘The O’Show’ put in a brave effort aboard the CBR1000RR Fireblade, but struggled across the 30 laps at the physically challenging circuit. The Aussie crossed the line in 16th place narrowly missing out on vital championship points.
Meanwhile, teammate Linfoot was forced to retire early from race one after experiencing an issue back shifting. Running wide and dropping into 14th place in the early stages, he ran wide again at the hairpin on the 22nd lap, and with the issue on-going retired from the race.
For the second race Linfoot lined up without O’Halloran, who sat out of the race to avoid further damage to his ankle. Eventually coming home in 13th, Linfoot had struggled with pace across the 30 laps, a post race analysis showed there was an issue with the front wheel speed sensor.
The Honda Racing team now have two weeks before heading to Brands Hatch for the sixth round of the series (20-22 July), where they hope to return stronger and back in the mix.
It’s been a tough weekend, I came in wanting to leave with a strong points tally, but we’re leaving with three points, which isn’t ideal with the Showdown in mind. I enjoy Knockhill and have enjoyed success here in the past, so to be walking away after a weekend like we’ve had is a little frustrating. We now have to look to Brands Hatch for the next round, I like the GP circuit and I had a podium there last year so looking forward to getting back into the mix.Jason O’HalloranIt was a hard decision to walk away today and miss the second race, but it’s been a tough weekend for me physically. We’ve had good speed through all sessions and I had a good day yesterday, but it took a lot out of me and I’m not over this injury yet. As soon as I am 100% fit again I know I’ll be back at the front, the Fireblade is working so well and the team are doing such a good job, which makes it even more frustrating. But I have to let my body heal and we can’t speed that up, so just need to stay focused and we will be back stronger at Brands.
Knockhill has been a difficult weekend for us really, we arrived here with high expectations and we’re coming away with a low points tally for both riders. It’s disappointing as everyone puts in so much hard work, but sometimes we have these things and we now need to re-evaluate and be stronger for the next round.
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