BSB Silverstone GP Round-Up | Honda Engine Room

09/09: HONDA RACING DISPLAY FIGHTING SPIRIT AT SILVERSTONE

The Honda Racing team are taking the positives from the ninth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Silverstone’s National Circuit, where both Jason O’Halloran and Dan Linfoot fought hard all weekend aboard the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade.

Across the two races O’Halloran was in the front group and the first race of the day saw him ninth on grid, but he soon moved up through the pack. During the closing stages he was at the front and in a dramatic end, he crossed the line fourth. However a puncture to his rear tyre caused him to crash just after the finish line.

Unhurt from the fall, ‘The O’Show’ lined up on the front row of the grid for the final race in second place. As the lights went out he was leading, but an incident on track saw the race red flagged and it was restarted over 26 laps. Resuming his grid position he charged off the line and again to the front. Leading the way he gave it his all and although dropping back, he crossed the line fifth, just 1.495s from first place, to enjoy his best set of results since his accident mid-season.

Length : 1.6 miles (2.6km) Pole Position: Left

Length : 1.6 miles (2.6km) Pole Position: Left

Dan Linfoot put in a solid performance across the weekend, consistently improving his times and with good pace he finished the first race 11th. Starting the final race of the day from 15th on the grid, he dug deep and made his way into eighth. However on lap 21 he pulled-up with a technical problem indicating to water temperature, which ended his run.

The Honda Racing team now have a quick turn around, as next weekend (14-16 September) is the tenth round of the series at Oulton Park. Both riders have enjoyed good results at the Cheshire circuit with podiums and a win for Linfoot – so their eyes are firmly looking towards the top.

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It’s been a positive day we’ve had a fourth and fifth, and the second race we were just 1.495s off the winner, we led for a few laps and it was nice to be back running at the front. I also started on the front row, so we have plenty of positives to take from today. It’s been a challenging year so far, but I feel we’ve made a step forward and it’s now time to start challenging for podiums again, where we were before my injury and this weekend has been a good step towards that. We’ve been up front all weekend and the results this round are the best since my injury. We were six points shy of the top six, so considering the races I missed through injury and the struggle we had in the middle part of the season, we’ve done a pretty good job to even be in with a shout of it! Thanks to all the guys for all their hard work and faith, I’m disappointed to have got injured, which derailed our year, but we have three rounds left and still plenty of races to try and grab a win or two! This weekend was a good push towards that and I’m looking forward to Oulton Park.^{#22 Jason O'Halloran}

^{#22 Jason O'Halloran}

It’s been a building weekend for me this round, we knew coming into it I wasn’t going to be up there and fighting for podiums coming back from injury, but I’m pleased with the results and the progress made. The first race today I did expect more after yesterday, but I struggled with grip throughout. We made minimal changes for the final race and the feeling was so different and I was lapping half a second faster. I was feeling strong and having started from 15th I made my way into eighth, and was just a few seconds from the leader, but unfortunately I had to pull over and couldn’t continue the race with a technical issue. However, I am happy enough with the weekend, it has been difficult at times managing my expectations – you want to be up the front and with your teammate who’s doing well and naturally after some time off you’re not. But it’s on to the next one now and last year I won at Oulton Park, so it holds good memories for me and it’s a circuit I enjoy, so we’ll see how we get on.

^{#4 Dan Linfoot}

It’s been a positive weekend and we’re leaving with our heads held high. Both Dan and Jason had a good weekend and we made progress throughout. We knew coming into this that Dan would be building, he’s back from injury and having missed some races, but I’m pleased with how he’s gone and it was just a shame in the final race. But we know and we’ve seen what he’s capable of, and I know it’s just a matter of time before he’s fighting back at the front and on the podium again. Coming here for Jason the Showdown was still possible mathematically and was even the case coming into the final race, if he’d finished first or second with Peter [Hickman] out the points, we’d have been in. But fair play to Jason for his effort and his determination from injury, this is racing and sometimes it doesn’t work out, but with the year he’s had to just be six points away is credible and we can only grow stronger as a team. I’m looking forward to Oulton Park, they both have good track records there and it’s onwards and upwards for Honda Racing.

^{Havier Beltran - Team Manager}

08/09: HONDA RACING DUO FIGHT BACK IN OPENING BRITISH SUPERBIKE RACE

Honda Racing’s Dan Linfoot and Jason O’Halloran gallantly fought back in today’s opening Bennetts British Superbike Championship race, using the power of the CBR1000RR Fireblade over the 30 laps at Silverstone’s 1.64-mile National Circuit.

After vowing not to give up on a place in the Showdown, ‘The O’Show’ has been strong throughout practice and qualifying sessions. Easing his way through each of the qualifying stages, the Aussie started today’s first race of the triple-header weekend, from the third row of the grid in ninth place.

As the lights went out O’Halloran lost ground at the start and dropped back into 11th position. However consistent lap times mixed with good pace, saw ‘The O’Show’ catch the lead group and he crossed the line in sixth place. Making up ground the Aussie finished ahead of his three Showdown contender rivals and bolstered his championship points, where he’s now 30 points behind sixth place.

Dan Linfoot is back with the team for his first race since Brands GP having missed three rounds due to injury. Enjoying being back aboard the CBR, the Yorkshireman has made a strong comeback during Friday and today’s sessions.

Starting race one from 16th place and after contact with another rider at the first corner, he dropped back to 20th place. Working hard lap by lap, he fought back through the pack and took the chequered flag in 12th place.

The Honda Racing squad will now prepare the Fireblades for tomorrow’s remaining two BSB races, where the final two Showdown spots will be decided. Race two gets underway at 13.30 where O’Halloran will start from ninth and Linfoot 12th, with the final race of the day scheduled for 16.30.

Today’s been a pretty good day really the race was good; we’ve got 30 laps under our belt and closed the gap to the Showdown top-six. I lost quite a bit of time at the start and had a bad feeling with grip over the first five-to-ten laps then it started to come back to me at the end. I was 3.5 seconds down at one point but came home 1.6 seconds behind, so we have the pace when I’ve got a good feeling, we’ve just got to improve that pace at the start so I’m not playing catch up. I think we can be very competitive tomorrow if we’re with the front guys at the start and not having to chase them towards the end. I think we’re not far away, we’re just missing something at the first part of the race, but if we can fix that then tomorrow we can be stronger again.

^{- #22 Jason O'Halloran}

I’m not pleased with today but I’m not really down about it either, I’m just relieved to get a race under my belt today as I’ve only finished four all year. That was the first thing to do and I learnt a lot during the race and over-took a few guys, so I got a bit of enjoyment and feeling back. I would like to have started further up in tomorrow’s first race, as I think if I could start in the top six-to-eight I’d stay there and fight with the guys, but I’m staring 12th so it will be difficult again, but hopefully I can make a better lap time and have a better race to push forward for the last outing. All the time my confidence is coming back more; I didn’t expect to return and win or be on the podium straight away - these guys are at a good level and have been riding all year so I had to manage my expectations a little before arriving here. I’m not jumping for joy and I’m not annoyed, I just want more.

^{- #4 Dan Linfoot}

I’m really pleased to have Dan back with the team this weekend; obviously everyone is at the top of their game and Dan’s missed three rounds so of course it’s going to be difficult for him to match their pace. But I’m confident we can make progress tomorrow in the races, and I look forward to trying to achieve getting towards the podium. Today’s race was Jason’s 100th start, so congratulations to him and it was a great race for him. We lost out in the first three-to-four laps and the group got away, he did manage to close the gap down in the end, but it was basically too late in the race to make any big impact on it. But there’s progress there and hopefully we can learn from the data and the feedback, and improve for race two tomorrow.