Monteblanco BSB Testing Results: Jason O’Halloran denies Ryan Vickers
Jason O'Halloran pips Ryan Vickers to the quickest time on the first day of pre-season British Superbike Championship testing in Spain
The British Superbike Championship fired into life for the first time in 2020 as the first of three days warm weather testing in Monteblanco, Spain kicked off with Jason O’Halloran atop the timesheets.
Riding the new generation Yamaha R1, McAMS’ O’Halloran hit the front in the closing stages of the day with a 1m 38.092secs lap, which unseated long-time front-runner Ryan Vickers on the RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki.
Indeed, the youngster, who confirmed his place on the 2020 BSB grid earlier this week looked set to draw first blood before he was usurped by the Australian, though he still had the measure of Josh Brookes and Christian Iddon on their respective VisionTrack Ducatis.
Danny Buchan completed the top five on the Massingberd-Mundy Kawasaki, ahead of the impressive Joe Francis, who crept up the order on the Lloyd & Jones PR BMW to out-perform his S1000RR counterparts of Rich Energy OMG duo Hector Barbera and Luke Mossey in seventh and eighth.
Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Ducati) and Dan Linfoot (Santander Salt TAG Yamaha) rounded out the top ten, ahead of McAMS Yamaha’s Tarran Mackenzie and Smiths BMW’s Peter Hickman.
The Spanish test is a chance for several teams to get some warm weather testing in the bag before April's season opener. However, the likes of Honda Racing, Buildbase Suzuki and TAS Racing have declined the invite and as such will make their first appearance at the official pre-season test at Silverstone ahead of the curtain raiser.
Monteblanco BSB Testing Results – Day 1/3
| BSB Pre-Season Testing - Monteblanco, Spain [Day 1/3] | |||||
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Bike | Time |
| 1 | Jason O'Halloran | AUS | McAMS Yamaha | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 1m 38.092 |
| 2 | Ryan Vickers | GBR | RAF Regular & Reserves | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1m 38.275 |
| 3 | Josh Brookes | AUS | VisionTrack Ducati | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 1m 38.285 |
| 4 | Christian Iddon | GBR | VisionTrack Ducati | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 1m 38.490 |
| 5 | Danny Buchan | GBR | Massingberd-Mundy Kawasaki | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1m 38.551 |
| 6 | Joe Francis | GBR | Lloyds & Jones PR Racing | BMW S1000RR | 1m 38.757 |
| 7 | Hector Barbera | ESP | Rich Energy OMG Racing | BMW S1000RR | 1m 38.792 |
| 8 | Luke Mossey | GBR | Rich Energy OMG Racing | BMW S1000RR | 1m 38.891 |
| 9 | Tommy Bridewell | GBR | Oxford Racing Products | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 1m 38.992 |
| 10 | Dan Linfoot | GBR | Santander Salt TAG Racing | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 1m 39.246 |
| 11 | Peter Hickman | GBR | Smiths Racing | BMW S1000RR | 1m 39.348 |
| 12 | Tarran Mackenzie | GBR | McAMS Yamaha | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 1m 39.834 |
| 13 | Jack Kennedy | IRL | Santander Salt TAG Racing | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 1m 39.859 |
| 14 | Alex Olsen | GBR | Smiths Racing | BMW S1000RR | 1m 39.996 |
| 15 | Lee Jackson | GBR | Massingberd-Mundy Kawasaki | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1m 40.286 |
| 16 | Dean Harrison | GBR | Silicone Engineering | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1m 40.749 |
| 17 | Storm Stacey | GBR | GR Motorsport | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1m 41.096 |
| 18 | Josh Owens | GBR | CDH Racing | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1m 41.319 |
| 19 | Graeme Irwin | GBR | Team 64 Mototsport | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1m 41.530 |
| 20 | Matt Truelove | GBR | Truelove Brothers Racing | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 1m 43.138 |
