BSB Thruxton Race 2 Results | O'Halloran mugs Mackenzie, Ray in a BSB classic

Jason O’Halloran has booked his place in the 2022 BSB Title Showdown after prevailing in an enthralling three-way fight for victory against Tarran Mackenzie and Bradley Ray in second race of the Round 6 weekend at Thruxton.

Doubling up with his second win of the weekend following his success on Saturday, though the entire podium was a mirror of race one, the circumstances of how they got there in the longer 20 lap encounter was entirely different.

Indeed, with no let up in the baking weather conditions and five more laps on the tyres to consider, Race 2 steadily built in momentum before a crescendo of action during the lattermost revolutions, right up to the finish line.

As the form trio of recent rounds, it was no surprise to see O’Halloran - getting the holeshot from third on the grid - stretch his Yamaha counterparts away from the opposition, with the exception of Peter Hickman, who gamely held onto the front pack for a time and even scrambled into third briefly on lap three.

However, the win only ever looked likely to come from one of the top three, with Ray and Mackenzie choosing to sit patiently behind the Australian for the first half of the race.

Mackenzie was the first to shake things up when he swept by Ray on the run to the Club chicane on lap 12, before repeating the move on O’Halloran two laps later.

The Scot’s move for the lead was all the encouragement Ray needed to mount his offensive, squeezing past O’Halloran at Club himself, albeit not before clipping his rival under braking after the McAMS Yamaha’s rear stepped out.

Evidently the latest braker of the three riders into the crucial Club chicane, Ray promptly delivered a similar move on Mackenzie for the lead as they came onto lap 17 of 20, but the extent of the edges he was flirting with was demonstrated on lap 18 when the OMG Yamaha’s rear slid out and flicked him off the seat briefly.

Nevertheless, Ray held onto the lead as attention turned to O’Halloran, whose brief ‘lost touch’ with the leaders was revealed as him simply giving his tyres a breather as he launched a stunning move on Mackenzie for second through the ultra-fast Church right-hander.

It was the boost of confidence O’Halloran needed to repeat the move on Ray on the next lap, but Ray’s speciality onto the brakes into Club would see him grab the position back to lead the McAMS duo coming onto a breathtaking final lap.

Holding station behind Ray for the first part of the lap, O’Halloran once again chose Church as his point of attack, but while it was successful, a scrappy exit would allow Ray back alongside him, just as Mackenzie - benefitting from the ‘double bubble’ slipstream - scythed past both coming into the chicane.

However, a messy entry led to a baulked exit, with O’Halloran using the moment to dip back underneath him on the exit, nosing ahead on the run to the flag to win by just 0.079secs.

Ray, himself only 0.0169s off the win, had to settle for third but can take heart from the fact he will be next to confirm his Showdown place for only the second time in his six-season BSB career.

Having done well to maintain the tempo to the Yamahas ahead for half of the race, Hickman eventually had to settle for a lonely fourth, finishing seven seconds off the front but four seconds clear of the battles behind.

A fight for fifth involving several riders and shifting lap-to-lap, in the end it was Lee Jackson who won out to also put him on the cusp of a maiden Title Showdown spot, ahead of Glenn Irwin in sixth and Rory Skinner in seventh.

A late push from Danny Buchan secured a positive eighth place finish, ahead of Leon Haslam, who couldn’t make the most of a bright start that had him in fifth early on as he laboured to ninth.

Having run on the fringe of the points for much of the race, local man Tommy Bridewell made up late ground to cross the line in tenth, cushioning the blow to his Title Showdown aspirations. He is currently seventh in the standings, 34 points ahead of Hickman in ninth.

Christian Iddon was the top Suzuki rider in 11th, ahead Tom Sykes, who arguably enjoyed his best race since returning to BSB after dicing up in the top five early on before suffering with tyre issues to finish 12th at the flag.

Andrew Irwin recovered from the back to 13th, ahead of Honda’s Ryo Mizuno and MCE Ducati’s Josh Brookes.

2022 BSB | Thruxton | Race 2 Results