STRONG START TO THE 2016 SEASON FOR HONDA RACING

Today saw Honda Racing get off to a strong start in the 2016 MCE British Superbike Championship at Silverstone, with both Dan Linfoot and Jason O’Halloran finishing in the top ten in both races.

Changeable conditions and cold temperatures at the Northamptonshire circuit, one of the quickest on the calendar, tested all-three Honda riders but all rose to the challenge and come away with strong results.

O’Halloran, who made his race return after injury last year, had a strong first race running just outside of the podium places for the vast majority of the laps, before taking the chequered flag in sixth. Another good start saw the O’Show running in fourth at the end of the first lap, before finding himself caught up in the chasing pack. An impressive ride saw the Australian make his way through the field to cross the line fourth aboard the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade.

Team-mate Linfoot also started the day well as he quickly worked his way up to fourth at the end of the first lap, before moving into second on the next lap. Running in second for most of the race, Linfoot lost time towards the end, crossing the line fifth but taking pole position for race two. The Yorkshireman was running strong in third place at the beginning of the race, but was unfortunate to lose time and eventually finished ninth.

Meanwhile, Jenny Tinmouth racked up her first personal best lap of the year in race one with a time that was 1.6s faster than her time at the circuit last year. Tinmouth’s lap times were increasingly quicker throughout the race and she crossed the line 20th. Another strong showing in the second race saw Tinmouth gain confidence in the tricky conditions and take the chequered flag 23rd.

The second round of the MCE British Superbike Championship will take place at Oulton Park (1-2 May).

“To come away from the opening round with Jason to have a sixth and fourth, it’s a solid start. It’s his first time back on the bike racing and for sure we can build on this, we have the potential for a lot more to come. I’m really pleased for Jason for the amount of work he’s put in and the team. I’m confident that we can be at the sharp end with Dan. We’ve got a few areas that we need to work on but it has been a tough weekend with mixed conditions; we’ve had slicks, inters, wets, everything. Jenny has done a great job with massive improvement in race one over last year and previously at Silverstone. Now we’re looking forward to working, developing and progressing in the way that we need to.”
Havier Beltran – Honda Racing team manager

“The weekend has been difficult with the weather; with me being away for so long coming back to those conditions is difficult. Race one today was difficult, we went with the softer option tyre and I thought we would be able to get away from the guys on the harder tyre but unfortunately that didn’t happen. We went with the harder tyre for the second race and I’m really pleased with the result. We ended up one second off first position, at one stage I was three seconds back from the leaders and I pulled it back to a second. The last quarter of that race we were really strong, really good pace and felt great on the bike.”
Jason O’Halloran / #22

“The whole weekend has been tricky with the weather and it’s been quite cold today but it’s gone really well. I had a PB in both races and getting faster all the time. I’m 1.6 seconds faster than here last year so I’m really happy with that. I still feel really confident with the bike and feel like I can push on even more now. It’s good to get the first two races of the season done and I’m looking forward to testing and the race at Oulton Park.”
Jenny Tinmouth / #20

“Race one I went with the soft tyre and race two I went to the hard tyre. It’s the first time I’ve raced on it in a long time so I had to get used to it again. After the first few laps I lost some of the initial grip but towards the end I got back into my pace again. It was a difficult weekend with the temperatures and weather, but I’m content enough to come away with some points. Now we go away for some more testing and then it’s the second round at Oulton Park where to look to be stronger.”
Dan Linfoot / #4

Race one (14 laps)

Race two (14 laps)

Standings