British Superbikes: Top six for O'Halloran at Oulton Park, but woe for Kiyo

Market Rasen-based rider Jason O'Halloran powered the Honda Racing Superbike to fourth and sixth places in tricky weather conditions in round two of the MCE British Superbike championship on Monday.
Jason O'Halloran lies in fifth place overall after Oulton Park EMN-160305-081938002Jason O'Halloran lies in fifth place overall after Oulton Park EMN-160305-081938002
Jason O'Halloran lies in fifth place overall after Oulton Park EMN-160305-081938002

But fellow Rasen rider Ryuichi Kiyonari was not so lucky at Oulton Park as he was forced to retire from both races with a technical problem.

O’Halloran rode well during the three-stage qualifying session to qualify in third place for a front row start to race one at the Cheshire circuit.

He took up second place for the first six of 18 laps before dropping to fourth when Dan Linfoot and Leon Haslam went past.

Ryuichi Kiyonari had a miserable weekend at Oulton Park EMN-160305-081949002Ryuichi Kiyonari had a miserable weekend at Oulton Park EMN-160305-081949002
Ryuichi Kiyonari had a miserable weekend at Oulton Park EMN-160305-081949002

Two laps later he lost out to Chris Iddon to settle into fifth place, but Linfoot made a mistake and crashed three laps from the chequered flag which promoted the Australian rider back up to fourth where he remained to the flag.

Race two was declared wet after the track got yet another soaking from a heavy shower.

But with the sun back out and a strong wind, the Tarmac was drying quickly and tyre choice was the determining factor for the win.

O’Halloran was eighth on lap one and by lap seven had made his way through to fourth, but once his tyres started to show signs of wear he began to drop down the field to ninth.

Ryuichi Kiyonari had a miserable weekend at Oulton Park EMN-160305-081949002Ryuichi Kiyonari had a miserable weekend at Oulton Park EMN-160305-081949002
Ryuichi Kiyonari had a miserable weekend at Oulton Park EMN-160305-081949002

He gained a place after overtaking Jack Kennedy and held station to cross the finish line in eighth place.

O’Halloran now lies fifth in the overall rider standings on 44 points and will be hoping for better weather conditions for round three which takes place at Brands Hatch on May 22.

Kiyo, meanwhile, encountered a few problems with set-up during qualifying and began the first race from row four.

But after just four laps he returned to the pits with a technical problem to retire.

The second race went no better for the Japanese rider who stopped on the warm-up lap with a problem and wheeled the bike off the track to retire before the race began.

The next round takes place at Brands Hatch on May 22.