O'Halloran misses out on showdown spot

Starting the first race on Saturday from the third row, he rode to a strong sixth place to pick up 10 championship points, which brought him closer to a position in the top six.

But it was all dependent on what other riders scored as to whether he could make it into the showdown.

He only had an outside chance of making it through but gave it his best shot.

For the start of race two on Sunday he was once again placed on the third row and was running well in sixth place when, on the final lap, two riders ahead crashed and he was gifted fourth place, which he held to the flag.

Peter Hickman, who was holding sixth place in the standings, retired from the race which benefited O’Halloran as the 13 points he won moved him nearer to his goal.

But he would have to win the final race and Hickman again not score points to overtake him.

Starting the final race from a front-row grid position, O’Halloran held the lead for the first few laps but dropped back as the pace quickened and finally crossed the finish line in fifth place.

Although Hickman failed to score, the 11 points gained for fifth place was not enough to move the Honda Racing rider up into a showdown position and he missed out by just six points.

It is a quick turnaround for O’Halloran as the next round is at Oulton Park at the weekend (September 14-16) where he will be now going for race wins in the final three rounds to end his season on a high note.

Timetable: British Superbike championship: Friday - free practice one 10.15am, free practice two 3.05pm; Saturday - free practice three 10.45am, qualifying 4pm; Sunday - warm-up noon, race one (18 laps) 1.35pm, race two (18 laps) 4.35pm.