ROUND 2 of the 2021 BSB season at Knockhill set off on the right foot for Christian Iddon & VisionTrack Ducati, who finished Race 1 with their first win of the 2021 season.
A pole-setting qualification lap was not quite enough for Jason O’Halloran to capitalise on for McAMS Yamaha at the 'mini Nurburgring', but the Aussie was able to put in a top race to keep a hold of his 10 point lead on the 2021 table.
For SYNETIQ BMW, Danny Buchan completed the podium after finishing in 3rd in qualification, and will no doubt take confidence from a cracking ride that saw him leading the pack at points, and also secured the fastest lap of the race - securing pole position for Race 2.
Quick Knockhill Round 2 Race 1 recap
Leading for the first few laps after a good start, O’Halloran dropped off whilst Iddon and Buchan battled for the lead - that is until Buchan went wide on Taylor's hairpin and dropped a few positions mid-race, with Iddon and O’Halloran resuming their fight for the lead for the remainder of the race.
Hickman snuck up to a podium spot for a brief time, before heartbreak struck and he dropped out on the last lap with an apparent mechanical issue - seemed like a possible gearing problem as he was stopped by the side of the track trying to get it in gear by hand.
Brad Ray and Rory Skinner made good progress throughout, setting some of the fastest laps of the race and finishing 4th and 5th respectively - Skinner, in particular, doing well to finish 5th from 8th on the grid.
Midfield battle for a handful of points with about a second separating a pack of 5 riders was of note, and kept things spicy until the end.
Meanwhile at the front of the pack, right until the last lap O’Halloran was pushing hard to catch a rampaging Iddon, with Buchan breathing down his neck for a last-minute 2nd place spot. In the end, Iddon was able to hang on for his first race win of this season, with O’Halloran having just enough in the tank to keep a second place from Buchan in an almost photo-finish.
O’Halloran said “I’ve been trying to get a podium here for ten years so I’m happy with that”.
Superb race all round. Race 2 is tomorrow, free to watch on Quest TV too - bonus!
BSB Knockhill Round 2 Race 1 Results
Top three:
- Christian Iddon 15:59.903
- Jason O’Halloran +0.348
- Danny Buchan +0.445
Full race results available on Crash.net.
O’Halloran holds a 10 point lead on the rider standings with 95 points, Christian Iddon in second with 85 points, and Tarran Mackenzie in third with 44 points.
