It was a day of firsts for Honda Racing’s Jason O’Halloran. The Australian had never reached the dizzy heights of the MCE British Superbike podium, but this race weekend at Snetterton made it onto the rostrum, not once, but twice.
He secured his maiden double podium, and the rider couldn’t be happier with his bike and his Honda team. O’Halloran felt he benefitted from the recent test at the Norfolk track where his crew changed the riding position on his CBR1000RR, and now the Wollongong rider is reaping the benefits and is feeling more comfortable onboard his Fireblade.
Now he has had a taste of podium success he wants to continue his good form going into the next round at Knockhill, and beyond. He has picked up his first batch of podium credits and is in Showdown contention after clinching enough points to stay sixth in the overall championship standings.
“I feel really, really pleased as the team put so much effort into this and we had such a good pre-season and we have built up to it over the last three rounds, and we are in a strong place with a good setting,” said O’Halloran, speaking to Bikeportnews.com from the track.
“The double podium feels really, really good and it’s a super tough championship and to stand on that podium with the likes of Shakey and Josh was great and I hope I can continue with that throughout the year.
“At the test we made some big changes with my position on the bike as I didn’t feel comfortable in the first few rounds as I felt a bit too stretched - and the bike was riding me instead of me riding the bike. We made some big changes with the bar position, the seating position and foot pegs.
“I feel more comfortable on the bike and in control and now I can push on and move my body weight a lot more on the bike. I think we can be strong for the rest of the year and we can be in the top group.”
