After dominating Bennetts British Superbike practice and qualifying, Jason O’Halloran came away from the opening round knowing that he is going to have to match the aggressiveness of some riders from now on.

Pushed off track in the opening race on Saturday, the McAMS Yamaha rider Australian did well to recover from 19th to eighth but despite being on the end of some forceful moves in the two races on Sunday, he was pleased to come away with two podium finishes and fourth place in the early Championship standings.

“I got a pretty average start in Saturday’s race but knew I had good pace after qualifying but unfortunately Danny (Buchan) crashed two bikes in front of me and I had to run off track to avoid his bike. I was right at the back when the same thing happened again, this time with Joe Francis,” said O’Halloran.

“I got through as many guys as I could but it was great to get back on to the podium on Sunday. I got hit by Andrew Irwin at Craner on the first lap of the second race so lost ground and had to come through the field.”

Despite not being able to convert his qualifying pace into race wins, the Australian was satisfied to end the weekend in fourth overall but is more than ready to fight even harder at the next round in two week’s time.

“I’m really pleased with my pace and the bike felt really good – in the last race it was probably better than it had been all weekend. If there’s one thing I’ll take away from this weekend, it’s maybe that I have to get my elbows out a bit more.”