Bennetts British Superbike Championship leader Jason O’Halloran bounced back from what could, potentially, have been a season ending crash at Silverstone on Saturday to take first and second on Sunday to head into the start of the Showdown in two weeks time with a 30-point advantage.

The McAMS Yamaha rider had nowhere to go when teammate Tarran Mackenzie dramatically crashed in front of him and the Australian was left crawling off the track with riders skirting by.

Battered and bruised, he was able to take to the track on Sunday and although he sat in sixth for the early stages of the first race, he gradually worked his way forward to take a close second to Mackenzie.

“It was a difficult start to the race and I didn’t feel that comfortable on the bike,” he said afterwards. “I couldn’t move around the bike properly but I figured it out bit by bit and changed my style and position a little and gradually got into my rhythm.

“I knew it was a long race so I just hung in there and knew I had to attack in the closing laps. It was a frantic last lap to try and get into the top three and get some podium points so to finish second was brilliant.”

The final race of the weekend was a relative sprint over 15 laps but on this occasion, he slipped no lower than fourth and hit the front for the first time on lap nine. Mackenzie made life difficult in the closing laps but he duly took the chequered flag for his 11th win of the season.

“The bike felt a lot better in the restart and I was determined to get to the front. It wasn’t easy but I was determined to get to the front and I wanted to win so bad.

“Saturday was a disaster and the team was on a real downer so to bounce back on Sunday with a 1-2 in each race is brilliant. It also meant I ended the weekend with the same championship lead that I had when we came so all things considered, it’s a good result. To lose our advantage would have been a shame so a big thanks to the medical team and I can’t wait now to get stuck into the Showdown.”