Jason O’Halloran’s bid for the 2020 Bennett’s British Superbike Championship ultimately saw him have to give best to fellow Australian Josh Brookes but the McAMS Yamaha rider was able to be proud of his performances having had his best-ever year in the series.

Victory in Saturday’s race at Brands Hatch saw the Wollongong rider close to within seven points of his fellow Antipodean but he was unable to get the better of the Ducati rider whose two wins on Sunday saw him come out on top.

“The weekend couldn’t have started better with me winning and Josh finishing fourth. It was a hard race and I made sure when someone passed me I passed them straight back as I didn’t want anyone to get away at the front,” said O’Halloran.

“The pace started to slow up a bit but I felt really strong especially on the brakes in a couple of places so pushed my way to the front and got my head down. I lost the rear brake towards the end but got the job done.”

With fresh impetus after losing ground at the previous round at Donington Park, O’Halloran looked to be favourite for the race wins on Sunday around the Brands GP circuit but Brookes’ previous strong form at the venue returned and he swept to two majestic wins and with it the title.

O’Halloran took second and third on the day to end the season in second place overall, 21 points adrift but although disappointed he remained philosophical and could rightly look back at the season pleased with his efforts.

“We gave it our all this weekend. Of course, I’m disappointed not to have won the championship especially as we got so close but we need to remember this has been our best ever year in BSB. Eleven podiums, including three wins, in half a season isn’t bad so I’m pretty happy.”

“I did exactly what I needed to do on Saturday but Josh upped the game today and fair play to him, he beat us fair and square. I’ll definitely be back in BSB in 2021 to try again.”