Honda Racing UK – Assen race report - Superbike
Honda Racing UK superbike rider, Ryan Vickers battled through a challenging start to the weekend to secure three fourth-place finishes at the opening Showdown round of the 2026 ZYN British Superbike Championship at the TT Circuit Assen.
Round nine of the championship proved to be a demanding one from the outset for Honda Racing UK, with changeable weather playing its part across the weekend and both Ryan Vickers and Jason O’Halloran having to contend with constantly evolving track conditions.
For Vickers, the challenge began on Friday when a technical issue interrupted his opening day programme before a small crash further reduced his available track time. With just 12 laps completed across the opening day, the #7 rider headed into Saturday with significantly less running than planned.
With conditions continuing to prove difficult to judge – a wet circuit was at times accompanied by clear skies overhead – the team worked well and it was Jason O’Halloran that shone in pre qualifying with an excellent performance. Finishing the session in second place, Jason gave a clear indication that his pace on the Fireblade continues to improve.
Qualifying provided the first indication of the progress made as Vickers put his Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP second on the grid with a 1:44.034, just 0.129 seconds away from Leon Haslam’s pole position. O’Halloran’s 01:46.112 placed him in sixth position.
In the opening 17-lap race, Vickers immediately put himself into the leading battle and maintained his challenge throughout. After starting from the front row, he crossed the line fourth, just 3.747 seconds behind race winner Scott Redding.
Sunday brought more unpredictable weather and another test for riders and teams.
Race two began in dry conditions before rain started to fall around the TT Circuit Assen, creating the unusual sight of sunshine and blue sky in parts of the circuit while other sections of the track were wet. With grip levels changing from corner to corner, Vickers kept his composure as conditions deteriorated before the race was red flagged. The result was declared after seven laps, with the Honda Racing UK rider taking another fourth place, only 2.464 seconds from victory.
Jason O’Halloran continued to make progress aboard the second factory Fireblade, finishing seventh to put both Honda Racing UK machines comfortably inside the top ten.
The final race of the weekend provided another opportunity for Vickers to challenge the championship's leading contenders. Starting third, he remained part of the leading group throughout the 17-lap race, battling with Kyle Ryde, Bradley Ray and Scott Redding at the front. On lap three, Vickers produced a 1:35.750 aboard the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP – the fastest lap of the race and the race lap record at the TT Circuit Assen.
The performance underlined the outright pace of Vickers and the Fireblade after the difficult start to the weekend and continued the momentum built by Honda Racing UK during the second half of the season. Vickers arrived at Assen following back-to-back double victories at Thruxton and Cadwell Park. Ryan eventually took the chequered flag in fourth position, 3.231 seconds behind winner Ryde, completing a remarkably consistent 4-4-4 scorecard from a weekend which had begun with just 12 laps of running on Friday.
Jason O’Halloran completed Honda Racing UK’s weekend with ninth in the final race. The Australian recorded finishes of tenth, seventh and ninth across the three races, adding another consistent haul of championship points.
Vickers leaves Assen fifth in the championship standings with 289 points, five points behind fourth-placed rider Leon Haslam, as the title fight now moves on to Donington Park.
Round nine of the championship proved to be a demanding one from the outset for Honda Racing UK, with changeable weather playing its part across the weekend and both Ryan Vickers and Jason O’Halloran having to contend with constantly evolving track conditions.
For Vickers, the challenge began on Friday when a technical issue interrupted his opening day programme before a small crash further reduced his available track time. With just 12 laps completed across the opening day, the #7 rider headed into Saturday with significantly less running than planned.
With conditions continuing to prove difficult to judge – a wet circuit was at times accompanied by clear skies overhead – the team worked well and it was Jason O’Halloran that shone in pre qualifying with an excellent performance. Finishing the session in second place, Jason gave a clear indication that his pace on the Fireblade continues to improve.
Qualifying provided the first indication of the progress made as Vickers put his Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP second on the grid with a 1:44.034, just 0.129 seconds away from Leon Haslam’s pole position. O’Halloran’s 01:46.112 placed him in sixth position.
In the opening 17-lap race, Vickers immediately put himself into the leading battle and maintained his challenge throughout. After starting from the front row, he crossed the line fourth, just 3.747 seconds behind race winner Scott Redding.
Sunday brought more unpredictable weather and another test for riders and teams.
Race two began in dry conditions before rain started to fall around the TT Circuit Assen, creating the unusual sight of sunshine and blue sky in parts of the circuit while other sections of the track were wet. With grip levels changing from corner to corner, Vickers kept his composure as conditions deteriorated before the race was red flagged. The result was declared after seven laps, with the Honda Racing UK rider taking another fourth place, only 2.464 seconds from victory.
Jason O’Halloran continued to make progress aboard the second factory Fireblade, finishing seventh to put both Honda Racing UK machines comfortably inside the top ten.
The final race of the weekend provided another opportunity for Vickers to challenge the championship's leading contenders. Starting third, he remained part of the leading group throughout the 17-lap race, battling with Kyle Ryde, Bradley Ray and Scott Redding at the front. On lap three, Vickers produced a 1:35.750 aboard the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP – the fastest lap of the race and the race lap record at the TT Circuit Assen.
The performance underlined the outright pace of Vickers and the Fireblade after the difficult start to the weekend and continued the momentum built by Honda Racing UK during the second half of the season. Vickers arrived at Assen following back-to-back double victories at Thruxton and Cadwell Park. Ryan eventually took the chequered flag in fourth position, 3.231 seconds behind winner Ryde, completing a remarkably consistent 4-4-4 scorecard from a weekend which had begun with just 12 laps of running on Friday.
Jason O’Halloran completed Honda Racing UK’s weekend with ninth in the final race. The Australian recorded finishes of tenth, seventh and ninth across the three races, adding another consistent haul of championship points.
Vickers leaves Assen fifth in the championship standings with 289 points, five points behind fourth-placed rider Leon Haslam, as the title fight now moves on to Donington Park.
Ryan Vickers
Considering how the weekend started, I think we can be really pleased with what we managed to achieve. Friday was difficult with the technical problem and then the small crash, so I only completed 12 laps and we were playing catch-up from there.The team did a brilliant job. To go from the problems on Friday to qualifying on the front row and then finish fourth in all three races shows how hard everyone worked.We made a big gamble for the final race of the meeting, changing a few parts and pushing in a new direction. It paid off and I was able to set a race lap record. We were also able to comfortably run in the lead group and it was only in the very final stages of the race that the grip dropped away. We've scored good points in a difficult weekend and now we'll focus on Donington and keep pushing. I’m grateful to all of my sponsors and to the team for working non-stop to give me the best package possible.
#22 Jason O'Halloran
The improvements with the bike continued as they have done for the last few rounds and it was good to see the fruits of this work with second place in the pre-qualifying session. It does more than just show we have pace, it helps build confidence around the performance for me and for the team. It felt good to see P2 next to my name for sure. My race results showed good speed across the weekend, but it was at its best on new rubber. Drive grip was the challenge but the results were solid in race one and two in particular. Towards the end of the final race I struggled to find drive but the weekend was a good one and we move on to Donington in a positive position.
