Honda Racing UK - Brands Hatch race report - Superbike class
Ryan Vickers delivered another convincing top-six finish while team-mate Jason O'Halloran continued to unlock pace throughout round five of the 2026 Zyn British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch.
Honda Racing UK's encouraging run of form continued at the Kent circuit, with both riders demonstrating improved race pace across the three races as development of the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade gathered momentum.
Following a competitive qualifying session that placed Ryan Vickers 13th and Jason O'Halloran 15th on the grid, the pairing consistently moved forward through the field across the weekend.
Vickers immediately converted his starting position into results, charging from 13th on the grid to sixth in Saturday's opening race. The performance saw the #7 Fireblade gain seven positions over 17 laps, finishing just over 12 seconds from victory while running lap times comparable to the riders immediately ahead.
Sunday morning's Sprint race provided another step forward. Starting seventh under the revised grid regulations, Vickers fought inside the leading group throughout the 12-lap contest before crossing the line fifth, finishing less than two tenths of a second behind Leon Haslam after recording a fastest lap of 1:24.618.
The final feature race produced another strong performance from the Honda rider. Starting sixth, Vickers maintained his position throughout the 20-lap encounter to record his second top-six finish of the weekend. His fastest lap of 1:24.843 demonstrated consistent pace over race distance, finishing just 11.2 seconds behind race winner Scott Redding despite a fiercely competitive leading group.
Across the weekend, Vickers recorded finishes of 6th, 5th and 6th, underlining both consistency and the continuing competitiveness of the Honda package at one of Britain's most demanding circuits.
For Jason O'Halloran, the weekend represented steady progression as he continued to build confidence with the Honda Racing UK Fireblade.
After qualifying 15th, the Australian finished 15th in the opening race before making encouraging gains in both Sunday's races. O'Halloran climbed to 15th again in the Sprint before producing his strongest ride of the weekend in Race Three, moving forward two places from the grid to finish 12th.
Importantly, Jason's outright pace improved across the event. His fastest race lap reduced from 1:25.650 in Race One to 1:25.240 in the Sprint before delivering a 1:25.435 in the longer final race, demonstrating increasing confidence and consistency as the weekend unfolded.
With Vickers firmly established inside the leading battle and O'Halloran continuing to close the gap to the established front runners, Honda Racing UK leaves Brands Hatch with confidence that the team continues to move in the right direction ahead of the championship's next round.
Ryan Vickers
There are plenty of positives to take away from that round. We were able to fight consistently inside the top six all weekend and the pace was consistent throughout the races. Fifth in the Sprint and another pair of sixth-place finishes show we're moving in the right direction. We'll keep pushing to close that final gap to the podium fight.
#22 Jason O'Halloran
Overall, it's been a positive weekend in terms of progress. We improved the bike session by session and I felt more comfortable as the races went on. The final race was definitely our strongest and gives us a good direction to work from heading into the next round.
