The participation of Jason O’Halloran may as a substitute for Jonathan Rea is one of the most striking “carambolas” of recent times. After Rea was injured in Australia, everything was prepared for Augusto Fernández to climb the Yamaha R1. However, a new lesion of a Yamaha pilot, in this case Miguel Ángel Oliveira in MotoGP, made Yamaha resorted to Augusto to replace him.
After all, it is a logical step, as Fernández is a tester and substitute pilot in Yamaha and also, it will always be easier to find a substitute for a motorcycle derived as standard than for a prototype as complex as MotoGP today. Therefore, in the end it will be the Australian pilot Jason O’Halloran who will go up to the R1 of Portimao.
O’Halloran already has experience with the Yamaha R1 and it has competed with her in the BSB and, in addition, she is a pilot in the World Cup with the Yamaha Yart, so she is tremendously linked to the signing of the three fingerboard. As if this were not enough, in addition to participating as a substitute, Jason will also become the Yamaha test pilot for the WSBK.
Jason O’Halloran has not tried the WSBK R1 yet
Of course, the WSBK Portugal round will be the first contact of Jason O’Halloran with the R1 of the WSBK, which although it keeps similarities with the other R1 that has piloted, it also has great differences.
A new experience for the experienced Australian, who is already 37 years old and has an interesting record in the BSB, where he has added about 30 victories and multiple podiums.
Jason O’Halloran: «I am excited about the opportunity to run with the Pata Maxus Yamaha team in Portimão while Jonathan is still recovering. I have really enjoyed being back in the R1 during the preseason with Yart. It is a motorcycle with which I have always felt very comfortable and with which I had a lot of success in the BSB, so try it in its full version of Worldsbk is something I look forward to. Obviously, reaching a race weekend without having tried the motorcycle before is a challenge, but I will give my best for the team and by Yamaha, without forgetting that the EWC season begins in just a few weeks. I want to thank Yamaha and the team for this opportunity and wish Jonathan a prompt recovery. “
Niccolò Canepa, Road Racing Sporting Manager of Yamaha Motor Europe: «We are very happy to welcome Jason to the Pata Maxus Yamaha team in Worldsbk. He is currently our pilot at the EWC and also our test driver in Worldsbk, although he has not yet had the opportunity to get on the motorcycle. The Portimão weekend will be a great opportunity to have its first contact with the motorcycle in a competitive environment and to help us in the development of R1. We know his speed: he is the most successful pilot of Yamaha in BSB and has a great knowledge of the R1 in his BSB specification, which is quite similar to that of Worldsbk, in addition to being familiar with the Pirelli tires. It has been extremely fast in winter tests with the Yamaha Yart of the EWC, so I think it will have a good race weekend. We are very close to the tests and career of Le Mans, so we thank Yart for allowing us to count on Jason at such a time for them. ”
