Jason O’Halloran says he is feeling ‘chuffed’ with his efforts following the opening day of free practice for the 2019 Bennetts British Superbike Championship curtain raiser at Silverstone.

The Australian, who topped the timesheets at the Northamptonshire circuit during pre-season testing, was once more the rider to beat in FP2 as round one officially kicked off with a blistering 53.775s effort.

Setting two lap times that would have been good enough to lead the way, O’Halloran’s effort on the Yamaha R1 was consolidated by McAMS team-mate Tarran Mackenzie slotting into second place behind him.

Enjoying his time on the Yamaha after several seasons competing on Honda machinery, O’Halloran is encouraged about his chances over the remainder of the weekend.

“No issues in the morning where we were third, then in the afternoon we made a few changes to the bike. Everything was in a good direction, I was happy with it and we did a long run in the middle of the session which was strong. Then went out at the end of the session and did a 53.7s, which I am chuffed with.

“I think we have some improvements to make tomorrow. I don’t think overall it will make a huge improvement to the outright lap time, but it will make me more comfortable. I am really happy with how it is going!”