Jack Kennedy on the podium in Supersport and Ryan Vickers just misses it in Superbikes at Knockhill

Supersport Race One

Arriving in Scotland following a successful previous round at Donington Park, where the team secured second and third-place finishes, both riders were looking to maintain their strong early-season form around the challenging 1.27-mile circuit.

Multiple Supersport champion Kennedy qualified third after another strong qualifying session, a crash near the end of the session doing little to dampen Kennedy’s resolve while teammate Harrison secured fourth on the grid. The pair immediately established themselves in the battle at the front of the field as the lights went out for the 20-lap encounter.

Kennedy took the holeshot with a pitch perfect start, after a lap he settled into second place behind Ben Currie. With his trademark wheel to wheel style, Jack looked as threatening as he always does. With the fastest lap of the race logged on lap seven, Jack and the CBR600RR unfortunately parted company on the brakes on the way into the final uphill hairpin turn.

Meanwhile, Harrison continued to build momentum in his first full-season Quattro British Supersport Championship campaign. Fresh from his recent successes at the Isle of Man TT races, Dean delivered another strong performance aboard the Honda Racing UK CBR600RR. Flying the flag for the team, Dean closed from fourth place, taking tenths of a second at will in the first half of the circuit. With a pass looking likely, Dean had a challenging moment on the brakes into the final hairpin, dropping back to sixth position. Harrison’s excellent ride back to fifth place before the flag gave fans a glimpse of what’s to come as the championship develops.

Jack Kennedy will start tomorrow’s 26 lap feature race in pole position, Dean Harrison from the third row in seventh position.

Jack Kennedy

I got what felt like my best start this year so far and settled into a comfortable pace quickly. It’s a challenging lap at Knockhill, the bike typically has to deal with multiple inputs everywhere and there’s always lots to manage. I set the fastest lap of the race on lap seven but then went down on the brakes on the way into the final turn. It’s massively disappointing for me and for the team. I sat trackside for a few laps and could see how hard Dean was working into the same hairpin, he did a great job taking fifth place across the line. We’ll refocus and go again from pole tomorrow.

Dean Harrison

I had a grandstand seat for Jack’s start and felt like I got my head down early too. We were running well, but I was forced to defend and gave up a place that cost me time I wanted spend closing the gap to the podium. I ran wide on the way into the final hairpin and left myself with a job on to get back to fifth. It’s hard to think where we can find more from the CBR600RR round this track but if we can we will. We’ll be ready for the race tomorrow and I’ll give it everything.

Superbikes Race One

Following a hard-fought qualifying session earlier in the day, Ryan Vickers secured seventh position with a best lap time of 47.616 seconds. The result was reward for a determined effort from both rider and team as they continued to unlock the potential of the Honda package around the tight and demanding Knockhill layout.

On the opposite side of the Superbike garage, Jason O’Halloran qualified 17th with a lap time of 48.192 seconds. Following a strong performance in the wet on day one, Jason remained focused on making progress during the opening 30-lap race and adding to the valuable data gathered throughout the weekend.

Both riders got away well, defending track position and settling into the quick-fire pace of thirty short laps. Ryan Vickers looked determined to convert a good start and progressed through the pack, overtaking when he chose to and defending when he had to. By half race distance, his pace looked podium ready. Jason O’Halloran ran into a technical issue and opted to retire the bike on lap eleven. With all eyes on Ryan, the laps ticked down until a small overextension on the brakes into the final hairpin turn left Ryan with no alternative other than to take an incredibly well deserved fourth position.

Ryan Vickers

It feels good to be able to say that I’m disappointed to have missed out on a podium. The boys found a little bit of what we were looking for and I was able to use it to good effect. I worked hard and made some good clean moves that stuck. That’s not easy around here, there’s always so much going on with the bike. Of course, I’d love to have been on the podium today but we’re a step closer than we have been and I’m pleased that the team can enjoy that. We’ll keep making these small moves to improve the overall package and we’ll give it everything in the next one.

#22 Jason O’Halloran

After finishing closer to the front in FP1 and FP2, being left with no option other than to bring the bike in is massively disappointing. It was the last thing I wanted to do but once I’d spent some time with the team we were able to diagnose the issue I had and set to work on it immediately. We’re all working incredibly hard to move in the right direction, I’m hoping we can continue that journey in the next race.

Sunday’s Supersport and Superbike Races

The weekend’s Supersport action saw Kennedy and Harrison once again fighting at the sharp end of the field around the 1.27-mile Knockhill circuit, a crash for Kennedy and a testing brake situation for Dean Harrison in the Saturday sprint race meant both riders were keen to put on a show in the main feature race.

Under what can only be described as freakishly perfect racing conditions, both Honda CBR600RR riders made a strong start and settled into a rhythm. Jack Kennedy found second position and Dean slipped back a couple of places, but both showed the pace required to maintain position until the moment to attack presented itself.

By lap nine, Jack had slipped back a place to third and Dean looked to move up a position. With the move made by lap 17, both riders found themselves riding a relatively lonely race, not having to defend but unable to progress, the feature supersport race finished with Jack Kennedy in third and Dean Harrison in sixth.

Dean Harrison

I wanted more from that race. I felt like my start was a bit lazy, I worked hard to get by a few riders in front and then pretty much sat at the maximum pace the bike was capable of for the remainder of the race. It’s not doom and gloom though, I like the fact that I’m not happy unless I’m on the podium and I’m happy that we experimented with a setting in the back of the bike that had a positive impact. We’ll look forward now to the next round.

Jack Kennedy

I think we salvaged a reasonable result from a fairly tough weekend’s racing. If I’m being overly critical, I’d point to our lack of dry track time this weekend hampering us. To be fair, this would have also hampered the rest of the grid and I’m not looking for any excuses. After a fairly lengthy layoff between this round and the one before it, I’ll accept the result as it’s points towards the championship.

Following a positive race one on Saturday, Ryan Vickers looked to maintain momentum towards the front of the pack. With the technical challenge from the previous day overcome, Jason O’Halloran lined up for the first of two races expecting more.

Conditions remained excellent and the race got underway cleanly. On lap six the safety car was deployed following a crash. With the track declared fit to race the car came in and the race continued, two laps later a front end crash left Ryan frustrated in the gravel and the bike requiring a full rebuild. Jason O’Halloran crossed the line in 12th position.

A complete rebuild of Ryan’s bike was called for. Following an excellent performance by Ryan’s team, supported by extra hands from the wider Honda Racing UK team, a completely new but identical CBR1000RR-R SP Fireblade was ready for Ryan and the final 30 lap race of the day.

Vicker’s scorched a solid start and at the end of a frenzied lap one, settled into fourth place on track. A red flag incident on lap three called for a restarted 25 lap race. The restarted race picked up exactly where it left off and the pace at the front was strong. Ryan went with the leading trio and by lap ten, a Tartan blanket would have covered the first four bikes on track, gapping the rest of the field they looked set for a battle all the way to the line. With nine laps to go, Ryan moved forwards into an attacking position on Kyle Ryde, passing him into the final hairpin to take third place.

Ryan Vickers rode excellently, defending track position and gapping when possible, it looked like Ryan and the team might be rewarded for their efforts. With four laps to go, Ryde slipped inside Vickers to take third place back. Across the line, Ryan finished in fourth and Jason in 12th.

Ryan Vickers

That result in the last race proved that we can run with the front riders in this championship. When we get things right, we can battle for podiums but clearly small changes equal progress and we made some this weekend. Knockhill is such a demanding circuit to race but I kept digging away and we not only maintained our position but ran in a podium position for a few laps as well. That felt great. I wouldn’t have been able to push like I did had the team not managed a rebuild so well. The bike felt identical to the bike that I crashed, this is a great measure of the quality and dedication from my team and from Honda. Yes, there’s still improvements to make and we’ll keep working on making them, but I’m pleased for me and the team that we can see some progress.

#22 Jason O’Halloran

I raced up to the limit of what we were capable of today. In some areas I was able to carry a little more corner speed than the day before. This meant I was also able to relax my body position which kept fatigue away. That allowed me to push hard all the way to the flag, including making a move on the rider in front late in the race to give me twelfth place. Our position could have been better obviously, but I’m happy with our performance.

Team Manager Scot Hargreaves

It’s positive to see some progress for Ryan but there’s still a lot to do and we’ll continue to seek the optimum setting for the bike and both riders. The way the team came together to rebuild Ryan’s bike gives a real insight into the progress the team is making. Rebuilding a Superbike in such a small place in an hour was as impressive as the on track performance that Ryan delivered in that final race. We’ll regroup at Honda Racing HQ and prepare for the next round.

Posted on Monday, June 22nd, 2026 in News

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