Former Australian Supersport Champion Jason O’Halloran made a solid start to the 2010 British Supersport Championship with a fourth place finish in the opening race at Brands Hatch Indy in Kent last weekend.

The result capped a strong first race for the impressive Oxford TAG Triumph Team with both O’Halloran and teammate Paul Young starting from the front row of the grid having set the practice and qualifying pace all weekend. Competing in his first race meeting since June 2009, following rehabilitation from wrist surgery, O’Halloran was very strong on the impressive TAG Triumph Racing 675 Daytona.

Having qualified fifth on the grid but being moved up to fourth due to fellow Australian Glen Richards withdrawal from the race, O’Halloran made a strong start from the front row and was in the thick of the leading bunch.

One of only three riders to go below 47-second lap times, O’Halloran’s pace was improving, unfortunately just as he looked to make his move for a podium finish the race was cut short as the red flags came out following an accident and oil spillage on the track.

“The weekend went fairly smoothly from the start really, we had good pace in the wet and in the dry we finished inside the top five in every session, we worked hard on the set up of the bike and made steady improvements in every session,” O’Halloran explained.

“The race started slowly but I found a good rhythm and felt as though I had a stronger pace then the guys in front of me. Brands Indy is a hard track to pass on though and with the race being stopped early, took away our chance at a podium but all in all it was a solid start to the season. The team worked well my wrist felt good and I’m ready for Thruxton now.”

O’Halloran finished directly behind South Australian Billy McConnell, who finished runner-up in the series last season.