More, from a press release issued by MotorSport Vision Racing:
Ray wins dramatic Bennetts BSB Showdown opener as Mackenzie and O’Halloran crash out
Bradley Ray continued his quest for a debut Bennetts British Superbike Championship title by claiming the opening race win of the Showdown in a dramatic eBay Sprint Race, as both McAMS Yamaha riders crashed out of contention, shaking up the title fight.
Jason O’Halloran had grabbed the lead at the start of the race from Tommy Bridewell, and Ray as the trio got the best launch from the front row.
Bridewell grasped the lead with a move down the inside at Shell Oils corner to move to the front of the pack, but Ray was on the attack. The Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha rider made a move on O’Halloran at Druids, and then launched to the lead on the brakes at Lodge.
Ray then was holding off the pack before making a break in the closing stages to claim his eighth win of the season, but Bridewell was able to return to the podium in second place and that saw him surge from eighth to fifth in the overall standings.
It was drama for McAMS Yamaha; reigning champion Tarran Mackenzie crashed out at Shell Oils corner on lap 12. His DNF now moves Glenn Irwin to within two points of the defending champion ahead of tomorrow’s two races.
On the final lap, there was contact between O’Halloran and Peter Hickman as the FHO Racing BMW rider made a move at Druids. The McAMS Yamaha rider crashed out of the race, which then promoted Leon Haslam into a podium finish for the VisionTrack Kawasaki team.
Hickman crossed the line in fourth place, but was disqualified from the result for the incident with O’Halloran*. That promoted Irwin up to fourth place for Honda Racing UK, ahead of Danny Buchan on the SYNETIQ BMW.
Lee Jackson battled his way back through the pack to finish sixth on the Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki, with Christian Iddon in seventh for Buildbase Suzuki.
Title Fighters Rory Skinner and Kyle Ryde featured in eighth and ninth respectively with Josh Brookes promoted to tenth place ahead of tomorrow’s two Showdown races.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Oulton Park, eBay Sprint Race result:
- Bradley Ray (Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha)
- Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +2.765s
- Leon Haslam (VisionTrack Kawasaki) +3.438s
- Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing UK) +4.022s
- Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW) +5.508s
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki) +7.537s
- Christian Iddon (Buildbase Suzuki) +8.015s
- Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki) +8.533s
- Kyle Ryde (Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha) +12.699s
- Josh Brookes (MCE Ducati) +14.967s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:
- Bradley Ray (Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha) 1086
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 1048
- Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) 1031
- Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing UK) 1029
- Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 1028
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki) 1024
- Kyle Ryde (Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha) 1020
- Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki) 1017
* For the Hickman sanction document please click here
For more information on the Bennetts British Superbike Championship visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Bradley Ray
RICH Energy OMG Racing Yamaha
Race winner and championship leader
“That race wasn’t easy! I didn’t get the best of starts and I found myself back in third. Immediately I just needed to try to get past Jason and Tommy as quickly as possible, and try to get into my rhythm, which I managed to do.
“I could not seem to break them at the start. I had a couple of steady laps and then put the hammer down to do a couple of quick laps. I managed to slightly break Tommy towards the end and then started to get about a .8 gap and then just dug in to try and make the gap bigger.
“I managed to eek out enough of a gap and bring the Rich Energy OMG Yamaha back for the win and I am super happy. I am looking forward to tomorrow’s two races.”
