More, from a press release issued by MotorSport Vision Racing:
Fantastic four for Ray as Buchan takes first podium of 2022 Bennetts BSB
Bradley Ray delivered a masterful performance in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship eBay Sprint race at Cadwell Park this afternoon, claiming his fourth win of the season to close the deficit at the top of the standings, with Rory Skinner and Danny Buchan completing the podium.
The restarted race got underway with Ray launching off the Omologato pole position into the lead ahead of Skinner, who had been alongside him on the front row, with Danny Buchan and Jason O’Halloran in close contention.
Ray was pushing at the front to make a break, edging ahead of Skinner and the chasing pack by 0.786s at the chequered flag, but the battle for third was on. Buchan moved ahead of O’Halloran on lap seven as he battled for his first podium finish of the season for the SYNETIQ BMW team and despite the championship leader’s best efforts he couldn’t get back ahead.
The leading trio remained as Ray, Skinner and Buchan with O’Halloran holding fourth place; meanwhile Tommy Bridewell had carved his way up the order on the Oxford Products Racing Ducati to move into fifth place ahead of Peter Hickman on the FHO Racing BMW.
Andrew Irwin was another rider to move up the order; he had a scrap with Leon Haslam for seventh position over the closing stages, meanwhile Glenn Irwin and Josh Brookes were elevated up the order to complete the top ten.
Following the race, Christian Iddon was issued with a 2 second Long Lap equivalent time penalty and a three position grid penalty for Race 2 following an incident on the penultimate lap which caused Tom Sykes to crash out of the race.
The race was initially red flagged on the second lap following a crash that involved Dan Jones, Lee Jackson and Takumi Takahashi. Jones was taken to the circuit medical centre and was conscious, before he was transferred to Hull Hospital for assessment and treatment.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Cadwell Park, eBay Sprint Race:
- Bradley Ray (Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha)
- Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki) +0.786s
- Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW) +1.293s
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +3.340s
- Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +3.667s
- Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW) +8.388s
- Andrew Irwin (SYNETIQ BMW) +12.418s
- Leon Haslam (VisionTrack Kawasaki) +12.719s
- Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing UK) +13.136s
- Josh Brookes (MCE Ducati) +14.294s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 344
- Bradley Ray (Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha) 332
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki) 219
- Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki) 219
- Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing UK) 199
- Kyle Ryde (Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha) 177
- Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) 175
- Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 169
For more information on the Bennetts British Superbike Championship visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Bradley Ray
Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha
“It feels good to win again. It is hard especially in the sprint race with less laps. Everyone is just going to go as quick as they can, I knew if I got the holeshot and led the first lap or two I could put the hammer down.
“In sector one and two I’m ok, but in sector three I was able gain a little bit of time on everyone. I just kept my cool, hit my markers, made a reference lap time that I wanted to do majority of the laps.
“I lost a bit of rear tyre towards the end but overall I am super happy with the Sprint race. I think tomorrow is obviously going to be a little bit more difficult with two 18 lappers. I am happy with the package and it is nice to get my first win at Cadwell.
“These next six races for me are about gaining as many podium points to try to close the gap to Jason for when we start the Showdown towards the end of the year. I am over the moon to get the full five podium points for that win and gain those on Jason O’Halloran in the standings.”