Lydd’s McAMS Yamaha rider Bradley Ray wins first British Superbike Championship race of the season at Snetterton but race two clash with Kyle Ryde ends hopes of back-to-back victories

Lydd’s Bradley Ray rediscovered that winning feeling on Saturday after taking his first British Superbike Championship victory of the year at Snetterton - but it was a weekend of mixed fortunes.

McAMS Yamaha rider Ray - runner-up in the championship last year - has endured a frustrating start to 2026 but a strong race one in Norwich earned victory at the 10th attempt.

A new lap record in qualifying set the tone, Ray’s 1min47.747 earning pole position, and he made the most of it from the drop of the lights.

A lap-two red flag couldn’t disrupt his focus, the 29-year-old fending off sustained pressure from AJN Steelstock-Bimota’s Max Cook, and when Cook lunged by at the start of lap five Ray carved back through at Murray’s Chicane four laps later.

Cook's retirement late on handed Ray breathing room out front, stretching his advantage to over half a second just as Hager PBM’s Scott Redding began to close in. Composed to the end, Ray held position through to a second red flag.

The 2022 champion started Saturday’s 12-lap sprint from the front row, but collided with former team-mate and championship leader Kyle Ryde on lap eight. Contact between the two into turn one sent Ray into the gravel, with Nitrous racer Ryde issued with a three-second penalty for his part in the clash.

Sunday’s finale saw a return to the podium after a strong launch from third. A pass from Ryde, followed by a later move from Honda’s Ryan Vickers at the Montreal Hairpin, temporarily shuffled Ray back to fifth. But he wasn't finished - capitalising on a Cook error to move into fourth on lap nine, before repeating the trick on Vickers four laps later.

Ray crossed the line in third and heads to his home round at Brands Hatch on July 17-19 third in the standings and 61 points off the championship lead.

“It’s been a solid weekend overall, especially getting our first win of the year, which was a great feeling for the team,” Ray said.

“Race two was unfortunate, but that’s racing - we’ll move on. I tried my hardest to challenge for second in race three, but sadly we didn’t have enough laps left to make it happen.

“I feel like we had a bit more to give in that race, but we'll take the podium and look ahead to Brands with confidence in our ability to fight at the top. My feeling with the bike was great all weekend and I can’t thank the team at McAMS Yamaha enough for all of their hard work yet again.”