Bradley Ray Battles to Superb Sunday Victory at Cadwell Park
Bradley Ray stormed to an 11th Bennetts British Superbike Championship victory of the 2025 season on Sunday. However, a tricky Bank Holiday Monday started with a Sprint Race crash.
A 12th-place finish in Race 3 concluded a mixed weekend at Cadwell Park.
Starting the weekend on the front foot at the official test on Friday evening, Brad Ray and his Raceways Yamaha crew found a good direction. They followed it once official business got underway on Saturday.
Concluding the test second fastest, Ray ventured out for Saturday practice. He wrapped up unfinished work from the test and confirmed the setup with his R1. The 28-year-old pushed to a lap of 1:25.504 to end the opening day in second.
This secured his place in Sunday’s OMOLOGATO Superpole.
A short stint in Free Practice 3 on Sunday set the team up for Superpole. He took to the Lincolnshire Wolds for his only lap. Perfecting the 2.2-mile quirky circuit, Ray stormed to a dominant pole. He broke his 2022 lap record Superpole lap with a sublime 1:25.329, stamping his authority on the BSB Championship.
As the lights went out for Race 1, Ray got a blistering start. He slotted into the lead at Coppice corner. From there, the #28 Yamaha didn’t look back. It broke the race lap record (1:25.472) on his way to opening a comfortable lead over Kyle Ryde behind.
However, as the gruelling 18 laps ticked by, Ray began to fall back into the clutches of Ryde’s Nitrous Competitions Yamaha R1.
A battle commenced. Brave riding from Ray saw the pair come together at Chris Curve, as Ryde looked for a way through. Ray eventually crossed the line 0.087 seconds clear of the 2024 BSB Champion.
Starting on pole once more for the 12 Lap Sprint Race on Bank Holiday Monday, it was more of the same for the Ashford rider. He shot clear of the pack on the opening lap. However, as Ray continued to stretch the lead on Lap 2, a costly mistake at the Gooseneck saw the R1 rider slide out of contention and out of the race.
With Steve Rodgers’ men repairing the bike for Race 3, one final assault commenced.
This time from seventh on the grid. A tricky start made for a tricky race as Ray slotted into seventh before falling back through the pack. Sitting just inside the Top 10 and riding around an issue because of the earlier spill, the Andorran-based star tried to limit the damage. However, he ultimately slipped back to 12th at the chequered flag.
Ray’s tough Monday sees him relinquish the series lead for the first time in 2025, but he aims for further success at Round 8 of the series at Donington Park. It is a venue at which Ray secured an impeccable treble earlier this season.
The Pirelli National Sportbike Championship ended in disaster for poleman Ash Barnes. He was involved in a race-ending collision on the opening lap.
Bradley Ray
Raceways Yamaha
Championship: 2nd (282 points)
“Cadwell Park was a weekend of two halves for me and Raceways Yamaha. We’d been fast all weekend, qualifying on pole with a new lap record, and I felt really good on the bike. We managed to take our 11th win on Sunday, but unfortunately, I crashed out of Race 2 from the lead, and a few issues in the final race meant we couldn’t be as competitive as expected. It was just one of those weekends – we’ve had a run of them lately – but we’ll stay positive, regroup, and come back strong at Donington Park.”
Steve Rodgers
Team Owner
“The weekend went well up until Monday, then we faced a few challenges. Brad rode superbly in the test on Friday; he and his crew got the R1 dialled in and then continued that work into Saturday. His Superpole lap on Sunday was superb, something else! A 1:25.3 around Cadwell is seriously fast and fully deserved, as was his Race 1 win. He had to dig deep, but he got it done. Monday was a tough day for us all. The crash resulted in a fair bit of work for the boys, but we got back out for Race 3, and he did what he could despite having an issue. We’ll get back to base and prepare for a hectic final few rounds, starting with the final ‘main season’ round at Donington Park.”