Magic Seven for Vickers at Thruxton
Words and images courtesy OMG Racing UK
OMG GRILLA Yamaha’s Ryan Vickers secured his seventh Bennetts British Superbike Championship victory of the 2024 season today, as he completed a Sunday sweep at Thruxton.
Ryan Vickers built upon his podium success in the opening Bennetts British Superbike Championship race of the weekend, by securing two superb race victories on Sunday. Team-mate Kyle Ryde secured a brace of strong points, crossing the line in eighth and fourth places respectively.
After a promising Saturday, the team ventured out for the opening ten-minute Warm Up session, which saw Ryde and Vickers confirm their pace ahead of Sunday’s two races. But as usual at Thruxton, the team’s one-two finish on Saturday was done in the slowest way possible, as tyre conservation took the main role in Saturday’s race, leaving Race 1 winner, Ryde in 13th and Ryan 15th on the grid.
A strong getaway for Ryan saw him work his way up to the top ten positions before a crash on the opening lap for Glenn Irwin brought the race to an early halt. Restarting the race from original grid positions, Vickers couldn’t repeat the strong start to the reduced ten-lap dash, slotting into 12th at the end of the opening lap. A second lap crash in the pack resulted in a Safety Car, meaning any form of tyre management would go out the window in the five-lap sprint.
Getting back underway in tenth, the number 77 rider knew he had to move forward, passing team-mate Ryde before making an assault on the top five with a sensational triple overtake at Church. Sitting fourth with three laps to go, Christian Iddon was next on his target list and quickly dispatched of the Ducati before picking off Josh Brookes for second. With leader Max Cook in his sights, the Yamaha man quickly found himself in the lead after a mistake by the race leader entering the first complex. Managing the small margin he had throughout the final lap; Vickers crossed the line to claim victory by 0.531 seconds.
Posting a sensational 1:14.949 in the Sprint Race, the rider from Thetford would start the final race from pole position. A strategic start in the blistering heat saw Ryan slip to seventh, but quickly looked to work his way forward as he re-claimed the lead on lap five. From there, he proved untouchable, despite pressure from Billy McConnell behind, crossing the line to take his seventh BSB victory of the season and moves within 50 points of the top of the Championship.
Vickers said: “It’s been a strong weekend for us and the OMG GRILLA Yamaha Team, taking two wins today. It was always going to be difficult starting 15th in what was planned to be a ten-lap race, but it’s even harder to go from 15th to 1st in six laps! I’m really happy with how I rode in that race, I attacked in the right places at the right time and managed to pick up a handful of positions each lap and eventually took the lead when Max Cook had a moment ahead. The last lap I just pushed, hit my markers and brought it home.
“The final race of the weekend didn’t actually go to my plan because I hit the front early on. I could see Billy was quick but it maybe wasn’t coming quite as easy. I got by and just chipped the laps off. Had a bit of a moment on the final corner, but it’s all good and I’m delighted to take the lucky number seven R1 to a seventh win of 2024. I’m now looking forward to continuing this form on to Cadwell Park over the Bank Holiday weekend.”
Following on from his sensational Race 1 win, Kyle Ryde enjoyed a strong morning Warm Up session, before a trickier sprint race developed. Starting from row four, Ryde picked up one position in the restarted sprint before moving up to seventh at the mid-way stage. Passing and being passed in the thick of the group, the Nottinghamshire rider crossed the line in a frustrating eighth place, collecting important points in his title quest.
Moving up to row three for the 20-lap finale, the number 77 rider settled into fifth in the early stages, as he looked to manage his tyre as best as possible. Another fierce battle developed as he moved into the podium places, but a mid-race dip saw him slip back to fifth. Picking off Lewis Rollo for fifth, he began his charge to catch Nesbitt ahead, crossing the line 0.017 seconds ahead of his rival to claim fourth at the chequered flag.
Ryde said: “We’ve taken a good handful of points but I feel like it should’ve been a little bit more. I just got unlucky in the Sprint Race with the Safety Car coming out after the red flag, reducing the distance and I just couldn’t make the progress forward quick enough. The second race today was really hot and I struggled with the front a little bit but I managed the rear really well and came fourth. Overall, I’m happy and bring on Cadwell.”
Ryde’s 38 points haul sees him consolidate his place as second in the BSB standings and moves to 25 points behind Tommy Bridewell. Ryan Vickers heads to Cadwell Park 50 points adrift of the top in fifth. The OMG GRILLA Yamaha team extend their lead in the CERATIZIT teams’ trophy to 32 points, whilst Yamaha heads to the Mountain on top of the manufacturer’s standings. The Race 3 win also marked Yamaha’s 12th win at Thruxton on the bounce.
The team returns to action on Friday 23rd August for the pre-event test, before the King of the Mountain hike begins on Saturday across the August Bank Holiday weekend.