Ryde Rides to BSB race 1 victory at Donington
Words and images courtesy OMG GRILLA Racing
Kyle Ryde completed the perfect Saturday at Donington Park, as he turned his pole position into a crucial Race 1 win at Round 10 of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship.
OMG GRILLA Yamaha’s Kyle Ryde converted his sensational pole position into a seventh race victory of the season, holding off Tommy Bridewell’s pressure throughout the 20-lap affair.
Starting the day strong in the ten-minute Free Practice 3, Ryde remained confident ahead of Qualifying, as he looked for a 13th BSB pole of his career. Heading out on track, the home hero instantly impressed, setting the fastest time before consistently improving into the mid 1:27’s, ultimately setting a 1:27.428 which left him 0.120 seconds clear of Danny Kent behind.
Launching from pole, the Jacksdale rider made a strong start, holding the lead on the opening lap. With Bridewell locked in behind, the #77 rider aimed to hit his markers, reeling off laps in the high 27’s. Settling into his rhythm, he kept his rival at bay before a late surge saw him break clear, crossing the line 2.071 seconds ahead, taking a second Donington Park victory of the season.
Ryde said: “So far, it’s been a good weekend. I topped practice, put it on pole and led every lap of the race so hopefully with one more day to go we can make it a perfect weekend. The race was actually really tough, the pace was high and having plus-zero on the board to Tommy for 18 laps wasn’t encouraging! I managed to stick to my lap times and eventually break free at the end and managed to claw back a few points at the end. We’ll try to get some more back tomorrow!”
After a promising start on Friday, Ryan Vickers hoped for a little more on Saturday, despite a strong ride from 11th on the grid to seventh. Struggling with rear grip throughout the 15-minute session, Vickers pushed on but could only secure a 1:28.224 which left the Thetford rider in 11th.
Confident of his race pace, he made a strong start, making up places and quickly settled into the group, running from third place down to 11th. Sitting seventh at the midway stage, Vickers quickly dispatched of Josh Brookes, before a late-charging Danny Kent demoted him back to seventh.
Vickers said: “It wasn’t the day that we wanted really! Starting P11 wasn’t great, but it was OK. I managed to go forward a little bit, but I really struggled to get the feeling I’m used to. We’ll analyse the data tonight to try to recover some feeling and hopefully push on for some stronger results to end the weekend.”
Kyle Ryde will look for a second win of the weekend in the Sunday sprint race, which he’ll start from the middle of the front row in second.
Alan Gardner, OMG GRILLA Yamaha, Team Owner, said: “That was another great ride from Kyle to take the victory today. He’s looked faultless all weekend and showed that again with an inch-perfect ride, despite having Tommy glued to his rear tyre for 18 laps. His side of the garage will work on the few areas of the track where he can improve slightly to come out fighting for two more wins tomorrow and continue to reduce the gap to the front. For Ryan, it was a bit more of a difficult day, but he showed good pace throughout the race. He had a strong start, made up places early on and kept himself in the group for the podium for the majority of the race. He can be happy with his race, and we know he’ll be back at the front tomorrow.”