Kyle Ryde the man to beat entering final BSB test before season-opener

Kyle Ryde went fastest at the British Superbike test at Donington Park and can lay down another marker this week.

The final BSB 2024 pre-season test is at the Circuito de Navarra from Tuesday-Thursday.

The first round of the season then begins at the same location this weekend.

OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing’s Ryde was quickest at last year’s test at the Circuito de Navarra, too.

At Donington Park, as he edged out Glenn Irwin at the top of the timesheet, Ryde tried different specs of the Yamaha R1.

Ryde said: “I was in a very lucky position to have two bikes to test at Donington Park; one was brand new and one was a Brands Hatch replica, so the same as last year.

“On the first day, I rode the new bike and I wasn’t particularly a fan, I set a good lap time but it didn’t feel great, it was really tiring.

“So we went back to the old bike on day two and took each new part off and added it to that just to see which ones I liked and which I didn’t.

“I liked one thing and that’s what we stuck with for the rest of the day.

“The confidence grew and grew and then for the last session, the weather wasn’t great, but I thought, might as well have a go and see what I can do and did one lap and it was pretty good.

“I think my confidence is pretty similar to last season to be honest.

“The thing I’m more confident about now is the new parts we’ve got and I’ve found a bit of a window that I’ve not been in for a while.

“Look at Brands last year, Donington, Cadwell, I was in that window where I was getting trophies, but the rest of the time I was just out of it and struggling to get a trophy. If I can try and keep myself in that window that I was in for the last hour of the first test, then I should be in for a good year!

“I have just got to stick with it, write down what was good and what was bad. We can always reflect on trying to keep myself in that window.

“When you’re in it, it feels absolutely massive, but when you’re out of it, it’s so hard to get back in it.

“We’ve just got to stick to what we know, we know what bike works at Navarra and we can try this version and see if it’s any better, if not, I’ve got a decent bike from last year.”