Bradley Ray shows impressive pace on Yamaha debut, a sign of things to come?
Although Ray elected to stay with Rich Energy OMG Racing for 2022, a sizable switch took place from the team’s perspective as they moved away from BMW machinery to Yamaha.
A decision that was made all the more surprising after the team had just completed its first season with the new M 1000 RR.
But while BMW’s second-year machine should continue to develop into what they hope becomes a regular race winning package, the decision to switch to Yamaha can’t really be argued.
- Toprak Razgatlioglu: This year, I fight for me! Jonathan Rea 'not many can win'
- BSB Test: Sykes 'barely worked up a sweat', find out what 'surprised' Mackenzie
- 2022 British Superbike Test, Snetterton - Full Results
Yamaha have continuously been at the forefront of major motorcycle success, while also possessing one of the friendliest bikes to ride.
2021 saw title wins in all four major championships, that includes the pinnacle of two-wheel racing, MotoGP, but also WorldSBK with Toprak Razgatlioglu, BSB with Tarran Mackenzie and MotoAmerica.
Touted as a potential MotoGP rider back in 2018, Ray was expected to be the UK’s next big talent.
The Suzuki rider at the time, won the opening two rounds of that season, however, a disappointing year in 2019, before two equally tough seasons at BMW have seen Ray remain winless since.
Nevertheless, joining Yamaha has seemingly been a step in the right direction as he aims to become a consistent race winner in 2022.
Speaking after the three-day Snetterton test, Ray said: "The Snetterton test went really well for myself and the team. They have been working very hard to get the bikes ready for the test and basically we went out with brand new bikes for this year and got up to speed.
"I felt really comfortable straight away, and we worked through a lot with body position for me and getting me comfortable on the bike.
"We made some changes to make that better and we also worked on the mapping of the bike and the throttle connections and chassis so all round learning about the bike and getting up to speed.
"Overall, I am super happy with the test and to come away in third is very good. I think we did a good job as team.”
"There is still a lot of potential and so I am happy! I am looking forward to regrouping for the next test and continue working through the programme."
Can Josh Brookes join Ray in bouncing back following a disappointing 2021 campaign?
Another name who became a lap record breaker was Josh Brookes.
The MCE Ducati rider had what can only be described as a shocking title defence last year, but after looking back to his best during the three-day test, Ducati could find themselves in a similar situation as 2019.
During that season Brookes finished second to team-mate Scott Redding, and with Tom Sykes now joining the fold, MCE arguably have the strongest rider line-up - McAMS Yamaha might take exception to that given Mackenzie and Jason O’Halloran combined for 21 wins in 2021, while the former won the title.
Should Brookes re-find his form on race weekends, then the Australian will likely become a formidable force when it comes to potentially winning a third BSB championship.
"We’ve had a great test at Snetterton, the weather has been unbelievable for the time of year, and we’ve managed to work through some key points," added Brookes.
"Sunday was critical to finish the circle of changes. The session we did wasn’t particularly important for the lap time that we could achieve, but more the feeling that I was getting from the bike.
"Saturday’s bike I was happy with, we were under the lap record, and I was able to do competitive times, Sunday’s bike was more difficult to ride, so that gives everyone in the team a clear direction of which way to go, and I think moving forward now we can make some good progress.
"A big thanks to the team and my crew who put a big shift in this weekend, and we are looking forward to seeing what Donington brings us next week."
