Ray reigns for Donington Park double
Click here for full BSB race two results from Donington Park
Bradley Ray has doubled up at the 2018 Bennetts British Superbike championship opener to mark a perfect start to his campaign with a dominant victory in race two at Donington Park.
Click here for full BSB race two results from Donington Park
Bradley Ray has doubled up at the 2018 Bennetts British Superbike championship opener to mark a perfect start to his campaign with a dominant victory in race two at Donington Park.
The Buildbase Suzuki rider produced the ideal start to bolt into the lead on the opening lap in drying conditions after early morning rain had soaked the Leicestershire circuit. Despite wet patches littering the track all riders opted for dry tyres as Ray appeared to find more grip than his rivals to build a comfortable lead over nearest challenger Dan Linfoot.
JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s Leon Haslam nipped past Linfoot for second place on lap eight with Ray over three seconds ahead and initially the former World Superbike rider began to reel in the 20-year-old with a series of fastest laps.
Ray was losing chunks of time in sector two but upped his pace to match his BSB rival which steadied his advantage at three seconds before breaking Haslam’s charge to ease to a second career race win in the series.
With Haslam taking second place ahead of Linfoot, FS-3 Racing Kawasaki’s Danny Buchan held off defending BSB champion Shane Byrne to take fourth place, the team's best result in the series, while Tyco BMW’s Christian Iddon took sixth place by 0.001s from Be Wiser Ducati’s Glenn Irwin.
After a hairy moment heading into the Fogarty Esses with Jake Dixon, Luke Mossey battled back to take eighth place in front of Honda’s Jason O’Halloran as Tyco BMW’s Michael Laverty completed the top ten finishers.
2015 BSB champion Josh Brookes was the only rider to gamble on the soft rear Pirelli tyre but it failed to reap rewards as he battled back from outside of the points to take 11th place.
With Dixon taking 12th for the RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki, Richard Cooper (Buildbase Suzuki), Tommy Bridewell (Movuno.com Halsall Suzuki) and Gino Rea (OMG Suzuki) rounded out the points places while Peter Hickman tumbled off at the Melbourne Loop on the final lap.
James Ellison was another to suffer a fall at the Melbourne hairpin while battling inside the top eight for Anvil Hire Yamaha having claimed a podium finish in the 2018 opener on Sunday.
