Kyle Ryde brought Yamaha’s unbeaten streak at Thruxton to an end on Saturday afternoon as he won a red-flagged opening British Superbike Championship race of the weekend.
Ryde bided his time in the opening stages as title rival Scott Redding pulled the pin at the front, but the latter would drop back into the clutches of Ryde around lap 10.
Ryde made his first move at Church on lap 12, only for Redding to fight back immediately at the final chicane. Ryde regained the lead at the beginning of the next lap, with Redding again pouncing straight back only for Ryde to make the defining move at Seagrave.
The race was red flagged on lap 17 when Max Cook’s front wheel clipped the back of Leon Haslam’s rear wheel on the exit of the final chicane, sending Cook off the track. Cook was stretched away from the scene of the accident.
Ryde’s victory is the first for Ducati at Thruxton since Josh Brookes’ win in 2019, whilst it’s the reigning champion’s 13 th win of the season.
With Redding dropping down to fifth, Ryde has extended his championship lead to 37 points. It’s also Ryde’s 37 th career victory, moving him level with John Reynolds in fifth on the all-time winner’s list.
Rory Skinner finished second to celebrate his first podium of the season, with Ryan Vickers also reaping the rewards for his and Honda’s efforts to turn their fortunes around in third.
Bradley Ray was fourth ahead of Redding, with Haslam coming home in sixth. Christian Iddon and Danny Kent were seventh and eighth respectively, with Joe Talbot ending his first-ever superbike race at Thruxton in ninth.
Storm Stacey completed the top 10 ahead Lee Jackson and the returning Eugene McManus, with Fraser Rogers, Jason O’Halloran and Charlie Nesbitt securing the final points available in the race.
Ilya Mikhalchik returned to the pits at the end of lap 10 and retired from the race.
Sports Reporter - Motorcycle racing enthusiast Josh joined the MCN team in 2019. He studied Sports Journalism at the University of Sunderland, leaving with a 2:1 and a Gold Standard Diploma in Journalism from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). Introduced to the world of motorcycle racing by his dad as a youngster, Josh became a fan of MotoGP, WorldSBK and BSB. Like many, Josh became a huge Valentino Rossi supporter…little did he know that years later he would ask a question or two to the man himself.
Sports Reporter and fan of all things motorsport