Ryan Vickers clinched a sensational victory in the British Superbike Championship Sprint race at Thruxton as Kyle Ryde’s podium streak came to an end.
In typical Thruxton fashion, there was a large group of riders all in the lead group for the majority of the race. Ryde took the lead on the second lap with brilliant moves on Bradley Ray and Scott Redding at turns two and three.
Ray took control of proceedings on lap six, but from then on all chaos ensued, with multiple riders challenging for top spot.
Vickers made the decisive move on the penultimate lap heading into the Club Chicane, and somehow managed to stay onboard his Honda Fireblade despite briefly losing control of the rear and then front of his machine.
Whilst the rest battled behind him, Vickers took the chequered flag to secure his first win as a Honda rider. It’s the first Honda victory since Tommy Bridewell’s triumph at Cadwell Park last August, whilst it’s the first Honda win at Thruxton since 2019 (Andrew Irwin).
Redding finished second after putting move on Ryde on the final lap, with Ray also recovering to third after dropping as low as seventh with a few laps remaining after being pushed wide at the Club Chicane by Leon Haslam.
Ryde had to settle for fourth, and his championship advantage has been reduced to 33 points. It’s the first time that Ryde hasn’t been on the podium this season.
Haslam completed the top five ahead the Cheshire Mouldings Yamaha duo of Rory Skinner and Danny Kent, with Joe Talbot, Jason O’Halloran and Charlie Nesbitt completing the top 10.
Glenn Irwin and Josh Brookes finished 11 th and 12 th respectively ahead of Ilya Mikhalchik. Fraser Rogers and Lee Jackson secured the final two points.
Storm Stacey returned to the pits at the end of lap nine and retired from the race, whilst Graeme Irwin crashed out on lap 10 at Campbell.
Max Cook has been ruled out for the remainder of the weekend after his crash in Race One. The AJN Steelstock Bimota rider was released from hospital last night, but due to suffering a concussion, will not be able to take part.
Richard Kerr is also out of action following a big crash during Sunday’s warm up session. Kerr has been transferred to the Emergency Department at Basingstoke Hospital for further investigation of suspected lung contusion and limb injuries.
The third and final BSB race of the weekend at Thruxton is due to begin at 16:15.
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