Kyle Ryde’s dominance of the 2026 British Superbike Championship season continued at Knockhill as he won the opening race of the weekend to extend his championship lead.
Ryde led the entire race and withstood pressure from Bradley Ray throughout, eventually being left to take a comfortable victory when Ray retired due to an issue with his McAMS Yamaha R1 .
Ryde’s victory is his 30 th in BSB, whilst he’s now finished, and scored points in, the last 67 races. The reigning two-time champion moves 21 points clear of Scott Redding, who inherited second due to Ray’s retirement.
Glenn Irwin secured an emotional first podium of the season which comes exactly one year after the crash which derailed his 2025 season at Snetterton. On that day Irwin sustained injuries to his hip socket and pelvis in a crash during Free Practice 3, with the Northern Irishman missing nine races as a result.
Ryan Vickers impressed in fourth onboard the Honda Racing UK Fireblade , whilst Rory Skinner completed the top five for Cheshire Mouldings Yamaha .
Storm Stacey came home in sixth ahead of Christian Iddon and Leon Haslan, whilst DAO Racing Honda teammates Josh Brookes and Lee Jackson completed the top 10.
Danny Kent’s struggles continued in 11 th , whilst Joe Talbot ended his maiden Knockhill outing onboard a Superbike in 12 th . Ilya Mikhalchik, Charlie Nesbitt and Richard Kerr claimed the final points on offer.
Graeme Irwin did not start the race due to an issue with the MET fonaCAB Racing Ducati, whilst Eugene McManus crashed out at turn three on lap six.
Max Cook suffered his second fall of the day when crashed at the final corner at the end of lap nine. Jason O’Halloran returned to the Honda garage at the end of lap 11 and retired from the race.
Brayden Elliot, Luke Hedger and Rhys Irwin all 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.