Bradley Ray has celebrated his first Bennetts British Superbike Championship title victory at Brands Hatch this afternoon, finishing the eBay Sprint Race in fifth place to secure the Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha team a debut title.
Ray headed into his home round on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit with a 66-point lead, knowing that a seventh place would be enough to claim the crown for the first time. Ray’s fifth place in the eBay Sprint Race means he has an unassailable 52-point lead ahead of tomorrow’s final two races of the season.
The 25-year-old contender from Lydd made his Bennetts BSB debut in 2017, but it has been this season where he has delivered an imperious performance with a total of nine race wins and a further 14 podium finishes to consistently stay ahead of his title rivals.
Ray said: “It wasn’t easy let me tell you! I approached the start of the race as I would any other – I dug in at the start and tried to get as far up the field as possible. I started having a few small moments and a few slides, and to be honest I settled in and then into fourth and tried to catch Andy and Pete, but I couldn’t do it, so I was happy to sit where I needed to. I had to just carry on doing what I was doing.
“When Tommy passed me I had plus four seconds and I was fifth, so I knew that I’d be safe for the last few laps because seventh was what I needed to get. I wanted to get more, but I had to bring it home for the championship. I’m a little bit speechless but I’m sure it’ll sink in tonight over a nice glass of vino. I’m super proud.
“It’s super special, it’s something I used to dream of as a kid, becoming British champion. This is the closest I’ve ever been to doing it, so we had to dig in into the Showdown and do everything we could to be close enough coming into Brands Hatch.
“It was nice to come here with such a lead and it took a bit of pressure of my shoulders to perform, but it means the world to me to my close family, my close friends it’s a dream come true.
“I’m excited about tomorrow now; I will be going for the wins. The pressure is off so we’ll just go out, have fun and enjoy it.”