Bradley Ray stormed to victory in the final Bennetts British Superbike Championship race of the weekend at Donington Park, holding off the challenge from the Irwin brothers to return to the top step of the podium.
The race had got underway and was red flagged on the opening lap when Chrissy Rouse crashed heavily on the opening lap of the race, exiting Goddards Corner. The full update can be found here.
An 18-lap restart began with double race winner Tom Sykes launching off the line into the lead as Jason O'Halloran dived into second ahead of Ray with Glenn and Andrew Irwin in hot pursuit.
On the second lap, O’Halloran took his opportunity to take the lead and made a pass on the brakes into the Melbourne Hairpin but Sykes was instantly back ahead on the MCE Ducati.
Sykes was still holding the advantage, but Ray was soon into second and then grabbed the lead on the fourth lap. Glenn Irwin had also been on the move and he was able to get ahead of Sykes and began his bid to hunt Ray.
As Sykes bid to make a counterattack on the riders ahead of him, he had O’Halloran for company and on the sixth lap, the McAMS Yamaha rider made a mistake into the Melbourne Hairpin, colliding with Sykes and crashing out. Sykes was consequently forced to retire from the race.
The incident between them is under investigation as O’Halloran was attending the Medical Centre after sustaining injuries to his thumb and ankle. It will be heard at Brands Hatch.
There was subsequently a BMW Safety Car intervention until the incident was cleared. Glenn Irwin hit the front of the pack, but Ray fought hard to regain the position. The Honda Racing UK rider was leading until lap 14 when he lost his foot peg at the Fogarty Esses and then it was a damage limitation act.
Andrew Irwin moved into second for SYNETIQ BMW which he held until the finish, whilst Glenn Irwin scrapped with Tommy Bridewell over the final three laps to just hold off his Oxford Products Racing Ducati rival.
Danny Buchan completed the top five for the SYNETIQ BMW team just ahead of Kyle Ryde and Lee Jackson.
Ryan Vickers was eighth ahead of Danny Kent on the Buildbase Suzuki with Leon Haslam bouncing back from an earlier crash to claim tenth at his home round.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Donington Park GP, race three result:
- Bradley Ray (Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha)
- Andrew Irwin (SYNETIQ BMW) +2.226s
- Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing UK) +2.628s
- Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +3.065s
- Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW) +4.020s
- Kyle Ryde (Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha) +6.068s
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki) +6.522s
- Ryan Vickers (FHO Racing BMW) +6.906s
- Danny Kent (Buildbase Suzuki) +7.162s
- Leon Haslam (VisionTrack Kawasaki) +7.536s
For the full race result please click here
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:
- Bradley Ray (Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha) 1171
- Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing UK) 1105
- Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 1104
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki) 1095
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 1077
- Kyle Ryde (Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha) 1051
- Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) 1031
- Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki) 1017
For the full standings please click here