Bradley Ray stormed to a terrific treble at Donington Park as he snatched the Bennetts British Superbike Championship lead ahead of Snetterton next month for Raceways Yamaha, withstanding immense pressure from Hager PBM Ducati’s Glenn Irwin to hold the edge in the standings.
Ray had launched into the lead again on the opening lap ahead of Rory Skinner on the Cheshire Mouldings Ducati and Glenn Irwin, with Kyle Ryde and Leon Haslam completing the top five.
Ryde had a moment on the exit of the Fogarty Esses, which lost him ground and he then dropped behind Haslam and McPhee.
At the front of the pack, Ray was trying to make a break, but behind, Glenn Irwin had moved into second with a dive down the inside at Redgate on lap ten. His Raceways Yamaha rival had bridged a gap of over two seconds by lap 12 but as the laps counted down, Irwin was getting closer as he continued to hunt Ray.
By lap 16, it had dropped to less than a second and as they crossed the line to start the next lap, it had halved again, and then Ray was in range for Irwin to try to make his move. With three laps remaining, it looked like the Hager PBM Ducati rider was going to attack.
Irwin was unsettled on the brakes into the Fogarty Esses, losing ground on Ray again and despite pushing all the way to the finish, he was unable to deny Ray the treble.
Skinner celebrated his first win with Cheshire Mouldings Ducati since their change of manufacturer this season, holding off Haslam with Ryde completing the top five after serving a long lap penalty for exceeding track limits.
Josh Brookes ended his weekend solidly in sixth ahead of Tommy Bridewell and Danny Kent with AJN Steelstock Kawasaki’s Christian Iddon and Max Cook completing the top ten.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Donington Park, Race 3 result:
- Bradley Ray (Raceways Yamaha)
- Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) +0.396s
- Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings Ducati) +2.750s
- Leon Haslam (Moto Rapido Ducati Racing) +3.667s
- Kyle Ryde (OMG Nitrous Competitions Racing Yamaha) +9.407s
- Josh Brookes (DAO Racing Honda) +12.465s
- Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK) +13.065s
- Danny Kent (McAMS Racing Yamaha) +13.840s
- Christian Iddon (AJN Steelstock Kawasaki) +14.681s
- Max Cook (AJN Steelstock Kawasaki) +15.038s
For the full race result please click here
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:
- Bradley Ray (Raceways Yamaha) 86
- Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) 74
- Kyle Ryde (OMG Nitrous Competitions Racing Yamaha) 66
- Leon Haslam (Moto Rapido Ducati Racing) 65
- Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings Ducati) 47
- Josh Brookes (DAO Racing Honda) 44
- Danny Kent (McAMS Racing Yamaha) 35
- Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK) 33
- Christian Iddon (AJN Steelstock Kawasaki) 24
- Storm Stacey (Bathams AJN Racing BMW) 23