Bradley Ray is determined to bounce back from the disappointment of a crash in the opening Bennetts British Superbike Championship Showdown race at the TT Circuit Assen, as the Raceways Yamaha rider bids to close the deficit.
Ray was rapidly closing down Leon Haslam for second in today’s race and was 1.223s faster in sector one than his rival when he crashed out of contention.
Ray is now 35-point adrift of defending champion Kyle Ryde at the top of the standings, but with higher points in the Showdown, the 2022 champion is focused on putting today’s disappointment behind him and return to the podium fight in tomorrow’s two races.
Ray said: “The race was going well and I build into it slowly at the start of the race and found myself coming through the pack quite nicely up until I crashed at turn six, I had no moments and felt good and comfortable on the bike and was slowly catching Leon and coming back through.
“I could see Scott was there, Leon was catching Scott and I was catching Leon so everything was under control. The positives are there, I was fast in the wet and have been fast in the dry and come out of it unscathed and the boys have rebuilt the bike so we will regroup and go again for tomorrow’s two races.
“It is what it is, at the end of the day I could easily go out there and play it safe and bring the bike home, but that is not going to get me points and claw Kyle back in the championship and my mentality is always to try to win and get the best result possible. I am employed and sponsored to win races and that is what I am out there doing and sometimes it bites you, but I think today it was tricky for everyone and unfortunately, it caught me out. We will go again tomorrow.”