Bradley Ray is determined to come out fighting at next weekend’s ZYN British Superbike Championship season opener after the McAMS Yamaha team completed two highly productive days of testing at Oulton Park last week, making significant strides in refining the Yamaha R1 ahead of the opening races of 2026.
The second R&G Official Test saw championship contender Ray return to the R1, setting the pace at the start, topping the opening two sessions on Day 1 and becoming the first rider to break into the 1:33s, posting a fastest lap of 1m:33.921s. After a relentless day of experimenting with various components and making the most of every available minute on track, Ray and the team rounded out Tuesday in second place overall.
On Day 2 Ray again topped the opening session, immediately improving on his Tuesday benchmark. He went one better still in the final session, clocking a 1m:33.618s to close out the two-day test third overall – a strong platform from which to launch his title challenge next weekend.
Ray said: “After four days of testing on UK soil, I’m really looking forward to getting back to business at Round 1 next weekend. We made some important changes to the bike over the two days at Oulton Park, which has been crucial in gathering the information we need heading into the 2026 season.
“We’ve done four days testing now in the UK, and we have gone away from the Oulton Park test, will regroup, and come back with everything we’ve learned ready to push hard at Round 1. I’m looking forward to it.”