Bradley Ray was in the hunt for his first ZYN British Superbike Championship race win of the season in the opening race at Knockhill, in close contention with title rival Kyle Ryde before a technical problem forced him out of the action.
Ray had been holding second place on the McAMS Yamaha and was continuing to keep the pressure on the championship leader at the front, but with four laps to go his race ended in heartbreak. Now Ray is ready to regroup and come back on the attack again tomorrow.
Ray said: “The race was a positive one overall. I got a good start and moved into second, which is exactly where I needed to be. I knew we had similar pace from qualifying, so I focused on staying as close as I could to Kyle. When he pushed on, I was able to go with him and felt quite comfortable.
“It was clear we were losing time on the start-finish straight and the back straight, so I made up as much ground as I could in sectors one and two. In the closing laps, I looked for an opportunity to make a move, but it would have had to have been a last-lap lunge where I made an attempt and held my breath.
“I have to be proud of the job we did today. It’s a little frustrating with how it ended, but that’s racing. We regroup and go again tomorrow and come out swinging.”