Kent’s Bradley Ray was back on the podium in a thrilling weekend of racing at Thruxton.

The British Superbike Championship did not disappoint at the fastest circuit on the racing calendar in the UK. It was definitely a weekend that got better as it went on for Ray.

The rider from Lydd finished the opening race on Saturday in fourth place, before taking third in race one on Sunday lunchtime and then second in the final race of the weekend.

It was probably a case of what might have been for Brad though, with the red flag coming out in race one that meant the final five laps didn’t get run, and he thought he had tyre left to challenge for the podiums.

In Sunday’s sprint race, Ray was well placed before being run out wide from Haslam then having to use the green run off area a corner later. He dropped down to 8th and had to work his way back through to take third place off Kyle Ryde in the final corner.

The final race of the weekend being over 18 laps was always going to be a little more cautious, but it was still as frenetic and drama filled as the laps clicked down.

Ray had a good battle in the last couple of laps with Ryde and the man of the round Ryan Vickers, with them all swapping positions on a regular basis.

Before Ray hit the front on the final lap, only for Vickers to draft him and sweep past into the final corner, meaning he had to settle for second place.

Speaking after another strong weekend, Ray said: “It’s been a really good weekend for me and the team at McAMS Yamaha – it was a shame to not have got a podium in yesterday’s race as I feel like we had more to give – but sadly it wasn’t meant to be.

“Today’s results were well deserved, we had the potential to win in both races. Even so, it felt great to reward the team with two podiums after all their hard work this weekend.

“I’m feeling good on the bike heading into Cadwell Park, where we’ll aim to be competitive again.

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