Bradley Ray was in seventh heaven this afternoon, as he notched up his seventh consecutive Bennetts British Superbike Championship victory at Knockhill.

It is an impressive start to the season for Ray who has now won eight of the opening nine races, and he was on the podium in the one race he has yet to win.
Having started the race from pole position, Brad for once this season didn’t get a great start. Kyle Ryde got the hole shot as Ray had to fight back into second place from Rory Skinner into the opening corner.
From there he sat behind Ryde for a number of laps, before Skinner swept past the pair and into the lead. Ryde made an error trying to take the lead back and opened the door for Ray to move back into second place.

Skinner looked comfortable, but with ten laps to go Ray made his move and went past into first place. After that there was no looking back as the 2022 champion dropped the hammer and moved away into a two second lead from Ryde and Skinner.
In doing so he set a couple of fastest laps to ensure he starts the sprint race tomorrow lunchtime from pole position.
Speaking after the race, Ray said: “It was a solid race; I didn’t get a very good start, so at that point I just needed to settle into it. Kyle was strong at the start and then Rory passed me quite early on as well and I was happy to sit in third, as it’s a long race here.

“Kyle made a mistake and I was able to go underneath him and at that point I knew I needed to attack Rory quite quickly. I felt I had a bit better pace, but I just couldn’t pass him where I wanted to, so I made a strong pass into turn three and then just got into the rhythm I knew I was able to do.
“The bike was working well and we made a little step from qualifying, so I felt a little more comfortable.
“I think if it’s dry tomorrow I would expect more of the same and I think Rory and Kyle will stick with me and be close, but I enjoyed the battle and I enjoyed making the passes and being passed. That’s what racing is all about!
“But in the end we was able to bring it across the line first for Raceways and for Yamaha.”