Brad Ray and Raceways Yamaha are eager to return to the track this weekend as the Bennetts British Superbike Championship heads to Donington Park for Round 2 of the season.

After a promising start on track for Bradley Ray at Oulton Park, which saw the #28 Yamaha secure a dominant Race 1 victory, backed up with a third in the Sprint Race, the team head to the East Midlands venue with high confidence as the British Superbike paddock races on together in memory of Owen Jenner and Shane Richardson.

The Raceways Yamaha rider’s opening round started strong, ending Saturday’s Practices just 0.041s behind Leon Haslam before upping the pace in Sunday’s Qualifying, posting an unofficial lap record of 1:32.851 and securing pole. Leading every lap of Race 1, he claimed victory in the opening encounter of the year, setting a new official lap record in the process. The Sprint Race looked to be more of the same, leading early on, but slipped to third in the closing stages, marking a second visit to the podium for the Ashford rider.

Ray heads to Donington Park full of confidence, having competed around the 2.49-mile circuit throughout his time in the FIM Superbike World Championship paddock and claiming three victories in the BSB paddock. A strong test earlier in the year, along with a promising Oulton Park, sets up another trophy-hunting weekend ahead for the joint Championship leader.

Action kicks off on Friday with Free Practice 1 at 13:00. Second practice takes place at 15:50 to determine the Qualifying 2 top 14. A busy Saturday afternoon commences with Practice 3 ahead of Qualifying and the opening 20-lap race at 16:15. Sunday sees two more races with the Sprint Race at 13:15 and the final outing of the weekend taking place at 16:20.

In the Pirelli National Sportbike Championship, Ash Barnes is targeting banking more valuable points aboard his Raceways Yamaha R7 machine, as the 19-year-old looks to build upon his sixth-place finish in the season opener.

Bradley Ray
Raceways Yamaha
Championship: 2nd (32 points)

“I’m looking forward to the weekend. Donington Park is a track that I really enjoy, I’ve raced there consistently now with it being on the WorldSBK calendar and the test there was really strong too. As a team we’ve made big progress since the test there so I’m eager to see how the weekend will shape up and try to get as many points on the board as possible.”

Ash Barnes
Raceways Yamaha – Pirelli National Sportbike Championship
Championship: 6th (14 points)

“We had a few issues at Oulton which hindered the opportunity to show our true potential, but despite that we still managed to fight close to the front and finish as the top R7. We’re straight back to it this weekend with the chance to get back on the podium and back up the form we had at the Donington round this time last year and at the pre-season test in April.”

Steve Rodgers
Team Owner

“As a community and a family, we’re racing with heavy hearts this weekend, but as a team we’re ready for the challenge ahead. Brad has had a good run at Donington Park in the past, and I’m confident that he’ll carry that form into this weekend. It was a strong start at Oulton, a victory in our first race back in the Championship and a podium in the first race on Monday, so it’s nice to be joint top going into Round 2 with the target of extending the lead this weekend.”