The penultimate round of the 2025 Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park proved highly rewarding for title contender Bradley Ray and Raceways Yamaha, delivering outstanding performances in Sunday’s double-header to close the gap to the top of the standings.
The Yamaha-powered outfit’s Oulton Park campaign kicked off in strong style, with Ray quickly finding his feet in challenging conditions aboard the R1, finishing fourth in Friday’s Free Practice 2 session and going on to secure a spot directly through to Qualifying 2.
The 2022 Bennetts BSB Champion rode with speed and confidence come Saturday’s second qualifying session, punching in a 1:45.269 to clinch a spot on the second row, starting ahead of title rival and Yamaha counterpart, Kyle Ryde.
Despite starting from a good position for Race 1, the 2025 title hopeful endured a challenging opening race of the weekend.
Worsening weather brought out the red flags after just a handful of laps, prompting a 14-lap restart on a damp but rapidly drying Oulton Park circuit.
Going from his original grid position of fourth, a last-minute set-up decision hampered the team’s proven potential throughout the next 14 laps, with Ray dropping down the order to take the chequered flag in ninth but still bringing home eight points for the championship.
The second race of the weekend on Sunday presented a golden opportunity to turn the meeting around, but starting from 16th on the grid, the #28 rider had his work cut out.
Showing steady progress from the sixth row, a second race red flag stoppage of the weekend occurred after a significant oil spillage – prompting a rescheduled 8-lap sprint to take place over two hours later.
In an act of brilliance from 14th on the grid, the Raceways Yamaha rider dug in to enter podium contention by the end of Lap 5, setting sights on the leading pair of Christian Iddon and Leon Haslam.
Riding with blistering momentum and posting consecutive fastest laps, the R1 rider reeled in the leading duo on the final lap, sweeping past Iddon at Island Bend for second before diving up the inside of Haslam at Knickerbrook to seize the lead.
Ray held firm at the front to bring home the win – arguably his best performance of the year – securing 25 critical points for his efforts and keeping title hopes alive in nail-biting fashion.
With hopes to replicate his earlier form in the final race of the weekend, Ray set off from pole position to maintain the lead throughout the early stages of the race – again setting consecutive fastest laps to keep second-place sitter Ryde at arm’s length.
A momentary drop to fourth on Lap 15 did little to halt his charge, as the Raceways Yamaha rider swiftly reclaimed a podium position before capitalising on a Haslam error to secure second at the flag.
Throughout an impressive Sunday in Cheshire, Ray secured a total of 47 points for his title attack, narrowing the gap to leader Ryde to 30 points heading towards the season finale at Brands Hatch.
It’s all to play for in the final round of the 2025 Bennetts British Superbike Championship in two weeks’ time.
Bradley Ray
Raceways Yamaha
Championship: 2nd (415 points)
“After a difficult start to the weekend, it was great to be able to turn things around with today’s success. I feel really pleased to have brought home a win for the team. The last couple of rounds haven’t been easy, so it’s nice to pay them back for all of the hard work. I’m feeling happy with our performance this weekend, we took some points away from Kyle in the championship standings, and that’s what matters. A big thanks to the team for all of their hard work over the weekend. We’ll head towards Brands Hatch with the aim of replicating today’s form in an attempt to put up a hard fight for the championship crown.”
Steve Rodgers
Team Owner
“I’m over the moon with how Sunday went at Oulton Park. Brad did exactly what he needed to, and I couldn’t be prouder of the whole team. We pulled back some important points in the championship, which was the big aim coming into the weekend. It’s been a brilliant day all round, but now the focus shifts straight to Brands Hatch in two weeks. It’s going to be tough, no doubt, but we’ll go into it like we always do – give it everything and fight for those wins.”
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Oulton Park, Race 2 result:
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