The opening race of the 2026 British Superbike Championship Showdown at Donington Park saw championship leader Kyle Ryde overcome a sluggish start to claim his 15th win of the season — and tighten his grip on the title lead. It was far from a straightforward afternoon, however, with contact, close‑quarter passes and late drama shaping the result. Here’s how it unfolded.
Pole Sitter Drops Back — Ray Leads Early Charge
After a faultless qualifying session that delivered pole position by a comfortable margin, Ryde’s race unravelled before the first corner was even reached. As the lights went out, it was Bradley Ray who rocketed off the line aboard the McAMS Yamaha to snatch the holeshot, with Ryan Vickers (Honda Racing UK) slotting into second and Scott Redding (Hager PBM Ducati) tucking in behind. Ryde, by contrast, bogged down and dropped all the way to fifth as the field streamed through the opening sequence.
Undaunted, the championship leader set about his recovery immediately. He reclaimed fifth from Rory Skinner before the end of the opening lap and immediately set his sights on the leading trio — Ray, Vickers and Redding — who had already started to establish an early gap.
Hard Racing — Contact with Redding Precedes Vickers Pass
By Lap 3, Ryde had closed onto the rear wheel of Redding and made his move. The pass was robust: as Ryde dived for the inside, the two title rivals made contact, with Redding’s leg becoming tangled in Ryde’s handlebars. Both riders held on, but it was Ryde who emerged ahead, refusing to wait for a conventional passing zone and forcing his way through to third. Redding, visibly shaken by the moment, fell back and was unable to mount a counter‑attack.
Now Ryde had Vickers in his sights. The Honda rider was defending hard, holding firm through Coppice and refusing to yield. Ryde tried the inside line on multiple occasions but was repelled each time — until the run through the Schwantz Curve, where he finally edged ahead to seize second place. The move was decisive, but Vickers didn’t let go; he sat less than half a second behind for lap after lap, refusing to fade away.
Lap by Lap — Ryde Breaks Free for Win Number 15
Once clear of Vickers, Ryde turned up the pace. He set a succession of fastest laps, gradually stretching his lead from a few tenths to nearly nine tenths by Lap 18 of 20. With two laps remaining, the gap had grown to 0.880s — and from there he pulled away cleanly, crossing the line 1.260s clear to secure his 15th victory of a standout season.
Vickers held on for a well‑deserved second place, giving Honda a strong result on a weekend where they have looked competitive throughout. Ray faded in the closing stages to finish third, three seconds adrift of the winner, while Redding — still recovering from the earlier contact — came home fourth, six seconds behind Ryde and with ground to make up in the title chase.
Top Five Matches Grid — Cook Steady in Fifth
Despite all the shuffling and overtaking at the front, the top five finishers exactly mirrored the starting order:
- 1st Kyle Ryde — Nitrous Coin / Nitrous Competitions
- 2nd Ryan Vickers — Honda Racing UK
- 3rd Bradley Ray — McAMS Yamaha
- 4th Scott Redding — Hager PBM Ducati
- 5th Max Cook — AJN Steelstock Bimota
Cook had a quiet but solid race to complete the top five, continuing Bimota’s encouraging run of form as the rookie machinery steadily finds its feet in the championship.
Mid‑Field Drama — Skinner Retires, Haslam Charges Through
Further back, there was plenty of action. Rory Skinner had been running comfortably inside the top six — and keeping pace with the lead group — when smoke billowed from his Cheshire Mouldings Yamaha on Lap 14. He pulled straight off the circuit and retired from the race, handing sixth place to Leon Haslam — who had already put in a storming drive from the back of the grid to make up eight places. Haslam’s weekend had been plagued by technical issues across practice and qualifying, making his late charge all the more impressive as he crossed the line a lonely sixth.
Danny Kent took seventh, pulling clear of a tight scrap behind him to finish alone ahead of Storm Stacey (Bathams AJN Ducati), who recovered well from a difficult qualifying session to place eighth. Joe Talbot was the top rookie in ninth aboard the second Bimota, while Christian Iddon (Sencat Yamaha) completed the top ten despite running wide onto the kerbs in the final complex of corners.
Lee Jackson finished 11th for DAO Racing, unable to close the gap to Iddon in the closing laps, while his teammate Josh Brookes worked his way steadily through the field to 12th after an entertaining, race‑long battle with Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing UK), who slipped back to 13th.
Rhys Irwin (MasterMac Honda) and Andrew Irwin (MET fonaCAB Racing) rounded out the points positions in 14th and 15th respectively, with Andrew Irwin passing Scott Swann (TAG Honda) late in the race to claim the final point.
Retirements — Mikhalchik, Rogers and More Out Early
Ilya Mikhalchik never made it onto the track; the ROKiT BMW rider was still in the pits as the grid formed and retired before completing a lap. Fraser Rogers, Glenn Irwin and Eugene McManus also failed to finish, their weekends ending prematurely before the race distance was complete.
BSB Race1 Result:
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time |
| 1 | Kyle Ryde | GBR | Nitrous Coin Nitrous Competitions Racing (Ducati) | 29′ 12.190s |
| 2 | Ryan Vickers | GBR | Honda Racing UK (Honda) | +1.260s |
| 3 | Bradley Ray | GBR | McAMS Yamaha (Yamaha) | +4.440s |
| 4 | Scott Redding | GBR | Hager PBM Racing Team (Ducati) | +6.081s |
| 5 | Max Cook | GBR | AJN Steelstock (bimota) | +7.777s |
| 6 | Leon Haslam | GBR | Moto Rapido Racing (Ducati) | +17.125s |
| 7 | Danny Kent | GBR | Cheshire Mouldings Yamaha (Yamaha) | +18.143s |
| 8 | Storm Stacey | GBR | Bathams AJN Racing (Ducati) | +22.579s |
| 9 | Joe Talbot | GBR | AJN Steelstock (bimota) | +23.025s |
| 10 | Christian Iddon | GBR | Sencat Racing (Yamaha) | +23.695s |
| 11 | Lee Jackson | GBR | DAO Racing (Honda) | +24.202s |
| 12 | Josh Brookes | AUS | DAO Racing (Honda) | +33.794s |
| 13 | Jason O’Halloran | AUS | Honda Racing UK (Honda) | +35.895s |
| 14 | Rhys Irwin | IRL | MasterMac Honda (Honda) | +42.399s |
| 15 | Andrew Irwin | GBR | MET fonaCAB Racing Ducati (Ducati) | +48.339s |
| 16 | Scott Swann | GBR | TAG Honda (Honda) | +48.998s |
| 17 | Richard Kerr | IRL | SM Racing (Honda) | +53.923s |
| 18 | Luke Hedger | GBR | Whitecliffe CDH Racing (Honda) | +53.984s |
| 19 | Brayden Elliott | AUS | NP Racing (Honda) | +1′ 18.684s |
| 20 | Rory Skinner | GBR | Cheshire Mouldings Yamaha (Yamaha) | DNF |
| 21 | Eugene McManus | IRL | MasterMac Honda (Honda) | DNF |
| 22 | Glenn Irwin | GBR | Nitrous Coin Nitrous Competitions Racing (Ducati) | DNF |
| 23 | Ilya Mikhalchik | UKR | ROKiT BMW Motorrad British Superbike Race Team | DNF |
| 24 | Fraser Rogers | GBR | TAG Honda (Honda) | DNF. |
What They Said
Kyle Ryde — Race Winner:
“I got a terrible start — I couldn’t believe it. But I knew the pace was there, I just had to be patient and pick them off. The pass on Scott was tight, I’ll be honest, but I wasn’t going to wait and let the gap grow. Once I got past Ryan I could feel the bike coming alive. This is exactly the kind of weekend we needed.”
Ryan Vickers — P2:
“I gave it everything. I knew Kyle was coming and I tried to defend as hard as I could. We were right there for most of the race, just couldn’t hold him off. Second is still a great result for the team and we’ll push for the win in Race Two.”
Leon Haslam — P6:
“To be honest, I didn’t expect to be here. We’ve had so many issues all weekend, but the bike felt great in the race. Making up eight places and then getting Skinner’s retirement — I’ll take it. We’ll see what we can do from here.”
What’s Next
Race Two is scheduled for later on Saturday, with the grid set to see Ryde once again start from the front. Can he convert his dominant form into a double victory? Will Vickers or Ray strike back? And can Redding recover from a difficult opening race to get back into title contention? Don’t miss the action.
