Ray withstands the pressure to take terrific treble at Donington Park

Bradley Ray continued his quest for a second Bennetts British Superbike Championship crown with an impressive performance at Donington Park this weekend as he withstood the pressure from his title rivals to claim a hat trick of victories for Raceways Yamaha.

Ray headed into today’s raceday off the back of victory in yesterday’s opening race and in the second contest of the weekend he added to his winning tally with an impressive performance that kept him ahead of reigning champion Kyle Ryde and Hager PBM Ducati’s Glenn Irwin.

Ray had hit the front of the pack on the opening lap ahead of Ryde and Irwin, with the Hager PBM Ducati rider moving into second on lap two. The Raceways Yamaha rider held the lead until lap four when Irwin moved ahead on the brakes at the Fogarty Esses, but he was instantly on the attack and regained the position at the Melbourne Hairpin just a corner later.

Ray was then defending hard from Irwin, who attempted another move at the Fogarty Esses, but had to stand up the Hager PBM Ducati and run on down the slip road to re-join in fourth place.

Ray then held the advantage over Ryde until the chequered flag, with Rory Skinner holding third place until the final lap when Glenn Irwin made a move to regain the position and make a podium return.

In race three, Ray kept his cool despite the mounting pressure from Glenn Irwin in the closing stages to make it a treble for the Raceways Yamaha team.

Ray had launched into the lead again on the opening lap ahead of Skinner and Glenn Irwin, with Ryde and Leon Haslam completing the top five, but Ryde had a moment on the exit of the Fogarty Esses, which lost him ground and he then dropped behind Haslam and McPhee.

At the front of the pack, Ray was trying to make a break, but Irwin had moved into second place with a dive down the inside at Redgate on lap ten. His Raceways Yamaha rival had bridged a gap of over two seconds by lap 12, but as the laps counted down, Irwin was getting closer as he continued to hunt his rival.

By lap 16, it had dropped to less than a second and as they crossed the line to start the next lap, it had halved again, and then Ray was in range for Irwin to try to make his move. With three laps remaining, it looked like the Hager PBM Ducati rider was going to attack.

Irwin was unsettled on the brakes into the Fogarty Esses, losing ground on Ray again and despite pushing all the way to the finish, he was unable to deny Ray the treble.

Skinner celebrated his first win with Cheshire Mouldings Ducati since their change of manufacturer this year, holding off Haslam to become the sixth different podium finisher so far this season.

The triple win puts Ray at the top of the standings by 12 points ahead of the next round of the season at Snetterton next month.

Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Donington Park, Race 2 result:

1. Bradley Ray (Raceways Yamaha)
2. Kyle Ryde (OMG Nitrous Competitions Racing Yamaha) +1.110s
3. Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) +1.899s
4. Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings Ducati) +2.193s
5. Leon Haslam (Moto Rapido Ducati Racing) +4.061s
6. Josh Brookes (DAO Racing Honda) +4.272s
7. Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing UK) +6.435s
8. Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK) +7.204s
9. Max Cook (AJN Steelstock Kawasaki) +7.615s
10. John McPhee (MasterMac Honda) +9.317s

Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Donington Park, Race 3 result:

1. Bradley Ray (Raceways Yamaha)
2. Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) +0.396s
3. Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings Ducati) +2.750s
4. Leon Haslam (Moto Rapido Ducati Racing) +3.667s
5. Kyle Ryde (OMG Nitrous Competitions Racing Yamaha) +9.407s
6. Josh Brookes (DAO Racing Honda) +12.465s
7. Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK) +13.065s
8. Danny Kent (McAMS Racing Yamaha) +13.840s
9. Christian Iddon (AJN Steelstock Kawasaki) +14.681s
10. Max Cook (AJN Steelstock Kawasaki) +15.038s

Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:

1. Bradley Ray (Raceways Yamaha) 86
2. Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) 74
3. Kyle Ryde (OMG Nitrous Competitions Racing Yamaha) 66
4. Leon Haslam (Moto Rapido Ducati Racing) 65
5. Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings Ducati) 47
6. Josh Brookes (DAO Racing Honda) 44
7. Danny Kent (McAMS Racing Yamaha) 35
8. Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK) 33
9. Christian Iddon (AJN Steelstock Kawasaki) 24
10. Storm Stacey (Bathams AJN Racing BMW) 23

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