Another enthralling British Superbike Championship (BSB) concluded last weekend at Brands Hatch and although rain on the final day threw everyone a curve ball, it was Kyle Ryde who clinched the title for the second year running, the first rider to retain the crown since Shane Byrne who achieved the feat in the 2016/2017 seasons.
Ryde on time
Ryde and his Nitrous Competitions Yamaha was a title challenger right from the word go despite his original OMG Racing team, for whom he’d ridden for since 2021, folding on the eve of the opening round.
A last-minute deal ensured the reigning champion was on the grid and he was a model of consistency throughout the 12-round series. Both Bradley Ray (12) and latecomer to the 2025 championship Scott Redding (7) won more races compared to Ryde’s six but the Nottinghamshire rider was the only rider to score points in all 33 races and ultimately that proved to be key.
Ryde has never been a perennial race winner, but he continually racks up the points and that meant he kept himself in the title hunt even when Ray looked to be running away with it. And, crucially, he was there to capitalise when the wheels began to fall off Ray’s title challenge.
His only weakness was racing in the wet, but with the fantastic British summer, only the Knockhill and Brands meetings in the UK were affected by rain. That meant he was able to limit his losses and going into the final race, he had enough of a buffer to not worry about finishing on the podium.
Not that it was easy as it was extremely treacherous at Brands, but it was another mistake-free ride, and the number one plate will be his for a second year running. A switch to Ducati will represent a new challenge but he’s already proven himself on Suzuki, BMW and Yamaha machinery so he’ll adapt quickly.
Ray comes up short
Ray will no doubt be ruing the fact that this year’s championship slipped through his fingers and it should be him celebrating title number two not Ryde, particularly as he was dominating proceedings in the first half of the year.
Never off the podium in the first 12 races, the 2022 champion won eight races in a row during that period and at one stage had a 52-point advantage over Ryde. That should have been enough to see the Raceways Yamaha rider take this year’s title but a crash at Brands in July marked his first mistake and non-score and more followed.
Cadwell and Donington were arguably the pivotal meetings. Ray crashed out of the second race at Cadwell whilst leading and could only manage 12th in the final race, Ryde capitalising with victory. That gave Ryde the momentum he needed, and he outscored Ray at the following round at Donington, where four races were held, by 70 points to 44. Another crash for Ray at Assen meant Ryde now led by 34 points.
Despite his best efforts at the final two rounds, Ray was unable to exert any real pressure on Ryde, and he’ll have to try again in 2026. He knows he should have won and the defeat will have hurt him, but continuing with the same team, he’s in a good position and will come back stronger next season.
Still competitive
At 42, Leon Haslam was the second oldest rider on the grid this year, just a month younger than Josh Brookes, and with a career that started back in 1997, he’s been around for ever, possessing a wealth of experience in both the World and British Championship paddocks.
He, arguably, should have more than one BSB title to his name but changing both machinery and team for 2025, he proved he was riding as well as ever. Back on Ducati for the first time since 2007, it was a new challenge for Haslam, but he was a front runner all year.
A race winner at the opening round, Haslam racked up eight podiums and it’s this statistic that ultimately meant he was unable to mount a serious challenge to the Yamaha pairing of Ryde and Ray who recorded 21 and 22 respectively. Up until the final round, he’d only failed to score points in one race, but a mid-season slump cost him only finishing in the top six once in nine races across the Knockhill, Brands and Thruxton meetings.
Despite missing the final two races after crashing in the first race at Brands, he’d done more than enough to claim third in the final championship standings and with a year’s worth of data now under their belts, both team and rider will be confident of being closer to the number one position in 2026.
Favourite for 2026?
Having started the season in the World Superbike Championship, Scott Redding missed the first three rounds of the BSB series, and it was originally only a guest appearance with the PBM Ducati team at round four. But that was quickly turned into a permanent move, and he gave the championship some added impetus for the remainder of the year.
It’s easy to forget Redding has only ridden on the majority of the UK circuits once, when he won the title in 2019, and he’s more accustomed to the wide-open spaces of Grand Prix circuits in mainland Europe. But he’s now in a point in his career where World Championship glory has been consigned to the past and his home is in BSB.
He’s embraced the challenge and is a far more relaxed, and mature, individual now, both in the garage and with his fans. He was a breath of fresh air to the series and although he missed nine races, his form was so good he ended the year in fourth overall.
In the nine rounds he contested, he won seven races and finished on the podium in another five and the experience with the bike, team and circuits will stand in him tremendous stead for the next year. Indeed, he could well be favourite for success.
Mixed year for Honda
For Honda Racing, it’s fair to say it was a mixed year and there’ll be disappointed to have fallen off the pace after such a superb year in 2024 when Tommy Bridewell lost the title to Ryde by just one point.
The 2023 champion endured a frustrating campaign in 2025 often voicing his disappointment with not having the tools to fight. More often than not, he felt he was riding over the limit and was unable to put the bike where he wanted it to go. Just one win and six podiums is not a true reflection of his capabilities.
Team-mate Andrew Irwin again saw his season hit by injury but when fit, he was riding as well as ever, with his mid-season form at Thruxton, Cadwell, where he took three podiums, and Donington exemplary.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for him to keep his ride, and he’s been replaced for 2026 by the returning Ryan Vickers whose already been testing in Spain. Bridewell is expected to continue with Honda for a third season next year where he’ll be hoping to mount a stronger challenge.
Going out on a high
For Danny Kent and the Mar-Train Racing Yamaha team, it was a case of what might have been team with the combination failing to build on their strong season last year when they finished fourth overall. The former Moto3 World Champion was expected to be a title challenger from the word to go but just two top six finishes in the first three rounds extinguished those hopes.
He was never able to recover the lost ground with injury late in the season also meaning he missed several races. Nevertheless, a superb double victory at Thruxton and another win at the final round at Brands Hatch again showed that on his day he’s as good as anyone.
There’s no doubt Kent has the credentials to be BSB champion, but he needs to improve his consistency and ensure an off day is fourth or fifth not ninth or tenth, particularly at the more narrow, technical circuits.
He’s expected to remain with Yamaha in 2026, switching to the TAS Racing team, whilst his win at Brands was the ideal way for the Northern Ireland based Mar-Train team to bow out of racing after nearly 20 years in the sport.
Strong showing by Kawasaki
Widely recognised by being one of the least favourable bikes on the grid (BMW is arguably the worst in BSB trim), the Kawasaki pairing of Christian Iddon and Max Cook featured regularly towards the front in 2025 with Iddon riding as good as ever.
He deserved more than his three podiums although his season ended on a low note when he crashed heavily in the first race at Brands.
The FS-3 Racing team are switching to Bimota for 2026 but Iddon is rumoured to be moving to the new Sencat Yamaha team so it will be interesting to see how he fares.
For Cook, now’s the time to start featuring on the podium more regularly. This year was his third season in BSB, and he’ll perhaps be disappointed with just one podium to show for his efforts. He has enough experience now to grace the podium more frequently although next year’s campaign will depend on just how strong the Bimota works when running to BSB rules.
Changes in 2026
As mentioned, plenty of changes can be expected for 2026 with Vickers joining Honda one of the first of those to be announced. Kent and Rory Skinner are expected to be the two-man team at Cheshire Mouldings/TAS Racing on Yamaha machinery, with Iddon and another rider set to be the two Sencat Yamaha riders.
Reigning champions Nitrous Competitions and Ryde have already announced there’ll be running the new Ducati in 2026, which should mean team-mate Glenn Irwin is back in title contention, whilst the new Superbike Advocates team are also running Ducati although they’re yet to announce a rider.
Bathams Racing and Storm Stacey could also be running the Italian brand with DAO Racing continuing with the Honda Fireblade and Josh Brookes and Lee Jackson. The whereabouts of several riders, including Andrew Irwin and Charlie Nesbitt, is very much up in the air.