Four rounds into the 2025 British Superbike Championship and the big question on everyone’s lips is ‘can anyone stop Bradley Ray’? The 2022 BSB Champion has won nine of the first 11 races, including eight in a row, and whilst there’s plenty of racing still to go, it’ll take a brave man to bet against him.
Ray dominates
The first 11 races have seen Ray and his Raceways Yamaha win nine races in total and finish second and third in the other two, so his dominance is clear. And the fact his eight successive wins is only the second time ever such a feat has been achieved only serves to highlight that dominance further.
Ironically, it was Ray’s manager, Shane Byrne, who’s the only other person to win eight in a row, doing so in his Championship-winning 2003 season and although the revised points structure won’t allow Ray to wrap up the title as early as what Byrne did, it’s all pointing in the same direction.
Ray’s lead already stands at 52 points and that’s most certainly ominous looking for the opposition. Victories have come from the outside at least in comfortable fashion, breaking his rivals in the early laps and then controlling the race from there. And when he’s won, it’s never truly been close.
Third in the second race of the season came when he was still acclimatising to his new team, the deal having been done at the 11th hour after the collapse of his original OMG Racing team, and second at the recent round at Knockhill came in the wet when he rode a sensible race. And whilst he won’t be thinking of the title yet, it the was the ride of a champion.
The next round at Brands this weekend is one of his favourite venues and after that it’s the high-speed Thruxton circuit where the Yamaha R1 has dominated in recent years. It’s not unreasonable to suggest he could take win all six races and if he does, surely only injury will deny him a second title.
Second best for Ryde so far
So far, it’s been a case of second best for reigning champion Kyle Ryde in this year’s title race and he’s yet to claim a victory, something he wouldn’t have expected four rounds in. Or maybe, deep down, he always knew it would be tough going against the similarly-mounted Ray.
Riding the OMG Nitrous Competitions Racing Yamaha, Ryde has only finished on the podium five times thus far, with all five of those rostrum appearances being second place finishes, the fifth of which came in the opening race at Knockhill last time out.
It’s not those results that will have left him frustrated though, more the six races where he hasn’t been on the podium. Wet weather is still his Achilles heel, as seen at Knockhill where seventh and 11th in the rain were the best he could manage, albeit the latter result coming after a technical issue meant he had to start from the back of the grid.
The fourths and fifths elsewhere though need to be replaced by more podium appearances, preferably wins. Being beaten by the same rider all the time, especially by one on the same bike, isn’t easy to deal so where better to take his first win of 2025 than at the venue where he clinched the title.
Haslam falters
Winner at the opening round at Oulton Park back in May, Leon Haslam’s early season charge on the Moto Rapido Ducati has stalled somewhat since the series resumed after the Isle of Man TT Races.
True, he was on the podium once and inside the top five in all three races at Snetterton, but Knockhill could be termed a disaster especially the first race where he finished in a disastrous 13th. He improved the following day but seventh and eighth place finishes didn’t meet his high expectations.
Haslam is known for being highly demanding of his team, expecting the utmost best in terms of commitment, preparation and performance and those demands will only have been heightened after Knockhill. He still sits in third overall in the Championship table but is now 70 points adrift of Ray so he’ll expect to bounce back at Brands, and he’ll expect the team to bounce back; only podiums will suffice at the Kent venue.
Skinner in the ascendancy
As one Ducati rider’s been faltering, another’s been flourishing – Rory Skinner. With both the rider and TAS Racing team switching to the Ducati Panigale V4 for the first time, they’ve both been on a steep learning curve, but they appear to have gelled quickly.
Three top five finishes, including a podium, at the second round at Donington showed positive signs and that form has remained ever since, only a minor technical issue in the opening race at Snetterton preventing a nine-race run of top five finishes.
Snetterton’s second race yielded another podium and then it was onto Knockhill, Skinner’s home round and the venue of some of his best BSB performances. Scene of his maiden victory twelve months ago, the 23-year old repeated that victory last time out and with finishes of 1-2-3 taken across the three races, it was his best BSB weekend to date.
With podiums at Donington, Snetterton and Knockhill, three vastly different circuits, Skinner is showing the consistency needed to mount a championship challenge. It’s no good being a one-trick, or one circuit, pony and the Perth rider is finally delivering on the promise shown previously. More podiums at Brands and Thruxton will confirm his credentials.
Redding returns for remaining rounds
With Glenn Irwin sustaining significant injuries at round three at Snetterton, the Hager PBM Ducati rider’s championship hopes ended there and then, as did the teams obviously. But they reacted by enlisting the services of former champion Scott Redding for the Knockhill round.
And although the deal was done late and weather conditions were far from perfect, Redding enjoyed a solid meeting with fourth in race one his best result. Of course, both rider and team expect more so it will be interesting to see what happens next.
Irwin will miss both Brands and Thruxton, and possibly Cadwell Park too, and Redding was expected to be absent from Brands due to the clash with the Hungarian round of the World Superbike Championship. However, paddock rumours suggested Redding may well have ridden his last WSB round at Donington the other week.
It’s no secret Redding was having to pay for his ride with the MGM Bonovo team in WSB, but it’s believed the team were asking for more and more money from him in order to keep them afloat, a situation that couldn’t continue. It shouldn’t have been down to Redding to fund the team.
The Hager PBM Ducati team have always stated their desire is to run a two-man team so it came as no surprise when it was announced this week that Redding will not only be in action at Brands but also for the remainder of the season.
All ties with the MGM Bonovo team have been severed (with Tarran Mackenzie filling that seat) and Irwin will compete alongside Redding when he returns. Redding will be aiming for wins and podiums now that he’s confirmed in BSB for the next seven rounds.
Honda’s mixed season continues
2025 continues to be a mixed season for Honda with none of their riders, from any of their teams, managing to string together a consistent set of results. Star riders Tommy Bridewell and Josh Brookes have both shone at times but not at each round and that’s why they find themselves fifth and sixth in the championship table.
At 91 and 106 points respectively adrift of Ray, neither rider looks like there’ll be winning another BSB title this year, but the lack of consistency will be frustrating them, Brookes’s podium at round two for DAO Racing was followed by a best of sixth place in the next seven races. The run also included a ninth, tenth and a finish outside the points at Knockhill.
Brands Hatch has historically been one of his most successful circuits though so, bemused by the lack of wet weather performance at Knockhill, he’ll be confident of his chances of getting back amongst the top three. Bridewell will be thinking the same.
Three third place finishes in the six races at Snetterton and Knockhill has boosted the Honda Racing rider’s confidence and he’ll be optimistic ahead of Brands. But he’s still speaking of the deficit he’s facing when compared to the Yamahas and has stated that whilst the Honda excels on one half of the Brands GP circuit, he suffers in another. Both he and the team are still searching for solutions to make the bike better.
Having started watching motorcycle races all over the world form childhood, Phil Wain has been a freelance motorcycle journalist for almost 20 years and is features writer for a number of publications including BikeSport News, Classic Racer and Road Racing Ireland, as well as being a regular contributor to MCN and MCN Sport.
He is PR officer for a number of teams and riders at both the British Superbike Championship and International road races, including PBM Ducati, John McGuinness, KTS Racing and Jackson Racing. He is also heavily involved with the Isle of Man TT Races working with the race organisation, writing official press releases and race reports as well as providing the TV and radio broadcasting teams with statistical information.