- 24/06/2025
Full coverage of race 2 of the 2nd round of the 2025 BSB (British Superbike Championship) from Donington Park on the 18th May 2025.
12:32 - Race Starts (Round 4)
12:32 - Race Starts (Round 4)
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SportsTranscript
01:30Josh Brooks on the Dow Racing Honda has got through on Leon Haslam.
01:35Oh, he's coming here.
01:36There is from Kyle Wright.
01:39Lunge down in.
01:40Oh, and I know it was deep as well.
01:42And he's bluffed his lines here.
01:44And he's going to lose a couple of spots.
01:45They engage.
01:48Yeah, they work too deep.
01:50And he's back there.
01:52Watch this.
01:54Yeah, he's making his move.
01:55That was a long way back.
01:57Oh, why?
01:59Brooks is on him, yeah.
02:00Well, Brooks in fourth is just saying, keep going, boys.
02:02Defensive again, but this time Kyle Milliever's going to go there when Brooks comes through.
02:07Oh, and he touches the mirror of Kyle Wright.
02:11Here comes Josh Brooks then, number 25 on the Dow Racing podium.
02:14Len wasn't defending at all then.
02:17Ray will take charge of the British Superbike Championship.
02:21But it was, of course, Bradley Ray, the 2022 champion, who did indeed take charge of that race yesterday here at Dyington Park.
02:39And I'd like to say that I'm back in charge today because Matt Roberts is on footballing duty with Scunthorpe United.
02:46His team are trying to get promoted into the National League today.
02:50That is a big deal if you don't know.
02:52So up the irons there, James and Shane alongside me.
02:56Let's not continue talking about football because I know it will go over both your heads.
02:59We'll talk about Superbikes instead because the race is building behind us.
03:04Let's go back to yesterday.
03:05Bradley Ray showing the form that really made him that champion three years ago, Shane.
03:091.7 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.
03:12Yeah, I think Bradley had a plan yesterday.
03:15The plan was obviously to get out, see how everybody was going.
03:18I think the boys in commentary called it, didn't they?
03:20It was like a bit of a game of poker in the beginning of the race there.
03:22Nobody really knew what the tyres were going to do, sort of 15 to 20 laps in.
03:26So Brad sort of kept his powder dry until about lap 15 or 16 and then had a dig for a couple of laps.
03:33And that got him a bit of a gap.
03:34And then it was pretty much job done.
03:35Yeah, it was nice to see Kyle Ryde obviously defending champion James back on the podium the first time this season.
03:42But he said he wasn't particularly used to battling and racing out there in that race.
03:46Yeah, he's had a bit of a lonely meeting, a sort of first time off.
03:49But as Shaky just alluded to there, the tyres were critical yesterday.
03:53It was all about keeping some tyre in.
03:55Obviously, this is the shorter Superpole race.
03:57So you can actually almost just sort of go for it on this one.
04:00So we might have a slightly different type of race here.
04:03That's even going to be more crucial for Glenn, who pretty much lost the tyre, didn't he?
04:07With lap 14, he was leading until then.
04:09And he said, I don't really know what happened.
04:11This is going to be more interesting for him in the sprint chain.
04:14Yeah, this is going to be an all-out war, isn't it, between the three of them?
04:16You know, let's not forget that yesterday they were the three guys in the 126s.
04:2026-9 for all three of them.
04:22You know, a lap time.
04:22That's just, you know, it's incredible.
04:25They're going very, very fast, those three.
04:27And I'm fairly sure we're going to get a sort of 12-lap battle between those.
04:30Yeah, but it's going to be all-out war.
04:32Just see who comes out on top.
04:33Here on the front row as well, we'll get to the grids in a few moments' time.
04:36But first, we're actually going back to football, guys, okay?
04:39Because we have all four UEFA finals for you to enjoy on the channel.
04:45Starting on Wednesday with the All-English Europa League final
04:48between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.
04:51Arsenal then take on Barcelona in the Women's Champions League next Saturday
04:54with Chelsea facing Raul Betis a few days later in the Conference League final.
04:59Then it's the big one on Saturday, the 31st of May,
05:03as PSG take on Inter Milan in the Champions League final.
05:07We'll be live in Munich from 6pm on TNT Sports 1 and Discovery+.
05:12Well, here at Dunnington Park, this is your schedule.
05:16We have six races, including the Superstocks at 5 past 2.
05:21Race 2 of the Talent Cup at 2.45.
05:23The feature race for the Supersport at 3.30.
05:26And then the final Superbike race at 4.20.
05:29With Superdeans wrapping up our show.
05:32As I mentioned, we're on the front row of the grid here
05:35for the sprint race, race 2 of the Superbikes.
05:37And as always, James Whitton is somewhere amongst it for us.
05:41Whitt, where are you?
05:41Yeah, Rachel, I'm actually just back from the front row.
05:43I'm on row two because it's been so long since I've done a grid walk
05:47and had the chance to speak to Josh Brooks.
05:50Josh, I've missed you on the grid walks.
05:53And we've missed you on the podium, but lovely podium yesterday, mate.
05:56Yeah, if you've missed me, imagine how much I've missed you.
06:00Yeah, it was fantastic to be on the podium yesterday.
06:05I mean, I would have been happy with fourth,
06:07but to get the podium was even better.
06:09I actually watched the race back and it looked so much smoother on TV
06:13than it felt behind the screen.
06:15I felt like, you know, the bike was moving around.
06:17I was making mistakes and not big mistakes, but little things were happening.
06:20And when I watched it on TV, it just looked like so predictable and calculated.
06:25The pace at the end was brilliant.
06:26Obviously, concern the tyre, that was a big concern for some people.
06:29Not for you.
06:30I mean, not going to be an issue now with a 12-lapper.
06:33Yeah, that's right.
06:34I mean, I wasn't really thinking about the tyre yesterday.
06:36To be fair, I just sort of like was trying to make the best race I could as long as I could.
06:40And then as the race went on, my bike didn't really seem to get worse.
06:45It was like it just stayed more or less the same.
06:48Maybe some of the others, from what I can tell,
06:50like definitely Glenn looked like he was with two laps to go really up against the wall.
06:55So, yeah, obviously that shouldn't be a problem today,
06:59especially now the sun's back out.
07:01When the track temperature's cooler, it becomes a problem more.
07:04But, yeah, it seems warm, so it's all to play for again.
07:08Happy Josh Brooks.
07:09We like it.
07:09Good luck.
07:09Yeah, thank you.
07:11Right.
07:12It was a brilliant ride, actually, from Josh.
07:15Conserve the tyre, whether he said the bike was moving around under him.
07:18You can always feel more on the bike, obviously,
07:20than we can see on the screen right at the front row.
07:24Glenn Irwin, probably going to be a different story from what we just heard from Josh.
07:28Josh obviously hit trouble in the longer race yesterday,
07:32but 12 laps, this ought to be more of a sort of head-down type affair.
07:36Yeah, we've won the last two sprint races here, Jimmy,
07:39and I think this year we are probably stronger.
07:44The tyre surprised me yesterday with the drop-off, to be honest.
07:46I think it was more corner entry.
07:48I felt like I tried to not use it,
07:51which was surprising when it did drop,
07:53but we've been playing about it electronically.
07:56One of those weekends, a lot of stuff has been on,
07:59so I think now we have something that can not just fight for this,
08:02but also in preparation for the other,
08:04and we know we can win this race,
08:05but these two guys beside me also know they can win,
08:08so it's going to be a good, fun one.
08:09Good luck, Glenn.
08:10Thank you, mate.
08:11Cheers.
08:12Quite relaxed, Glenn.
08:13Sometimes he's really quite nervous on the grid.
08:16Tom Ward just wishing his good mate Brad Ray.
08:21Well, Brad, Tom's an old work.
08:25You had an ultra-successful business going between you at one point,
08:28didn't you?
08:29Yeah, we tried to, mate.
08:30Yeah, we worked for some and done a little bit of work,
08:32but he's been a good friend of mine.
08:34It's nice to see him get on the box then.
08:37Good race for you yesterday.
08:38You got sort of thrust to the front,
08:40and you could tell you didn't really want to lead at that point,
08:42but you thought, I've got to go now.
08:43Yeah, exactly that.
08:43I saw Glenn go through.
08:46I knew he'd maybe try and pull a little bit of a gap,
08:47so I had to get through with Kyle as quick as possible,
08:49and, yeah, managed to get through at the front,
08:52tried to do some solid laps towards the end,
08:53and managed to save enough tyre to hold it,
08:56so this race will be a little bit more difficult, I think.
09:00More head down in this one?
09:01Yeah, I think so.
09:02Yeah, 12 laps, and, yeah, see what we've got.
09:04Good luck.
09:04Cheers, mate.
09:05Right, we've just got less than a minute to get across to Kyle Ride.
09:09Kyle, as always, you think about what you're doing.
09:11You've played the long game a lot more now.
09:14That kind of work yesterday got frustrated,
09:15held up behind Glenn with a failing tyre by the look of it,
09:20and you were so safe and so keen to get past without any issues.
09:23It cost you?
09:24Yeah, it was my own fault.
09:25I passed Glenn with five laps to go into the Melbourne loop,
09:28and I thought he was going to come straight back at me,
09:30so I went deep into the last corner and completely messed it up.
09:32So my own fault.
09:33It cost myself a chance maybe to catch Brad and have a go at winning,
09:36but bike's good, and I was riding good.
09:39So, yeah, looking forward to this one.
09:41Good luck.
09:42Cheers, mate.
09:43Right, that's it.
09:44Conditions are absolutely perfect.
09:46I'm surprised by the lack of nerves on the front row.
09:50They all sport really well there.
09:51Sometimes you don't get that from them.
09:53This is a 12-lapper.
09:55Tyres are not going to be an issue.
09:56Absolutely brilliant.
09:58Can't wait for it.
09:59Thanks, Whit.
10:01Well, they're relaxed because, of course, they're talking to you.
10:04Well, the second British superbike race of the weekend is up next,
10:09and it's the defending champion, the youth, Carl Ride.
10:12He'll be on pole position in the sprint.
10:14A beautiful day in East Midlands.
10:22We're at Donington Park GP circuits for some Sunday showdown action.
10:28Yesterday was high-speed chess here at Donnington, but this is a 12-lap sprint,
10:34and all plans for tyre life go out of the window as Britain's finest racers,
10:41and a few Australians thrown in there as well, are about to do battle here at Donnington.
10:45We've seen some magnificent races in the past here,
10:48and we're expecting something very similar coming up here in a moment.
10:52Glenn Irwin, that's the championship standings from yesterday.
10:55Ignore that.
10:56It is Bradley Ray that leads the championship overall after his win yesterday,
11:02but James' tyre life will come up later in the other feature race that we've got,
11:07race three, but not so here.
11:08No, no, 12 laps, and the good thing about it,
11:11the good and bad about this race for the riders,
11:12the good thing is you don't really need tyre strategy.
11:15Jay, the bad thing is for them that you don't really need a tyre strategy
11:20because some like the longer races, they think they can benefit from that.
11:23They've got a better set-up, and they've used the tyre a bit less,
11:26so it's going to be a great race.
11:27Car riders quit this morning in warm-up.
11:30He's on pole ahead of Brad Ray, Glenn Irwin in third.
11:33Brooks heads road two.
11:34How good is it to see the smile back on the face of Josh Brooks
11:37and the celebrations from the Dow Honda Racing Team,
11:41and that even caught them by surprise.
11:44It's a beautiful day.
11:45It's a big crowd as well.
11:46A queue to get in this morning.
11:48There's cars parked up on all the banking,
11:50I can see from our comfort box window as well.
11:53So a beautiful day.
11:54Let's go and watch some racing.
11:55Let's hope that we're in for a good show.
11:57Yeah, reminiscent of the old superbike days here,
12:00when you queue to get in, queue for a cup of tea,
12:02queue to get out.
12:04Yeah, and I mean that in a good way.
12:06If you're queuing to get into a circuit,
12:07I'm happy because I don't mind taking a queue
12:10if it's going to be a big crowd.
12:11Yeah, nice crowd, that.
12:11Look at that.
12:12That's brilliant.
12:13We won't be saying that later
12:14when we're trying to get out for about an hour.
12:16I will.
12:17Yes, seeing you take your turn.
12:18Although I have, I reckon I've played a blind.
12:21I've got my car strategically positioned.
12:23Don't get it stuck in the grass this year, James.
12:26Yeah, I've reached too far, that one.
12:28Kyle Ride it is that starts from pole position.
12:32The reigning champion.
12:33Remember, this is just a 12-lap sprint.
12:35Green flag at the back means we're good to go.
12:38Brad Ray, championship leader.
12:40Two wins from three races in second,
12:41and Glenn Irwin third.
12:42Eyes on the lights.
12:44And we're underway in the sprint race.
12:46Good start from row two there again,
12:47as he always does from Andrew Irwin, number 18.
12:50And he immediately gets himself ahead of Brooks,
12:52but it is Ray who will have the whole shot.
12:54He's got the inside on Kyle Ride into turn one.
12:57Kyle Ride so brave, first corner.
12:59I know they've got tie wounds.
13:01I know they're not on brand new ties.
13:02They've finished good with it,
13:03but so fast and wide into Redgate there.
13:06Yeah, he wanted that sweeping line,
13:07but ultimately the door was left open.
13:09Glenn Irwin going the long way round.
13:11That isn't going to work.
13:12Not there.
13:12Look at the old hairpin.
13:14Just behind him is his brother, Andy Irwin.
13:15Then it's Rory Skinner, number 11,
13:17on the Cheshire Moldings Ducati.
13:18He was fifth here yesterday.
13:20Yeah, you're dead right about Andy Irwin.
13:21Got the start he wanted, look.
13:23Leon Haslam, work to do early on.
13:25He's in sixth place.
13:27Tommy Bridewell has just moved off the spot as well,
13:29and he'll be feeling it
13:30after that big crash he was accomplished yesterday.
13:35So onto the back straight we go.
13:37It's number 28 on the raceway's Yamaha.
13:38Bradley Ray that leads from Kyle Ride
13:40with Glenn Irwin there in third,
13:41looking to try and make a move already.
13:44Brooks now.
13:45Oh, I thought that was going to be a lunge on Skinner
13:47down into the foggy S's,
13:48but he thought better of it.
13:50Haslam didn't get away too well.
13:51He's got some work to do early on.
13:52He's behind Bridewell.
13:53He's gone down the escape lane there.
13:57It's tight.
13:58Kyle having a little bit of a look,
13:59it's costing him a little bit of time, that.
14:04It was David Todd that went straight on over the chicane
14:07on the 810 racing BMW.
14:10So around Goddard's to complete lap one.
14:14Remember, no chess matches here today.
14:16It's all guns glazing in this one.
14:18Yeah, it's more like Buckaroo, this.
14:19Yeah.
14:20Yeah, I like that.
14:22Back to chess later, but a bit of Buckaroo.
14:23So into turn one there, Fraser Rogers just trying to pick up a spot
14:30on his tag racing Honda.
14:31But down through Crane of Curves, it is Brad Ray.
14:34That leads from Kyle Rye.
14:36Kyle not able to get through at the old hairpin.
14:38They are on identical spec bikes.
14:42They should be exactly the same.
14:44So it's down to the rider to try and get a little bit of a lift
14:46out of a corner to put him in himself in a position
14:49where he can get underneath his rival on the brakes.
14:53Rory Skinner is in fourth place.
14:55It's right on the back wheel there of Glen Irwin.
14:56Oh, dear.
14:57We've had a moment here.
14:59Fraser Rogers.
15:00It's Nesbitt and Vansickel.
15:03Yeah, it is.
15:03Yep.
15:04Yeah, it's Jamie Vansickel.
15:05So that's a real shame for those guys.
15:09Nesbitt, of course, went out yesterday.
15:11He had such a good speed.
15:12And Glen Irwin is up into second place
15:14on the Hager PBM Ducati.
15:17Down we go now into the Melbourne Loop
15:21and a defensive line there from Carl Rydon.
15:23He needed it as well
15:24because Rory Skinner fancied a look there.
15:26I'm really impressed with Rory this weekend.
15:28His pace at the end of the long race yesterday was brilliant.
15:32And I think he knows it now.
15:33And I think he's quite prepared to push in this one
15:35because Tyre's not an issue.
15:36But I think he'll be having a go
15:37if he can get a start this afternoon as well.
15:39Well, Charlie Nesbitt looks like he's in a bit of pain here.
15:44Oh, dear.
15:45Oh, not his fault.
15:47Oh, so close to getting away with that.
15:50Yeah.
15:51So unlucky.
15:52What an unusual incident.
15:54It was.
15:56Very unusual.
15:57And so unlucky there for Nesbitt.
15:59I hope he's OK.
16:00Yep.
16:01That's a nasty one.
16:03And he's still holding his arm
16:04as the rest of the BSP field now come around.
16:07And you can just see there,
16:08Vanticoa is going to help the marshals
16:10with the bike to get it away.
16:12Meanwhile, up front, Rory, it is that leads from Irwin.
16:14Charlie didn't look...
16:15Well, the marshals didn't look too concerned.
16:16I think he's told them he's all right.
16:19Yeah, Rory Skinner in fourth.
16:21I was about to say, on the Cheshire Mouldings Ducati,
16:23one of the things you can always tell about Rory,
16:25when he's got that type of riding style,
16:27it's kind of like this really lovely, smooth riding style
16:31where you could just see from the body language
16:33that he's happy.
16:33Yeah, completely.
16:34He's been happy all weekend.
16:36He's at a circuit he really knows and really likes.
16:37He's getting used to the bike.
16:39They said since the second race at Oldham,
16:41they've not done too much with the set-up of the bike.
16:44It's more important that he learns it.
16:47Because it is a very different bike,
16:48the way it works and the way the set-up has to be.
16:50Yamaha, Ducati, Yamaha.
16:52It's Ray from Irwin from Ride.
16:54Irwin with the fastest lap so far.
16:55Fourth is Skinner on the Ducati.
16:57Then it's three Hondas.
16:59Andy Irwin, Josh Brooks and Tommy Bridewell,
17:03although Leon Haslam has just gone one spot above Tommy Bridewell.
17:07Interesting that we caught up with Leon Haslam
17:09just before we sort of properly came into the circuit earlier on
17:12and said he's been pouring over some data
17:14and making some adjustments ahead of today.
17:16Yeah, I mean, he never stops.
17:18And he's in a team with a team leader in Steve Wilfmore
17:22that never stops also.
17:24Oh, hang on.
17:25That's Kawasaki.
17:27And that is Christian Hiddin, who's gone down
17:29and he's not happy about it at all.
17:31On the A.G.N. Steelstock Kawasaki.
17:34That's a shame for Christian.
17:36He was just trying to get himself off inside the top ten.
17:39He was running around with his teammate Max Cook.
17:43Tommy Bridewell's woes continued yesterday.
17:46The crash for him.
17:46He didn't look too happy after morning warm-up either on the Honda.
17:50It looks like they've got some work to do
17:51over the next couple of weeks.
17:53Yeah, absolutely.
17:53I feel really sorry for Tommy.
17:55He did an excellent job in qualifying.
17:58He had one lap to get himself to good position
18:01after a nightmare.
18:02Not for his own fault, a lot of it.
18:04And he ended up on fifth, which is brilliant.
18:05Here he comes playing up.
18:06This is his favourite.
18:07And that is exactly how he's got to ride that bike.
18:10Both these riders, in fact, Kyle as well,
18:13are really good at using the strengths of their bikes.
18:16Oh, Brad's not having any of it,
18:17but he's not going to be able to outbrake.
18:18Exactly.
18:19Oh, he's got wide though.
18:21That happened a couple of times yesterday for Glenn Irwin.
18:24So it's Irwin versus Brad Ray.
18:26That was a bit wide on exit from Irwin.
18:28He's going to have to do the work again.
18:29Yeah, but he's got the bike that he can do that.
18:32He can put himself in a position where he can outbrake somebody
18:34if he holds the line once he gets into the corner.
18:36He's got such an unusual riding style as well, Glenn Irwin,
18:39compared to other Ducati riders.
18:44He's just sort of got that upright position.
18:46He has.
18:47He's quite an old school.
18:48Almost pushes the bike.
18:49Yeah, he's very old school.
18:49He's quite an old school style,
18:50but it's also an all-action style.
18:52I don't think I've ever seen him relax on a bike
18:55in that he's always trying hard.
18:57Yeah, always.
18:58It is Ray then that has got back through to the front on Irwin.
19:01There is Skinner in fourth place.
19:03Then it's Andy Irwin.
19:04And Leon Haslam with the fastest lap of the race.
19:06A 27-0-3-4.
19:10And that is a fast lap in a race.
19:13That is seriously fast.
19:14That is fast.
19:15In fact, I'm almost certain that's a new lap record.
19:18Yes, it is.
19:19In BSB.
19:19Yes, it is.
19:22He's done hundreds.
19:24If not that well, he's done thousands of laps.
19:26Yeah.
19:26Around this place.
19:27Not always a good thing,
19:28because a lot of those laps were instructing for his dad
19:31in his younger days when Ron ran the race goal here.
19:35But certainly he knows the place.
19:36And he is just up there up from his house.
19:39There he is, number 91.
19:41Yep, really getting on well with that bike.
19:43Said the biggest problem they had yesterday were brakes.
19:46And that's a big problem here at Donahue.
19:48And you use your brakes out of here than anywhere else.
19:50Down into Foggy Estras.
19:51They don't have time to recover before you get to Melbourne Loop.
19:53They really don't have time to recover before you get to Goddard.
19:56And then into Redgate, you've cupped them.
19:58So it's always been hard on brakes here.
20:00They said they were going for more venting,
20:02trying to get these things cooled down to stop them overeating.
20:05Yeah, and he also said, James,
20:06they've changed the balance of the bike
20:08so that he's a bit stronger in the final sector.
20:10But he said, just like anything...
20:12There's a compromise.
20:12There has to be a compromise,
20:14so he's having to lose time elsewhere.
20:15This is the biggest compromising setup of any circuit
20:17that will go to anywhere in the world.
20:20You need the short, scratchy, hard-breaking stop start
20:24that goes on to the last part of the circuit.
20:25The first part, train of curves and down through Stark in the front,
20:30it's all fast and flowing.
20:31And you need a completely different bike setup for that.
20:33Over the line, a 26.9 now from Leon Haslam, number 91.
20:38What a lap.
20:39The first ever 126s that we've seen in a BSB race.
20:42There he is, trying to find a way through on Andy Irwin.
20:45He knows he's got the speed here to run at the front,
20:48but it's going to be difficult for him here.
20:50He's got five riders to pass.
20:52Yeah, and he's only got six and a bit laps to do it.
20:56As it stands, of course, he would be on pole
20:57for the race this afternoon,
21:00but he'll want a bit more than that.
21:02He's got his eyes on the podium.
21:04Behind him, Brooks in seventh place,
21:07Bridewell 8.
21:08John McPhee's having a really good weekend.
21:10He is.
21:10He's ninth ahead of Max Perth.
21:12Especially given the fact that he's had a little bit of a nightmare
21:14in qualifying and practice.
21:15Yeah, it did not start well.
21:17Tom Sykes and the Sencat Vice 1 racing Aprilia
21:22have found him to speed.
21:23Overnight, they were working on the bike.
21:24He's moved up a few spots.
21:26He's 19th ahead of Kerr, Todd, Davis, Baker.
21:30Over the line then to start lap seven of 12.
21:33We're halfway through this one.
21:35Six laps completed.
21:38It's the best sprint, James, to find a way through.
21:41It is, but he's kind of mired down now,
21:43so he's having to do the same times as everybody else in front of him.
21:46He needs to start making some moves quickly.
21:50Time's right now for him.
21:51Storm Stacey, unfortunately, has retired into pit lane, of course,
21:54involved in a nasty incident yesterday
21:56with Peter Hickman over at Copper's Corner.
21:58Not sure if that's the mechanical
21:59or perhaps he or the bike's feeling some effects of that.
22:03Yeah, and it's easier done is that.
22:04Your bike goes...
22:05They're so technically kind of complex, these things.
22:08It just takes a sense that they're widely grown,
22:10something you haven't spotted,
22:11and that's you out.
22:13So out front, it's Ray and Irwin.
22:15This is the battle, though, for fifth place.
22:18Andy Irwin on the Honda, number 18,
22:21up ahead of Leon Haslam.
22:23Can Haslam get the punch out of Copper's?
22:24He actually did say one of the compromises was
22:26he was losing that punch out of Copper's Corner
22:28because he wants to be stronger in this section.
22:32Yeah, from here.
22:32Exactly, exactly.
22:33He said he was losing the punch out of Copper's
22:34and losing a little bit of time,
22:36maybe a tenth down Crane of Curves,
22:37but that was in favour of having a bike
22:40that will stop a little bit quicker.
22:42And that's what you want round here
22:43if you're going to get past people.
22:44There's an opportunity there, Andy Irwin was wide,
22:47and now Leon Haslam will try and eat the ground up.
22:49No, it's not worked.
22:50He couldn't get the drive out of the Melbourne Loop.
22:54There's an opportunity there for Haslam
22:56just to sneak through the gate.
22:58Another lap ticked off.
23:04We start lap 8 of 12.
23:06Yeah, second lap on the trot.
23:07Bradbury's been down at 27, virtually flat.
23:1027, 0, 2, 4 there, and that's...
23:14He's just, he's, I think, fairly comfortable at that.
23:19This is the battle further back.
23:21That's Fraser Rogers and Billy McCoyle
23:22fighting out for 12th place.
23:25Glenn Irwin is in the 26s himself at 26.975.
23:29And Irwin has just set a personal best.
23:32In fact, the fastest first sector of the race.
23:34Number two there on the Haga PBM Ducati.
23:37Don't give up, does he?
23:38Never.
23:39Brad Ray, he knows if this was going to be tough.
23:42He knows that they've all moved on in the years
23:44that he's been absent.
23:45He's got stronger.
23:46They've got stronger.
23:47And Glenn Irwin has been brilliant so far
23:49at the start of this year.
23:50And he's hungry to find a way through.
23:52He's got the drive.
23:53He pulls alongside Brad Ray.
23:54And he's going to go through here at the Foggy Esses.
23:56Oh, he's gone.
23:57He's gone straight on.
23:58He's had to pick the bike up.
24:00And he's not allowed to gain time.
24:02He's got to actually lose time.
24:04Otherwise, he'll be finalised.
24:05Yeah, I think he's done.
24:07I think he's lost the time that he needs to there.
24:09But that is his race-winning chances.
24:12Done with.
24:13Just maybe asked a bit too much, James.
24:16Absolutely.
24:17Yeah.
24:18Got a good slipstream.
24:19Maybe going slightly quicker than what he has done on previous laps
24:21because of that.
24:23Tell you what, Brad was really lucky too.
24:27He decides to sit up.
24:31Yeah.
24:31Yeah, unfortunate that.
24:32Real unfortunate there.
24:34And now you can see the PBM team, Jordan and Frank.
24:37That's what their thoughts are of it.
24:39The chances of the win for Irwin have gone.
24:41We're on lap 9 of 12.
24:42Now, can Ride or Skinner do anything about Brad Ray out front?
24:46He'd have to think it was on a car ride that could.
24:48This would be some result for the Cheshire Mouldings to catch him.
24:50Absolutely.
24:51Yeah, brilliant.
24:51And it looks so good on it round here.
24:54He really does.
24:54But he will have interest from Glenn Irwin behind him shortly.
24:57Yeah, absolutely.
24:59Leon Haslam still can't find.
25:01Oh, yes, he has.
25:01He's got through.
25:02He's managed to get through on Andy Irwin.
25:04What can Haslam do later on?
25:05He's running out of time, though.
25:06Brooks is just coming into the picture again as well.
25:08As he did yesterday in the longer race later on the Dow Racing Honda,
25:13Brooks is going to be there again.
25:14Yeah, because he was yesterday.
25:15The lap times are absolutely constant towards the end of the race.
25:18Children on the grid, the bike felt to be all over the place.
25:20We were always seeing how smooth it looked.
25:23That's why the tight was going all right.
25:27Through foggy Esses, there is Haslam.
25:30He's now trying to close in on Glenn Irwin.
25:32As it stands, Brad Ray set to increase his advantage at the top of the standings.
25:36Josh Brooks now goes through on Andy Irwin.
25:39So maybe Irwin here has gone into a bit of tyre trouble himself.
25:44Yeah, let's be honest, though.
25:45This is all right for Andy.
25:46He's run up front.
25:47He's kind of getting his eye back in.
25:49Still knocked about from Alton.
25:53Yeah, there's a few riders that are a bit knocked about, actually, from the weekend.
25:57Danny Kent's been licking his wounds most of the weekend.
25:59I'm real surprised for me that Danny Kent's not been prominent at the sharp end all weekend.
26:03Yeah, and we can't really understand that, can we?
26:05And I don't think they can.
26:07No.
26:07And that's perhaps even more concerning.
26:09They're in 11th in this race at the moment, behind McVie.
26:12Then it's Rogers, Swan, McConnell, Hickman.
26:14There are your points finishes as it stands.
26:16Can Carl Rye do anything about Brad Ray?
26:18Can Rory Skinner hold off Glenn Irwin?
26:21What would be a great podium for Cheshire Mouldings, Ducati and the TAS team?
26:25Yep, got two and a half laps to do that.
26:29There's Steve Plater on the left.
26:32There'll be a few celebrations here if Skinner can hold on.
26:36It's so good to see.
26:37We said at the last round.
26:38Steve Plater's always been a little bit on the left, I thought.
26:43Listen, I'm not going to add to that.
26:46This is the laps that will form the grid for later on.
26:49Leon Haslam would be on pole from Glenn Irwin and Brad Ray.
26:52And your second row would be ride Skinner, Andy Irwin.
26:55This is Skinner, number 11.
26:57It's so good to see.
26:58After everything last year as well, it's so much bad luck.
27:01Skinner got injured.
27:02Horrific crash at Alton.
27:03Really nasty crash in an unfortunate circumstances at Snetterton as well.
27:07Look at that, Josh Brooks, his fastest half of the race, 27.3 this far end.
27:13Yeah, again, which bodes really well for later on.
27:15Really well.
27:15Yep.
27:17And he might even lump himself further up on the grid here with these late laps.
27:20Two of the most experienced competitors in Benix PSB on your screen
27:25at the moment.
27:26Leon Haslam and Josh Brooks.
27:29Josh, who has now turned 42.
27:32Leon will turn 42 at the end of this month.
27:34Yeah, but both riders with a kind of similar outlook.
27:37They've kept themselves fit and more than that,
27:39mentally able to do this and wanting to do this.
27:42Still with fire in the belly.
27:43Yeah, absolutely.
27:44Amazing at that age.
27:45It really is.
27:46Yeah, it really is.
27:47Through the old hairpin we go.
27:48We're on lap 11 and 12.
27:50Out front, it doesn't look like Rye's going to do anything about Rye.
27:53But Rory Skinner has just put in the fastest lap.
27:56In fact, the new lap record.
27:57It is.
27:57And he's got pressure as well.
27:59When you think he's got Glenn Irwin behind him.
28:00This is brilliant.
28:02From the Cheshire Mouldings to Catty Ryder.
28:05Remember, he was on the top step of the podium last year at Knott Hill.
28:09But then things went awry at Snetterton.
28:12Yeah, we've always known Amish Townsend.
28:13Oh, 100%.
28:15And we said at the start of the year,
28:18by Snetterton or Knott Hill, if they could get things sorted,
28:21then Rory will deliver the results.
28:23But it's come a lot sooner than we thought.
28:24Absolutely, yeah.
28:25And I do feel he is learning how to ride that bike.
28:27And he's capable of a really intelligent lad, you know.
28:30Quite caution.
28:31Yeah, he's a wonderful lad, he's Rory.
28:34Really honest.
28:35Really diplomatic.
28:36And this is going to be a fantastic result.
28:40You will not see two Ducati's ridden as differently as Rory Skinner and Glenn Irwin.
28:46As we start the final lap,
28:48Philip Neal on the left there.
28:49He's in town here to watch the TAS team hopefully bring it home.
28:52It's an anxious last lap then to see if Skinner can hold off Glenn Irwin.
28:57Backing it into Red Gate there, but totally under control.
29:01This late in the race, one of the things when the tyres do start going,
29:04going into the corners is just as important.
29:07You lose grip going in.
29:08You can do a little bit less about it than you can when you lose grip coming out.
29:11See that?
29:12Yeah, front end.
29:14Yep.
29:15Skinner at the moment doing enough for third.
29:17Just quickly on Brad Ray, James.
29:18I think what the field are realising here is that you don't make many mistakes.
29:23If they're going to want to win this championship, they've got a lot of work on their plate.
29:27He rarely makes errors, Brad Ray.
29:31Fantastic race from him and Glenn Irwin.
29:32He's getting closer and closer.
29:34You know Glenn's going to have a pop here.
29:35I think he's got rear tyre problems as well as Rory.
29:39He just, here he comes.
29:41Glenn Irwin's going to move over to that inside line to try and make the move down into the chicane.
29:46Really make it stick.
29:47Rory knew he was coming.
29:48Yeah, Rory's now got the drive.
29:50Oh, that was close.
29:51They're going to be side by side.
29:52Rory might not be close enough here for a look.
29:54And it's defensive from Irwin as well as he tries to hold on to third place.
29:59Has he got a bit deep?
30:00Rory will take a look.
30:01Rory nearly came off.
30:02Rory's off the side of the bike.
30:03He's off the side of the bike.
30:04It looks like the podium has drifted away from Skinner.
30:07It was a good effort though.
30:08He was just waiting for Glenn to run a little bit wide there.
30:11Brad Ray wins the sprint race and increases his advantage at the top of the standings at BSB.
30:17He's going to be a hard man to stop this year.
30:19Rory, second again.
30:22Glenn Irwin batters back to third.
30:24You have to feel sorry for Skinner.
30:26He did get the fastest off of the race.
30:27He will start from pole later.
30:29But he's been robbed of third from Glenn Irwin.
30:31Leon Haslam went over the line fifth ahead of Brooks Andy Irwin.
30:34Tommy Bridewell in eighth.
30:39Top ten made up with Cook and McPhee there.
30:41Well, Brad Ray, three wins from four races.
30:45Yeah, like you said, didn't see one single mistake.
30:47Not only that, his kind of strategies seem to work.
30:52Yeah.
30:52Yeah.
30:52You know, he knows what.
30:53They do.
30:54He says he didn't really want to lead when he was thrust into the lead yesterday.
30:58But he went with it.
30:59And, you know, just, yeah.
31:01He thinks about what he's doing.
31:03I mean, the team's brilliant.
31:05And they're getting the results.
31:08They are.
31:09Rory's going to hear then fourth.
31:10He's happy with that.
31:11Good effort.
31:12Yeah, he should be happy with that.
31:13Yeah, and he didn't really get mugged.
31:14That was just, you know, it was what Glenn was going to do.
31:18Faster's lap of the race means he'll start pole later.
31:20It will be a fascinating Chet encounter again this afternoon because Brooks, as we saw, had some really good late speed.
31:28Leon Haslam had some good late speed as well.
31:31So you can't discount Leon this afternoon when we go out for race three.
31:36Glenn Irwin's going to be disappointed because he did have that chance to try and challenge Brad Ray.
31:40But here is where it went wrong.
31:42Yeah.
31:43As we say, going down into foggy essence, there's an escape road there.
31:47It does happen quite a lot.
31:48What you do when somebody's flying into the gravel at kind of 120 and then scattering it everywhere.
31:54So you've got to check the escape road.
31:55You've got to drop a second in that sector, which he did, and you're not allowed to gain a position, which he didn't.
32:01So what can we say then?
32:02What can we make of this championship after four races?
32:04It looks like at this moment in time, Brad Ray can be beaten.
32:10The guys can go faster than him, but you're going to get limited chances to do so.
32:14You're going to have to take him when you can get him.
32:15He's back as an official sponsor to the Benet's British Superbikes Championship.
32:20Riders are back to enter here into Park Fermat.
32:22Handshakes all round, of course.
32:24Ray, Ride, Glenn Irwin, three riders you're going to be talking about all year fighting for this championship.
32:30I think 91 there, Leon Haslam, is going to be fairly disappointed with that.
32:35It was a start, I think, that cost him any chance of a podium and maybe a win.
32:39Yeah, there might be a couple of other adjustments made between this race and the one later.
32:43Yeah, but you've got to be careful because the pace was there.
32:51All right, back on the podium here this weekend at Thurrington Park.
32:55There will be questions asked.
32:56Can they do anything about finding that extra temp?
32:59Yeah, it's all right, saying I'm playing the long game,
33:02but sometimes there will come a time when you can't.
33:05Well, he knows all about that.
33:09He's cool, he's calm, he's collected, he's staying in our hotel this weekend.
33:12Nothing really seems to bother Brad Ray, and it's another victory for him.
33:18Three wins in four races for Bradley Ray, and the Raceways Yamaha rider takes another 18 points ahead of Kyle Ride and Glenn Irwin.
33:28Rory Skinner so close to the podium there, he'll get another chance later.
33:31Haslamus fifth, Brooks sixth.
33:33Andy Irwin seventh, ahead of his teammate Tommy Bridewell with Cook Knight.
33:36And John McPhee, another top 10 for the Master Mack Honda rider.
33:40Points for Danny Kent, but not the type of points he wants.
33:43Fraser Rogers was 12th, ahead of Scott Swan, Billy McConnell.
33:46And Peter Hickman took 15th.
33:48We are going to take a quick break.
34:00It's Brad Ray victorious in the sprint race here.
34:02We'll hear from the top three when we come back at Doddington Park.
34:04Welcome back to Doddington Park, where Bradley Ray has just taken his third victory of the season.
34:20But Glenn Irwin did manage to battle back and get himself on the podium here in the sprint, and he's speaking to James Hayden.
34:27Glenn, a great ride, third place, but you gave yourself a bit of work to do with running on.
34:31Yeah, you know, Brad made a little bit of a mistake.
34:34I could see as much as his pace was fantastic throughout the whole 12 laps there.
34:38He had one lap, but he had a few slides.
34:40And you know what it does there, Ryder.
34:42I was like, right, there's a little bit of a drop here.
34:44And he got a bad run out of Coppess, and I got a good run.
34:47But he's very, very strong in the brakes.
34:49You know, the guy's a really super-back champion.
34:51And he braked later than normal because he had a bad exit.
34:54And I probably braked later than normal, and I had a good exit.
34:57So that results in one thing.
34:58And I was a bit worried because I think you have to drop one and a half seconds or something.
35:02And it's so hard to work out.
35:04So I dropped as much as I could.
35:06But I just want a big happy heavenly birthday to Johnny Haywood Sr.
35:12My mate had dropped me a message earlier to remind me.
35:14So that's for your dad, Johnny.
35:15And then like Kyle, we were at North West 200 last week.
35:18And we both said we would donate some bonus money to the families of Shane and Owen Jenner.
35:24So no Kyle done it yesterday.
35:25So I didn't get much of a third.
35:27£1,000, but we'll give £500 to Shane's kids, Max and Matty.
35:31And £500 towards Owen's family for however it may help them.
35:35Glenn, nicely done.
35:36Cheers, thank you.
35:37Thanks.
35:37Thanks, mate.
35:38OK.
35:40Now, we've got Carl Ride.
35:42Carl, another fine second spot.
35:45Yeah.
35:45I thought you were going to be more to that question.
35:47It was a good race.
35:48Very fast.
35:50Credit to Brad.
35:50Last four or five laps.
35:51There was a metronomic speed.
35:53And I couldn't go any faster.
35:54I could keep up, but I couldn't catch him up.
35:56So, yeah, tough race.
35:58I knew it was going to be fast, but I didn't think it was going to be that fast.
36:00So I've just got to make my bike a little bit better in a few areas just to keep on the back wheel.
36:04Do you think there's anything you can do this afternoon?
36:06For sure.
36:07I can try and win.
36:08But I did everything I could there.
36:10I made the bike better in a few areas, but we struggled where we was good yesterday.
36:14So cat and mouse, this track, you can never perfect your bike.
36:17Everyone knows that.
36:18But I just need to be a little bit better in a few places just to get on the back wheel of them and not play the yo-yo effect.
36:23So, anyway, two second places at Donington in the Sun.
36:25It's a good day up to you.
36:26Good result.
36:27Well done.
36:28OK.
36:28And now we have the winner, Brad Ray.
36:31He's just coming in.
36:33Brad, win number three.
36:35Was it easy as it looked?
36:37No.
36:38No.
36:39There was a tough race, obviously.
36:40Glenn attacked me a couple of times.
36:43I just tried to get into a rhythm at the start.
36:45I knew the sprint race would be quicker at the start, only 12 laps instead of 20.
36:48But I just tried to get into a rhythm.
36:50Glenn passed me a couple of times.
36:51And the second time he passed me, I just tried to get my head down as best possible.
36:56Try to keep setting some strong pace.
36:58I saw Kyle, the pit board wasn't coming down and it wasn't going up.
37:01It was staying consistent.
37:02So, I just had to take the last three laps, breathe and hit the markers, hit my breaking points and bring it home.
37:08But, yeah, it was a strong race, stronger than I thought, pace-wise.
37:11But, yeah, looking forward to race free this afternoon.
37:16Well done.
37:16Cheers, mate.
37:18Yeah, congratulations to Brad.
37:20But I'm pleased to say we've got Steve Rogers here as well, his boss.
37:22Brad was just saying there it was a pretty hard day at the office.
37:25But this is what a day at the office is like and what you want to come back for, isn't it, Steve?
37:30It makes it all worthwhile, right?
37:32Yeah, it certainly does.
37:33You know, I thought we'd have a great chance with Brad, you know, so that was the reason why we put everything together.
37:39And, yeah, and he's just showing us now the class he is.
37:41Yeah, he's been such a class act, hasn't he, Shane?
37:43I mean, as we see kind of time in, time out.
37:45That's why he won a championship three years ago.
37:47Well, it is, yeah.
37:48And the race strategy yesterday was absolutely perfect.
37:50He said he wanted to sort of keep his powder dry for 15 laps or so.
37:53Wait and see what happened in the last five.
37:55Did what he needed to do there.
37:56But I think Steve, Brad, everybody knew that this was going to be a tougher race for them.
38:01You know, 12 laps going absolutely full gas was going to be difficult.
38:05And I think if there was going to be a race that was going to be difficult for Brad or for the team today,
38:09it would have been the sprint race.
38:10But a fantastic job there.
38:12Four fastest laps means he starts on the second row of the grid for the longer race this afternoon.
38:17Three guys back in the 26s shows just how fast that race was.
38:20But another victory and that's all that matters.
38:22Yeah, obviously he couldn't get in the top three in terms of fastest time, Steve.
38:25Like Shane just mentioned there.
38:27Was that just because he didn't particularly need to push because he had a little bit of a gap out the front?
38:31I think it's difficult, isn't it?
38:32I mean, he did a 27 flat, so it was there or thereabouts.
38:35But it's very difficult, isn't it?
38:36Obviously, the tyre's dropping off a bit.
38:37You've got the lead.
38:38You know, the main thing is win the race, isn't it?
38:41You know, I know obviously you want to try and start on the front row, but, you know, it's a long race this afternoon.
38:46And, you know, hopefully the tyres will come into it a little bit again.
38:48So it should be OK.
38:50I think you'd swap a fourth place starting position for a 27-1 on lap 11 though, right?
38:54Correct.
38:56Target is on Brad's back, of course, for later on.
38:59Steve, thank you so much.
39:00We'll go to the other Steve, our Steve, for the podium.
39:04Our Steve is here, ready to talk you through the podium.
39:09Trophies here for Glenn Irwin and Kyle Rydes.
39:12But it is on the top step, 37th BSB podium, but more importantly, a 14th race win for the 2022 champion, Brad Ray.
39:23The team representative is about to pick up their trophy here for the raceways Yamaha team.
39:31Brilliant stuff from there.
39:32But now the national anthem for your race winner, Brad Ray.
39:34So now, ladies and gentlemen, your respect, please, for the race winners, national anthem.
39:36So now, ladies and gentlemen, your respect, please, please, please, please, please, please.
40:06I'll be up in a minute.
40:36Let's see how it looks then after that fourth race of the season.
40:40One more to come.
40:41Bradley Ray, 10 points clear going into race three this afternoon ahead of Glenn Irwin with Kyle Rydes.
40:47Leon Haslam not far away in fourth.
40:48Brooks has lifted himself up to fifth.
40:50A good result for Skinner means he's sixth ahead of Danny Kent.
40:53It's a lot of work to do for Tommy Bridewell already at this stage of the season.
40:56He's eighth ahead of Storm Stacey and Charlie Nesbitt.
40:59Well, Bradley Ray, been a class act so far this weekend at Donington Park, but boys, it doesn't mean the other riders aren't coming for him and trying to throw every single thing at him, especially with Glenn Irwin, who tried numerous times to try and get that lead off him.
41:19But it didn't quite stick any of the time, especially let's start with that four when he made his first move, Glenn.
41:24Yeah, I mean, the thing I love about Donington is it's a circuit of two hours.
41:29We know that you can't get your bike perfect everywhere, just like Kyle Rydes said there.
41:32And all the riders are riding to their bike strength.
41:36And I think that Glenn knows he's got a slightly quicker bike.
41:39That's why he's always going for that, making a little bit of time down the straight and up the inside in four guesses.
41:45So he's got to do that.
41:46I think that uses a little bit more tyre, and I think that the riders know that.
41:50So it's a kind of real cat and mouse thing.
41:52And that's why he said this was going to play into his hand, the sprint, the tyre work.
41:55Yeah, 100%.
41:56James hit the nail on the head there.
41:57The strength of the bikes.
41:58One of the things that the Ducati has is a tiny, tiny bit of top speed over the Yamaha, but also fantastic braking stability.
42:05Straight up and down braking stability, that's the bike to be on.
42:07The Yamaha, by contrast, is absolutely amazing around the corners.
42:10As soon as they can get to the point in the corner where they're releasing the brake, letting the bike turn naturally, that's where the Yamaha comes into its own.
42:16Picking up the throttle on the side of the tyre, the way the Yamaha makes its power, it's a lot softer than the Ducati.
42:21The Ducati a little bit more aggressive.
42:22So, as Whit said, you know, you're kind of V-ing everything on a Ducati, you know, railing it all the way in, turning the thing really, really hard, stopping in the middle of the corner, lifting it up and using that horsepower.
42:33So, different contrast.
42:34But like he said about the track as well, the track's two different, two completely separate sections.
42:38You've got the first section that's really, really fast and flowing, suits the Yamaha.
42:42Second section, all start, stop, suits the Ducati.
42:44So, it's great to watch.
42:45The good news is that if Glenn can get to the front, it's really difficult to pass.
42:49Somebody who's sharp on the brakes on a Ducati that's a little bit sharper on the street, difficult to pass.
42:54Yeah, he didn't stop, did he?
42:56We can see again, he tried on lap eight, Glenn Irwin once again to try and pass Bradley Raywitt.
43:02Yeah, up the inside, he got sucked into it a little bit, made the decision earlier.
43:05That's good because it meant he went down the escape road.
43:07He has to drop a second and not gain a position.
43:10He did all that, but his race was over at that point.
43:13Well, this apparently, because we heard from Glenn Irwin a little bit earlier, as we welcomed Bradley Ray in,
43:18was all down to the fact, Brad, that you broke too late there, which forced Glenn to break late and make them say it was all your fault, apparently.
43:25You forced him.
43:26It was all your fault.
43:27I was just speaking to him then, and he passed me into there a few laps before, but the lap that he passed me,
43:32I had a spin out onto the back straight, and I actually broke deeper than what I normally would,
43:36because I knew I didn't get a very good run, and it sucked him in and unfortunately went straight on.
43:40But for me, that was the turning point I needed to use that as the go time to try and do something towards the end.
43:48That's an amazing thing that people don't understand, who's not raced a bike at a reasonable level.
43:52Because you've got either a blip or you're missing something, a little slide out of a corner,
43:56you were just your braking mark or point by half a metre to allow for that.
44:01Yeah, that's it. I knew I got a spin. I could hear the Ducati because it's quite loud behind,
44:05and I thought if I break a little bit deeper, I know I can still get it stopped.
44:08But Glenn come past me, and I thought if he makes a fair play.
44:12What do you think?
44:13I thought, to be honest, I thought he was going to make it, because the pass before, he made a real strong apex.
44:20But when he went straight on, I just went through and thought, right, I need to get my head down.
44:23But it shows the quality of you as well, Brad, there.
44:25The fact that you can make that slight mistake, and you can still rectify it,
44:28whereas that kind of put Glenn off, and he wasn't quite sure what to do,
44:32and then made the mistake and ran off and had to lose that time.
44:34Yeah, that's it. I mean, if I just broke up my normal point there,
44:37maybe Glenn would have broke a bit earlier and made the pass easier.
44:40But I knew I had to break a little bit deeper to sort of keep the time gap.
44:45But yeah, it worked out in my favour.
44:47Race two, or race three, I should say. Long race again later on.
44:50Starting from the second row, obviously weren't in the 120, 126 at all there.
44:54Does that kind of worry you at all?
44:57No, for me, it's not a problem. As long as I get a good start, normally I can get good starts.
45:01And if I can get in the mix at the start, I know I should have some tyre at the end.
45:05I just don't need to be going too far back fifth or sixth, something like that.
45:09I need to be in the front three and go from there.
45:12Brad, I was going to say, sorry, 27-1s there, lap 11, lap 12.
45:17Bodes well for the longer race this afternoon.
45:19What pace do you see yourself sitting at in order to be able to complete the longer 20-lap race?
45:24I think it's going to be mid, sort of 27-5, 27-3.
45:30I think if we can stay at that pace and gain the lap time from the front tyre,
45:36from steering the bike and save the rear, then maybe we'll have a little bit more towards the end.
45:41But I was very surprised in that race to have as much tyre left at the end
45:44and to still do them lap times.
45:46So it bodes well.
45:47You're not going to want to lead, though, are you, early on?
45:50Ideally not, no.
45:51I didn't mind leading in a sprint.
45:53I was happy to get out and avoid the chaos.
45:56But, yeah, I think the longer race, try and be a little bit more patient at the start.
46:00Maybe use someone else to follow and save the tyre.
46:03And then, yeah, the last five, we'll have a go.
46:06It's difficult.
46:06You don't want to lead.
46:07You want to be in battles.
46:08We'll have to wait and see what happens.
46:09Yeah, you don't want to lead, but you don't want to die bummed and end up at eighth either.
46:13Exactly.
46:14Oh, well, congratulations, Brad.
46:15Two races at that too so far for that, man.
46:19A great weekend so far.
46:20Feature race, the longer race.
46:22So it's going to be, obviously, a little bit different a bit later on.
46:25But for now, somebody who's had a great weekend so far,
46:28who was looking to find something after Alton Park.
46:31Rory Skinner finished, unfortunately, in fourth.
46:34We can hear from him now.
46:37Rory, another fantastic ride.
46:39Fourth spot.
46:40But you're probably a bit gutted you weren't on the podium,
46:42having been there for nearly the whole race.
46:45Yeah, I don't think I've ever been so frustrated to be in fourth place, to be honest with you.
46:48It's, yeah, in one aspect, I'm looking at it, I'm happy with the progress we're making.
46:53We're really making strides with the bike.
46:54My riding's getting better with the Ducati.
46:56And, yeah, the boys at Cheshire Moulins Ducati, they've worked really hard,
47:00really tiredlessly over the winter period.
47:02And it's starting to come together now.
47:04We're starting to click with it.
47:05And, yeah, I'm frustrated.
47:06Glenn got me in that last lap.
47:08I knew it was coming.
47:08And I just made a small mistake at the McLean.
47:11He's just lost the rear on the way in.
47:13And it was just, yeah, maybe trying a little bit too hard to keep the position.
47:16But, hey, it is what it is.
47:18And we'll go for the next one.
47:19Now, it looked like you were going to square him off coming out of the S's.
47:22But it looked like he delayed the throttle and it just caught you out.
47:25Yeah, he was just, ah, Glenn knows how to race.
47:29And I thought he was going to blow it a little bit wide and touch the green.
47:31But fair play to him.
47:32He kept it on track.
47:33And, yeah, we'll see if we can get him in the next one.
47:36Well, it was a great result.
47:37Fifth yesterday, fourth today.
47:39You know, if that keeps going, you'll be on the podium later.
47:42Well, at least I got to watch for my efforts in that one.
47:44I'm on pole position for the last race, I think.
47:46That's it.
47:47A new lap record, 26-9.
47:49Yeah, it's getting better, as I said.
47:51New bike for me and the team.
47:52And, yeah, we're starting to get there with it now.
47:54Fantastic. Well done.
47:55Cheers. Thank you, guys.
47:56Yeah, amazing effort to be on pole position.
47:58One one thousandth of a second.
47:59Quicker than Leon Haslam for race three later.
48:03But I guess at the beginning of this weekend, though, he said,
48:05this track feels more natural to me.
48:07I'm feeling a little bit more confident in myself.
48:10Sometimes it just starts to click, doesn't it?
48:12Do you know what?
48:13Rory's been here before, obviously.
48:14He's done other tracks before, you know.
48:16But, you know, first time at Alton Park on the Ducati,
48:19that thing has a lot of horsepower.
48:21It's going to be a handful.
48:22And they've been working really, really hard,
48:24the Cheshire Moulding team, on that bike electronically
48:25to make it work for Rory.
48:27Coming somewhere like Donington Park,
48:29a little bit more conventional, a bit flatter,
48:30not so many blind crests and stuff.
48:32It's going to be easier to do the job there.
48:35But, you know, Rory was one of the people
48:37I actually wanted to mention.
48:38I thought that was a bit of a standout performance.
48:39Done a great job.
48:39Me too.
48:40And let's not forget, it's the team's first season with the Ducati.
48:45That's a different machine.
48:48Nothing, all your stands don't work.
48:50All your information doesn't work.
48:52Your data.
48:53They've got to start again with a machine that needs quite specific setups
48:57compared to any other bike.
48:58So, not only is he doing a really good job,
49:01but also the team as well.
49:02Couldn't be more pleased for him.
49:03And I think the paddock feels the same way.
49:05He's a good lad.
49:06And he hasn't had the best run of it the last couple of years.
49:07Are you surprised that it's come so quickly then for both the team and for Rory?
49:11I think everybody, I think by mid-season,
49:12we knew if it were going to happen,
49:14it would happen on that bike with that team.
49:15It's happened a bit earlier than I think.
49:17And him being disappointed with fourth and fifth is a good sign.
49:21Yeah, he said he was frustrated.
49:22He did, though.
49:23He was quite honest.
49:23He said it was his mistake right at the end.
49:25And we can see that moment that Glenn just snatched that podium
49:28back off of Rory Skinner.
49:30Yeah, this is a difficult pass, actually, for Glenn against another Ducati.
49:33Obviously, I mentioned earlier on the Ducati straight up and down breaking.
49:36That's one of their strengths.
49:37But it's one thing overtaking another manufacturer whose strength isn't necessarily an up-and-down
49:41breaking, but doing it to the same person.
49:43And Rory Skinner at that, who is a good little rider.
49:45He's a talented boy, Rory Skinner.
49:46Doing it to him on exactly the same machinery was impressive.
49:49Yeah, but if you look, he had a little slide out of McLeans,
49:51but he also had a little bit of an instant, as soon as he took his role at Coppice,
49:55which I think allowed Glenn to have a little bit of an advantage on the straight.
49:59Let's just move to talk about one other Ducati who are right behind us here.
50:02And Liam Haslam, actually, you just said in commentary, I think Liam would be disappointed
50:06with fifth.
50:07As soon as he came into the box, he was going, ah.
50:09I knew he would.
50:10Yeah.
50:10I knew he would.
50:11Didn't make the start.
50:12And in a 12-lapper, you cannot not make the start.
50:15He didn't.
50:16He fought back.
50:16He got the second quick.
50:17He was fastest man on track for quite a chunk of that, but too late.
50:21On a positive note, though, it took him a long time to get past Andrew Irwin,
50:24which bodes well for Andrew.
50:25You know, Andrew Tom Ponder in that race, done a really, really good job.
50:27Love seeing that.
50:28Yep.
50:30Bride Rollo, Tommy, eighth.
50:32He's progressing nicely at a terrible beginning of his week.
50:35Obviously, crashed yesterday.
50:37He's not going to be happy with that still, but...
50:39Tommy's never happy unless he's winning,
50:41and that's a great trait to have as a racer.
50:43But, you know, he's had a difficult weekend so far.
50:46Obviously, a monster high side out of Coppice yesterday,
50:48which will have banged him about.
50:49You know, people see us fall down and stand back up
50:51and think, oh, they're all right.
50:52But, yeah, we bruise and we hurt and we cut
50:55and we do everything as same as any other human being.
50:58So he'll be sore today, but he'll be digging in
51:00and having a go this afternoon for sure.
51:02Yeah, it'd be good, wouldn't it,
51:03to see if he could get something a little bit later on.
51:05But it is Rory Skinner who goes on pole position
51:08when we go racing again at 20 past four.
51:11That's your next feature race for the British Superbike.
51:15So do come back and join us to that one.
51:17But we're going to say goodbye to you on Quest now
51:20from what is turning into being a glorious afternoon here
51:24at Dunnington Park in the East Midlands
51:27for round two of the Bennett's British Superbikes.
51:31But it is Bradley Ray who has taken two out of two
51:36so far at this circuit.
51:38Come and see what he does at 20 past four this afternoon.
51:43Good night.
51:44Good night.
51:45Good night.
51:46Good night.
51:47Good night.
51:48Good night.
51:49Good night.
51:50Good night.
51:51Good night.
51:52Good night.
51:53Good night.
51:54Good night.
51:55Good night.
51:56Good night.
51:57Good night.
51:58Good night.
51:59Good night.
52:00Good night.
52:01Good night.
52:02Good night.
52:03Good night.
52:04Good night.
52:05Good night.
52:06Good night.
52:07Good night.
52:08Good night.
52:09Good night.
52:10Good night.
52:11Good night.
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