BSB Brands Hatch – Round 5

The news from the British Superbike season so far has been all about the dominance of the Raceways Yamaha rider #28 Bradley Ray. With nine wins from eleven starts heading into Round 5 at Brands Hatch, could anyone stop Ray? Brands Hatch has historically been a track that has produced some of the closest superbike racing. The undulating, nine-corner layout of the Grand Prix circuit suits the Yamahas, so going into this meeting it looked like it was going to be more of the same.

BSB Brands Hatch – Race 1

Ray had never won at Brands, so the first race would be a marker for the weekend’s three races. True to form, Ray took the win ahead of Scott Redding, who is deputising for the injured Hager PBM Ducati rider Glen Irwin, with Kyle Ryde third.

Redding, the 2019 BSB champion, only joined the championship at the previous round at Knockhill, so getting onto the podium in his fourth BSB race this year was impressive. Ryde, the current champion, had yet to record a win. Eighteen points for a win, sixteen for second, and fourteen for third, Ray was increasing his lead in the championship from the other title contenders again.

Race 1 result:

1. Bradley Ray Raceways Yamaha
2. Scott Redding Hager PBM Ducati
3. Kyle Ryde Nitrous Competitions OMG Racing Yamaha

BSB Brands Hatch – Race 2

Taking the lead into Paddock Hill Bend on lap one, #28 Ray looked to be setting himself up for another win. Ray set a new lap record of 1:24.466 on lap four but was unable to capitalise on his lead. Redding closely followed, with Danny Kent bunched up behind Ray after the safety car was deployed. Tommy Bridewell #46 had gone down on lap three, and Charlie Nesbitt crashed on lap five, initiating the safety car. 

On the restart, Redding was pressing Ray, who put the hammer down but pushed a little too hard. On the ninth lap, Ray tucked the front, crashing at Westfield, gifting the lead to Redding, who headed for the checkered flag. Ryde took second from Kent, who recorded his best result of the season so far. Redding’s first win in 2025 on the Hager PBM Ducati was not enough to secure pole. Ray’s lap record lap would see him start at the front of the grid for race three.

Race two result:

1. Scott Redding Hager PBM Ducati
2. Kyle Ryde Nitrous Competitions OMG Racing Yamaha
3. Danny Kent McAMS Racing Yamaha

BSB Brands Hatch – Race 3

A great start from Ray saw him take the lead in the final race of the weekend. A battle royale ensued behind Ray, with #1 Ryde, #52 Danny Kent, and #21 Christian Iddon fighting for the podium places. Lee Jackson crashed on lap four, deploying the safety car again. Ray controlled the restart, with Kent, Ryde, and Redding ready to pounce. Kent saw his chance, taking Ray into Paddock Hill, Kent led a race for the first time this year. Ryde took second from Ray, then took the lead on lap 12 from Kent. 

Ryde and Kent battled hard with the lead changing hands but Ryde would cross the line ahead of #52 Kent to take the win. Redding waited until the final lap to pass Ray for third. The final podium place for Redding capped off a great weekends racing for the Hager PBM Ducati rider. Redding had amassed enough points for him to win the Monster Energy King of Brands trophy. 

Race 3 result:

1. Kyle Ryde Nitrous Competitions OMG Racing Yamaha
2. Danny Kent McAMS Racing Yamaha
3. Scott Redding Hager PBM Ducati

2025 British Super Bike Championship

A mixed weekend for Ray with a first, DNF and a fourth has not affected the championship table. With a 34 point lead over Ryde and 72 points ahead of Rory Skinner in third Ray heads into the next round at Thruxton with a comfortable lead. 

1	BRADLEY RAY Raceways Yamaha	222
2	KYLE RYDE Nitrous Competitions OMG Racing Yamaha	188
3	RORY SKINNER Cheshire Mouldings Ducati	150
4	LEON HASLAM Moto Rapido Ducati Racing	138
5	DANNY KENT McAMS Racing Yamaha	118
6	TOMMY BRIDEWELL Honda Racing UK	111
7	JOSH BROOKES DAO Racing Honda	106
8	CHRISTIAN IDDON AJN Steelstock Kawasaki	104
9	MAX COOK AJN Steelstock Kawasaki	82
10	STORM STACEY Bathams AJN Racing BMW	80

Photographic Post script – David Harbey

The last year has been a strange time for this snapper with a detached retina twelve months ago (not my camera eye), a cataract operation on that eye in May and now the same operation on my other eye in early August to balance up my sight. Add in some family illness and it all means that motorsport / photography have taken something of a back seat – out at the track at least.

BSB Brands Hatch – Saturday

It was good, therefore, to get back to Brands Hatch for the British Superbikes. I enjoy Saturdays with the mix of qualifying and racing along with slightly less busy spectator areas. There was little difficulty getting a spot at the Druids windows in the fence and the inside of the corner was again not too busy for the morning activity.

With the 70-200mm zoom still away being repaired, the 24-120 zoom was pressed into service on my Nikon D850. The 24-120mm doesn’t seem quite as quick as the longer zoom but it does the job well enough.

The forecast for the afternoon suggested some rain – we started out on the bank overlooking Surtees where the step gave the extra height needed to shoot over the fence.

Stirlings

I then headed off to Stirlings, At the HSCC meeting a couple of weeks previously, the strong sun and dark shadows played havoc with the cars at the apex, but no such problems this time. With light rain starting at the end of the Talent Cup race, the Supersports were clearly going to have a challenging race.

It is possible to use the photographer’s windows in the fence at Stirlings to get a great shot, although you may have to resort to “editing out” the blue and white portaloo in the background depending on your exact angle. The added bonus that you are under the trees helps minimise the impact of the rain.

There was only three of us shooting here so we each got a decent angle when the riders came out of an eight minute acclimatisation session and then the race. A fair number of the field chose to go with clear visors – hurrah – we get to see the whites of their eyes !

I was shooting here with the 500mm prime and then cropped the shots slightly. It really is my favourite spot at Brands – so long as it isn’t too sunny!

Thanks to Mic Pringle, David and Andrew Harbey Photography for the images used in this report. You can find out more about these photographers from the links below.

---

---

---

Our previous British Superbike reports from the 2025 season.

All of our other BSB reports from 2018 – 2025 can be found here.