Last weekend’s BSB Cadwell Park round wasn’t a season-defining moment, but it definitely altered people’s opinions on who will win the 2025 Championship. With four rounds to go, we had a change of championship leader and a new race winner. Coming into Round 7, Bradley Ray had dominated, taking 10 wins from the 17 races so far.  Could he continue his championship challenge at the Bank Holiday Party in the Park?

The PistonClick team had turned out in good numbers for the weekend’s racing. But unfortunately, as with all of the best-laid plans, it kind of went Pete Tong. Two of us had to leave early, just getting to watch and photograph the Saturday practice session. The rest of the guys took up the slack and got stuck in producing some memorable images from the weekend.

In a first for the site, we had a photographer in the new hospitality area. Located just past the top of the mountain, the view of the riders jumping straight at you is amazing. Chatting to Mic, who took the shots, he had only one complaint: he was still too far away. This is the main problem most spectator photographers have when shooting from behind the wire, besides the wire itself. Personally, I think the shots are fine; sometimes it’s better to be a bit further away. Having room (distance) to frame the shot can be helpful, especially when Tommy Bridewell and Josh Brookes launch big ones.

BSB Cadwell Qualifying 

Cadwell is unique in the BSB calendar as it has two sets of pits, a lower one next to the start line and an upper one in what is usually the holding area. This brings a few problems when running a BSB race. Riders exiting the upper pits arrive on a fast part of the track just before Hall Bends. This could potentially slow a rider on a hot lap, affecting grid position during qualifying. To counteract this, Cadwell hosts Superpole.

Superpole is totally different to a standard qualifying session. The riders go out individually and have one warm-up lap and one hot lap to determine grid position for race one. Only the fastest 15 from qualifying go into the Superpole. I really like the format; the riders pick their own music to be played over the tannoy when they go out, adding to the atmosphere.

Starting in the order of slowest first from the previous sessions. As the riders come out, the commentators keep the fans up to speed on who is setting the pace, which is great for the spectators. This all adds to the drama as the fans get behind their rider, cheering them on.

Bradley Ray, the championship leader going into the Cadwell round, was the fastest, taking pole. Hot on his heels was the 2024 champion, Kyle Ryde. Tommy Bridewell, who has been off the pace this season so far, took third, half a second off the top spot. Leon Haslam crashed out in the Superpole; he would start 15th on the grid, effectively ending his aspirations of a podium. 

BSB Cadwell Park Race 1

It has become the norm this season to watch Bradley Ray make a great start, then disappear into the distance. No change at Cadwell; he made a great start, fending off early challenges from Ryde and Bridewell. With a two-second lead, I fully expected to switch my focus from Ray to the following pack.

Ryde had dropped away from Ray but started to reel him in as the race progressed. A truly great battle ensued in the final laps, with contact between them at Chris Curve giving Ray a slight advantage. Just 0.087s separated them at the chequered flag, with Ray taking the win.

Bridewell had crashed out earlier in the race at the chicane, leaving Charlie Nesbitt, Christian Iddon, and Andrew Irwin to battle for the final podium place. Nesbitt went down at Charlies on lap 13 to leave Iddon and Irwin to fight it out. Irwin #18 made his move on Iddon on the final lap to claim his first podium of the year.

BSB Cadwell Park Race 1:

1. Bradley Ray, Raceways Yamaha
2. Kyle Ryde, Nitrous Competitions Racing Yamaha +0.087s
3. Andrew Irwin, Honda Racing UK +7.914s

BSB Cadwell Park Race 2

Honda Racing UK are based in Louth which is just down the road from Cadwell so this was their home round. The two Honda Racing UK riders Bridewell and Irwin were performing well on the 1000cc Fireblade. P3 for #46 Bridewell in qualifying and one trophy in the cabinet for #18 Andrew Irwin what could they do in the Sprint race?

Ray again on pole got a great start but threw it all away at Mansfield. The championship leader really didn’t need to be eating the dusty Cadwell dirt at this stage of the season. Bridewell and Irwin looked to be heading for a Honda Racing UK one two but Ryde had other ideas. With Ray out Ryde needed to close the gap in the championship and made his move on the Nitrous Competitions Racing Yamaha on the final lap to take second from Irwin.

One winner trophy and two thirds for Honda Racing UK it was a bit like buses, you wait for ages for one then three turn up.

BSB Cadwell Park Race 2:

1. Tommy Bridewell, Honda Racing UK
2. Kyle Ryde, Nitrous Competitions Racing Yamaha +0.561s
3. Andrew Irwin, Honda Racing UK +0.602s

BSB Cadwell Park Race 3

After his off track excursion in race 2 Bradley Ray found himself in unfamiliar territory for the start of race 3. Third row and P7 next to #86 Charlie Nesbitt was not on the Raceways Yamaha team plan at the start of this meeting. Andrew Irwin put in the fastest lap in race 2 so was on pole followed by Mr consistency Ryde and Irwin’s team mate Bridewell making up the front row.

Irwin made a great start but Ryde took the lead with the two having a close race for the final 18 laps of the meeting. Storm Stacey #79 also made a good start and was riding well in third until Bridewell made his move on the third lap.

Dropping back into the clutches of the AJN Steelstock Kawasaki riders #21 Christian Iddon and Max Cook Stacey dropped another place to Iddon crossing the line in fifth ahead of Cook.

BSB Cadwell Park Race 3:

1. Kyle Ryde, Nitrous Competitions Racing Yamaha
2. Andrew Irwin, Honda Racing UK +2.909s
3. Tommy Bridewell, Honda Racing UK +7.267s

BSB Cadwell Park Race Post Script 

8TEN Racing – Peter Hickman

It was great to see Peter Hickman back at Cadwell in the Friday practice session. Based in Louth he didn’t have far to travel for this round. Unfortunately, he is not fit to race at the moment. During practice at this year’s IoM TT on the 30th May a bracket holding the exhaust snapped. This resulted in the exhaust coming loose and puncturing the rear tyre on his 8TEN Racing Superstock BMW. Crashing at the Kerrowmoar section of the Mountain Course he broke his left collarbone, left scapula and shoulder blade in three places. He also broke three ribs and four vertebrae in his back! Considering his injuries it was remarkable to see him jump the mountain during the practice session and trackside watching the racing. Hopefully Peters recovery continues well and we will see him back racing soon.

Honda Racing UK

The other team based in Louth, Honda Racing UK team had a great home round. Filling the team trophy cabinet not only with BSB Cadwell pots but also the fans Bennets Rider of the Round award going to Andrew Irwin. He was rewarded for an outstanding performance over the three races by fans voting on X. 

McAMS Racing

As one team rises another fell. Danny Kent was on the podium for all three races at the previous round. Recording his first win at Thruxton it looked like McAMS Racing and Danny Kent were back in business. Initially it appeared that Kent would also be a podium contender at Cadwell. Smashing his personal lap record and with a P4 in qualifying it was all going well. However, crashing out at Mansfield in the first race for a DNF dropped Kent down to 10th on the grid for race two. As Bradley Ray found out grid position is everything at Cadwell. Kent couldn’t recoverer from this one mistake but the next round at Donington will suit the Yamaha rider. 

DAO Racing

Josh Brookes and Italian Gabriele Giannini, who is deputising for the injured Lee Jackson, had a challenging weekend at BSB Cadwell Park. Josh and the team struggled with the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, missing out on Superpole and qualifying 16th for race one. In all three races, Brookes progressed through to finish higher than his grid position, gaining valuable championship points. 

Gabriele Giannini never got to grips with Cadwell’s challenging track layout. Multiple crashes over the weekend hampered Giannini’s progress. Finishing 18th in race one, a DNF in race two, and not starting race three finished off a forgettable weekend for the Italian. 

Nitrous Competitions Racing

Kyle Ryde on the Nitrous Competitions Racing Yamaha R1 was the ultimate winner. With a first and two seconds taking the lead in the championship by a slim two points from Bradley Ray. Kyle also retained his King of the Mountain trophy for accumulating the most championship points from the meeting. There is a saying in motorsport “to finish first, first you have to finish.” Ryde only has three wins so far this season so is not finishing first but he is picking up points finishing the races.

The pressure is now building for the teams and riders as they head for the next round at Donington Park. With four sprint races planned over the weekend there are plenty of championship points on offer. The question is who will take them? We will be there to answer that question and capture the action from the viewpoint of a British Superbike fan, spectator and photographer.

Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings after Round 7:

1. Kyle Ryde 284
2. Bradley Ray 282
3. Leon Haslam 192
4. Danny Kent 182
5. Rory Skinner 180
6. Christian Iddon 172
7. Tommy Bridewell 166
8. Max Cook 146
9. Josh Brookes 130
10. Andrew Irwin 129

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I would like to thank RPW, Scott Grant and Mick Pringle for the images used in this report. All other images are by the editor. A further report focusing on the support races will be published soon. You can see more of Scott Grants images here.

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All of our previous British Superbike reports from 2018 – 2025 can be found here.