Ryde back on podium but pipped for second in final race
JACKSDALE’S Kyle Ryde claimed two podium finishes on the final day in the sixth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship.
After crossing the line seventh in race one, Ryde stepped up a gear with third places in races two and three at Brands Hatch.
In race three, Ryde quickly moved into second, where he lined up on the grid after his race two performance, and the OMG Grilla Yamaha rider looked set to challenge his teammate Ryan Vickers, the eventual triple winner.
For a long spell Ryde had no-one around before the final laps turned into a three-way fight for the final podium spots.
“I was on my own for so long, something like 16 laps, that when Iddo (Christian Iddon) came past it was a bit of a shock to the system,” Ryde told Crash.net.
“I had been doing the same braking marker, same everything, and obviously Iddo is on a completely different bike to me, so the characteristics of the bike and the track is so different.
“It took two laps to figure it out, where I could actually have a go at passing him.
“I was giving it my all, tried my best, but couldn’t really pass him. I was waiting for a mistake but it wasn’t to be.”
Iddon claimed second place in race three but the weekend belonged to Vickers, who had been unstoppable in the opening race on Saturday.
On Sunday, he delivered a masterclass to win a red flag interrupted race two, in a five-lap restarted contest.
And in race three, Vickers had his sights firmly set on a career first treble and he achieved the feat with another impressive performance that saw him rule on the Grand Prix circuit.
Smalley’s Leon Haslam finished sixth in race one on board his ROKiT Haslam Racing BMW Motorrad and followed that with fifth place in race two and 10th in race three.
Haslam told the Derbyshire Times: “The sprint race was a bit tough. We kept having an issue which meant we dropped back.
“Luckily, the race got red-flagged which allowed us to make a little change for the restart.
“We got a good start and ended up fifth and the pace was very similar to Saturday, possibly good for maybe a second place but we were really struggling to get the bike to stop and pass people.
“In that last race, 20-lapper, from lap one we had the same problems again so it was a tough race.
“We got a good start but dropped back and I couldn’t really pass anyone. The results weren’t what we really wanted this weekend.”
Ryde is fourth in the championship standings with Haslam eighth going into the seventh round at Thruxton on
August 9-11.