Rider Ratings: Is Lee Jackson’s maiden BSB win enough for full marks?

Crash.net journalist Robert Jones runs through the field’s best and worst rider ratings following round two of the 2022 BSB Championship at Oulton Park.

Robert Jones

02 May 2022

Winners:

Bradley Ray - 10

(Qualified 7th)

(Race One, 1st)

(Race Two, 1st)

(Race Three, 3rd)

A new lap record during Friday free practice was only the beginning for Ray who put together the best BSB weekend of his career. Despite a disappointing P7 in qualifying, Ray showed incredible levels of dominance in races one and two in order to take victory. Race three looked to be heading towards a hat-trick of wins, however, grip issues late on saw Tommy Bridewell and Lee Jackson come back at the Yamaha rider before overtakes were eventually made. Ray set new lap records in two of the three races and was consistently the fastest rider. His first wins in four years make a score of 10 very easy.

Kyle Ryde - 8

(Qualified 1st)

(Race One, 3rd)

(Race Two, 4th)

(Race Three, 10th)

While Ryde was unable to keep pace with his team-mate throughout the weekend, the Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha rider was very strong in his own right at a circuit he considers to be his worst on the calendar. Ryde was ruled out of podium contention in race three following arm pump issues which resurfaced towards the end of race two.

Rory Skinner - 9

(Qualified 4th)

(Race One, 2nd)

(Race Two, 5th)

Race Three, 4th)

Like Silverstone, another impressive show of pace and consistency from Skinner who is the only rider to finish every race in the top five this season. The Scottish rider is quickly asserting himself as a title challenger.

Lee Jackson - 10

(Qualified 15th)

(Race One, 9th)

(Race Two, 2nd)

(Race Three, 1st)

While Ray took the most victories this weekend, the man of the hour is Jackson after the Kawasaki rider took his maiden BSB win. After making a bold move for the lead at turn 15, the Brit showed a stunning turn of pace as he vanished up the road by the tune of 2.9 seconds over Bridewell. In fact, it was a turn of pace that was as good as anything Ray showed.

Leon Haslam - 9

(Qualified 12th)

(Race One, 13th)

(Race Two, 3rd)

(Race Three, 5th)

After a tough BSB return at the season opener, Haslam showed just why he’s a former champion as he claimed P3 with last-gasp moves on Ryde and Skinner in race two. Haslam then managed to bounce back after losing several places at the start of race three by challenging Skinner for P4. Haslam’s Visiontrack Kawasaki remains far from the finished product which makes his Oulton Park weekend all the more impressive.

Losers:

Glenn Irwin - 5

(Qualified 9th)

(Race One, 11th)

(Race Two, 9th)

(Race Three, 7th)

The championship leader heading into Oulton, Irwin was unable to replicate his Silverstone hat-trick. Although his pace got better as the races went on, as did his results, the Honda Racing UK rider has now lost the lead in the standings to Ray.

Josh Brookes - 5

(Qualified 4th)

(Race One, 4th)

(Race Two, 10th)

(Race Three,8th )

Yes Oulton Park was a much better showing for Brookes, and yes Ducati showed pace across the three races, however, Brookes failed to build on his race one result of fourth which would have been a big disappointment given his previous success at the Cheshire venue.

Jason O’Halloran - 5

(Qualified 14th)

(Race One, 8th)

(Race Two, 6th)

(Race Three, 6th)

One of the biggest surprises so far in 2022 has been O’Halloran’s inability to challenge fellow Yamaha riders Ray and Ryde, let alone compete for wins. As was the case with Jackson, O’Halloran went forward during the Oulton Park races, albeit not enough to make a real impact. The McAMS Yamaha rider has a different bike to that of 2021 following a raft of upgrades that were developed and supplied from the Pata Yamaha WorldSBK team - is the main reason for his apparent difficulties with unlocking the true potential of his R1.

Tom Sykes - 4

(Qualified 11th)

(Race One, 15th)

(Race Two, 13th)

(Race Three, 11th)

Unlike Haslam, Sykes’ return to BSB showed little improvement at round two, if any. The Ducati rider was consistently off the pace compared to team-mate Josh Brookes and Bridewell, while his results of 15th, 13th and 11th mean he’s yet to score a top ten since leaving WorldSBK.

Tom Sykes Ducati British Superbike Oulton Park

Danny Buchan - 4

(Qualified 10th)

(Race One, 10th)

(Race Two, 11th)

(Race Three, 13th)

When looking at Buchan’s weekend, we must take into account that the M 1000 RR rider has been under the weather. Nevertheless, Buchan’s difficult start to 2022 continued as he’s without a top five finish in any race this season. If anything, Buchan and SYNETIQ BMW have lost a step compared to their main rivals as it stands.