BSB points leader Kyle Ryde hails “big win” in tense title battle

Nitrous Competitions Yamaha rider Kyle Ryde says holding his championship lead at the Assen British Superbike round is “a big win” given Bradley Ray’s prior track knowledge.

A weather-affected Assen round - the first on Dutch soil for the series since 2019 - saw Yamaha kept off the top spot of the podium, with wins being shared between Ducati’s Scott Redding and Kawasaki’s Christian Iddon.

After finishing sixth in Race 1 and eighth in Race 2, Ryde managed to breach the rostrum on his Yamaha in Race 3 in third.

With Bradley Ray crashing out of Race 1 and finishing sixth in Race 3 after a podium in the second contest, Ryde leaves Assen with a 31-point advantage in the standings with two rounds to go.

“To have taken some points away from Brad at a track that he knows is a big win for me and the team,” Ryde said.

“I’m proud of what the team and I achieved this weekend, despite the struggles we faced in wet conditions.

“Today, we showed strong pace from start to finish, setting a strong lap time in Race 2 to be in a good position for the final race of the weekend.

“We’re in a strong spot heading into Oulton Park in two weeks’ time, I’m excited to get back to work for the penultimate round of the year.”

Ray admits it was “disappointing” for Race 1 to be impacted by rain given his practice pace in the dry, but is confident of keeping Ryde in his sights down to the wire.

“It’s been a mixed weekend,” he said.

“We were fast in Free Practice and Qualifying, so it was disappointing when the rain came for Race 1.

“I felt good in the wet but aquaplaned and went down. In Race 2 I had a couple of moments but managed to bring it home in third and gain some valuable points on Kyle.

“In Race 3 I lost too much time early on, and you can’t afford that in BSB.

“There are still a lot of points to fight for, especially with the increase at Brands Hatch, so it’s not over until it’s over.”