“What goes around comes around”: Ray & Ryde react to Snetterton BSB clash

The incident between Kyle Ryde and Bradley Ray at the Snetterton BSB generated split opinions between the two riders.

The two collided in Race 2 on lap 10 in contact that saw Ray crash and which earned Ryde a long lap penalty, which was converted to an equivalent time penalty of three seconds after the race, meaning he dropped from second to third.

Ray had been behind Ryde since he cleared Max Cook for third on lap six at turn one, and finally made his move for second on lap nine at the final corner, hoping to chase on after Scott Redding in the lead.

It was one that Ray had to make, he said, and one he thinks had an influence on what happened at turn one moments later.

“At the minute I need to pass where people aren’t expecting it,” Bradley Ray told Crash.net after Race 3 at Snetterton.

“I need to take three or four laps to line one up, it’s not a case of ‘Right, I’m going to pass now’. I need to build the momentum and then make a pass. 

“When I made that pass, I wanted to chase Scott [Redding] down because I felt like I had the pace, but I think Kyle [Ryde] was maybe a bit upset with that pass into the last corner and thought he’d brake and cut across my front wheel into turn one. 

“If you’re going to pass into there, brake alongside me and turn in, not brake and turn left then turn right. 

“It’s pretty clear. 

“Unfortunately no apology from his side to me, not even acknowledged it. We’ll have to see how that one goes.”

Despite the consequence of the contact and Ray’s evident opinion that the blame lies with Ryde, the McAMS Yamaha rider says it will not affect how he races Ryde.

“No, it is what it is,” he said when asked if he would race Ryde differently in the future.

“He passed me in Race 3 in turn two, clean pass – nothing wrong with that, that’s racing. 

“But when you’re passing at that speed [at turn one], you give the rider a bit more room than what you should do normally. We haven’t got enough time to react, there’s not enough run-off. 

“I couldn’t do anything but stay where I was, I tried to turn in but his rear wheel was there. 

“It’s frustrating, but what goes around comes around.”

Crash.net asked Ryde for his view on the incident.

“I don’t want to comment on it,” he said. 

“I didn’t deserve the penalty. 

“Look at all the comments on Facebook, everyone knows it wasn’t my fault, so we’ll leave it at that.”

Ryde leads the BSB standings by 17 points over Scott Redding, who won Race 2, after four rounds. Ray lies third and 61 points off Ryde.