"Going to be difficult for everyone": Ryde sends warning with Snetterton BSB win

Kyle Ryde says it is “going to be difficult for everyone” after he won Race 3 at Snetterton BSB.

Ryde made mention before the weekend of his lack of a BSB victory at Snetterton in his career, and at the start of the weekend it seemed as though he was likely to go another three races at the Norfolk circuit without a win, finishing outside the top-three in both free practice sessions on Friday, and being 0.6 seconds behind Bradley Ray in pre-qualifying.

Ryde’s Sunday was most notable in the beginning for an incident with Ray at turn one in Race 2, one for which Ray was clearly unimpressed by Ryde.

But by the end of the weekend, in Race 3, Ryde was back on top and in the kind of form that saw him win seven of the opening nine races of the season to take a first Snetterton win.

From the reigning champion’s perspective, the Race 3 performance was a signal to the rest of the field that he can win anywhere.

“Friday was a terrible day and Sunday was a good one,” Ryde told Crash.net after Race 3 at Snetterton.

“200 races in BSB and I’ve topped it off with my first win at Snetterton, so I’ve now ticked it off at every single track. 

“So, hopefully they all know I can ride at every track now, so it’s going to be difficult for everyone. 

“It’s not an easy championship to win – although I’ve won eight races now, Scott’s [Redding] only a race win and one DNF behind. It’s not easy, but I’ve had a good weekend.”

The Friday and Saturday performances from Ryde were his most underwhelming of the season, qualifying on the second row and finishing third in Race 1 on day two at Snetterton.

The Nitrous Competitions Ducati rider explained that the improvement from the first two days to his dominant Race 3 performance was about understanding the Ducati at Snetterton.

“Just, it’s the first time I’ve rode this bike around here,” he said. 

“When Brad [Ray] and Scott are doing 1m46.3s and the lap record was 1:47.1s, you’re just on the back foot. 

“I’m just happy to set a new lap record in the last race. 

“If my bike felt like it did [in Race 2 and Race 3] on Friday, it would’ve been a different story.

“But we’ve had a terrible Friday and still come away with a handful of points. So, it’s been good.”

He added: “We found something with the bike today that we’ve not tried all season. With it being a sh*t Friday we had to try something and it was massive. 

“Today I rode the bike really good. I’m not knackered or anything; I’ve just set a new lap record and I feel fine, so ready to go at Brands [Hatch].”

On paper, Snetterton was Ryde’s worst weekend of the season, but his three podiums mean he maintains his 100 per cent BSB podium record for the season and his points scoring streak that goes back over 70 races to 2023.

“Look, if I don’t feel very good on the bike I’ll come fifth and if I feel really good I’ll try and win like I did then [in Race 3],” Ryde said, explaining that point-scoring run.

“So, it’ll stop at some points – there’ll be a mechanical or I’ll make a mistake, but I’m riding really good and that streak’s going.”

He added: “I’ve not crashed since 2023 and I’ve not had a mechanical since 2023. So, it’s been good, and good job to the boys.”