Ryan Vickers to “enlighten” Honda for Thruxton BSB: “I’ve been really strong there”

Ryan Vickers wants to “enlighten” Honda for the Thruxton BSB with the knowledge he’s gained in the past.

Vickers won at Thruxton twice in 2024 when he rode for the OMG Yamaha team. His two victories contributed to the 15 in succession that Yamaha has at the Hampshire track in BSB, where it is unbeaten since 2019 when Andrew Irwin won Race 1 for Honda and Josh Brookes Race 2 for PBM Ducati.

It’s a track Vickers counts among his favourites, and one where he feels he has specific input to give to the Honda Racing UK team which hasn’t been on the podium at Thruxton since Glenn Irwin was third in 2021’s Race 2 (although Charlie Nestbitt was on the rostrum in all three 2023 races for Hawk Racing and Billy McConnell rode a Honda to the podium in 2024).

“Really looking forward to it,” Ryan Vickers said of the Thruxton round when speaking to Crash.net after Race 3 at Oulton Park.

“Thruxton is probably one of my favourite circuits. I’ve been really strong there, we’ve got some really good strategies. 

“I need to talk to the team now and enlighten them on stuff that we did back then because there’s a few things that I want to implement over the weekend. I think we can have a really good shot at the podium.”

Vickers also left the previous round at Oulton Park feeling like he’d been able to confirm the improvements he’s made in recent rounds with the Fireblade, steps that have allowed him to ride the bike in a better way.

“I don’t feel like I’m riding any harder or trying any harder, but when the bike has got less problems you’re able to fine-tune your riding style to understand exactly how the bike needs to be ridden,” he explained.

“When you’re getting the vibration like we were at the start of the year, it didn’t matter what I did, it was the same result. Now, I can improve my riding and I can understand exactly what it does and doesn’t want me to do and then I can ride it better. 

“I was capable of that at the start of the year, but it just wasn’t possible. But now it is.”