2026 British Superbikes: Snetterton - Qualifying Results

Qualifying ahead of the first BSB race at Snetterton saw Bradley Ray finish the best of three riders all under the lap record as he returned to pole position at Snetterton.

The McAMS Yamaha rider, who had been fastest on Friday, held great form at the Norwich track last season, where pole in 2025 lead to a trio of race wins at Snetterton.

A first run on used tyres saw the number 28 down in sixth, dropping to eighth by the time Max Cook took over at the top - the first rider under the old all time lap record, held by Shane Byrne since 2017.

A return to track saw Ray out with Joe Talbot tucked in to follow, with purple sectors in the first to sections of the track seeing Ray on top with a new all time record of 1m 45.757s.

The first rider to go sub 1m 46s at Snetterton, Cook held second sat in the pits for AJN Steelstock bimota, just 0.082s slower.

There will be three different manufacturers on the front row, with all of the top three in Q2 under the old record benchmark.

The final run for Storm Stacey from sixth saw the Bathams AJN Racing rider latch on behind Rory Skinner. 

Closing in at the Bomb Hole the Ducati rider could then slipstream in behind over the straight for the final front row spot.

That run pushed Leon Haslam back to the second row, the Moto Rapido Ducati rider was within half a second with his best solo lap, for fourth on the grid.

A late push saw Scott Redding improve, shuffled back by Stacey going ahead, the Hager PBM Ducati rider will line up for race one in fifth.

After some bike woes on Friday, Kyle Ryde looked back on his game after topping FP3 in the morning, but the premonition from the championship leader that he would be off the pace at this round seemed to have legs, as he dropped back to sixth on the grid for Nitrous Coin Nitrous Competitions.

Talbot’s lap behind Ray saw him pulled up to seventh on the second bimota, the rookie was the best of the riders to move up from Q1.

Christian Iddon was eighth quickest for Sencat Yamaha, ahead of local rider Ryan Vickers, who was managing massive chatter to be the top Honda in ninth - the first rider over a second from the new lead lap.

Josh Brookes completed the top ten after his push to leave Q1 for DAO Honda, just ahead of the only BMW left in the class, with Rokit BMW Motorrad rider Ilya Mikhalchik improving to eleventh after being late out of the pits after he too progressed from the first qualifying session.

Glenn Irwin spent his FP3 in the pits with an issue, as fortunes again greatly differed on the other side of the Nitrous Competitions garage. That issue remained unresolved come qualifying, with the Carrickfergus rider having a technical issue at Agostini, next seen back in the garage with the tyre warmers on and out of the session.

Official British Superbike Snetterton Records:

Old all time lap record: Shane Byrne 1m 46.024s (2017)
New all time lap record: Bradley Ray 1m 45.757s (Yamaha, Q2, 2026) 
Old lap record : Bradley Ray 1m 46.583s (Yamaha, 2025)
New lap record: Bradley Ray  1m 46.102s (Yamaha, FP2, 2026)

2025

Round 3

Qualifying: 1. Bradley Ray (2. Kyle Ryde, 3 Rory Skinner)
Race 1: 1. Bradley Ray (2. Kyle Ryde, 3. Tommy Bridewell)
Race 2 (sprint) 1. Bradley Ray (2. Rory Skinner 3. Tommy Bridewell)
Race 3: 1. Bradley Ray (2.Kyle Ryde 3. Leon Haslam)

Q1 - Rookies lead the way into the progression places

Talbot had been sat in the pits, along with second placed rider, fellow rookie  Mikhalchik, when Charlie Nesbitt made a push to lead the first qualifying session.

Back on track for a final run to guarantee progression, the bimota rider finished almost half a second ahead, with Mikhalchik also progressing,

The final promotion to Q2 went to a solo run from Josh Brookes, who also enjoyed a spell leading the way.

His session topping lap was not enough to see Nesbitt through, just missing out for TAG Honda in fourth - for 16th on the grid.

Lee Jackson was concentrating on losing Eugene McManus, with neither progressing, the DAO Racing rider just ahead in fifth in the session after breaking free of the chasing bike.

There are two replacement riders at Snetterton, with Graeme Irwin (20th) back at MET fonaCAB filling in for his brother Andrew after picking up a point last time out at Knockhill.

Ben Luxton (24th), in for the injured Luke Hedger at Whitecliffe CDH Racing, saw Q1 start with an issue, pulling over onto the grass at the Bentley Straight.

Full results for the Snetterton BSB Qualifying session: