2026 British Superbikes: Donington Park - Qualifying Results

Qualifying on Saturday ahead of Race 1 saw Kyle Ryde fastest for pole position as his Showdown rivals dealt with a mix of highs and lows behind as the BSB Showdown continued at Donington Park.

Fastest on Friday, Kyle Ryde continued his form into Saturday, topping the earlier FP3 session. Unbothered by the changes in provisional pole the Nitrous Coin Nitrous competitions rider went out on a used tyre for a solid banker lap, which initially led the way before dropping down the times.

Back on track with a new tyre, a calm, controlled run saw the Ducati rider back to the top of the standings, but aware he had run close to the green paint, Ryde decided to go again. That saw him improving his time to 1’ 226.249s, which remained unbeaten for the championship leader at his home track.

The reigning champion held a huge advantage over the rest of the field, with Ryan Vickers coming closest, but still over half a second slower. The Honda Racing UK rider attempted to celebrate his front row with a stoppie, but his bike cut out, leading to a crash on the way back to pit lane.

Bradley Ray was late out of the pits, but then had his bike set up as needed, going to third in his limited time on track, only 0.021s slower than Vickers for McAMS Yamaha.

Of all the riders challenging Ryde, Scott Redding sits closest in the standings, but the Hager PBM rider is well aware wins are needed to keep his title hopes alive. The Ducati rider was wide several times in the session, including once on a strong lap where he hit the green then set dust flying trying to move the fine margins in his favour on his way to fourth.

Max Cook was the top bimota in fifth, ahead of Rory Skinner, one of several riders to lead over the session before Ryde dropped his best lap, finishing sixth for Cheshire Mouldings Yamaha.

Glenn Irwin brought the second Nitrous bike around in the seventh best time, the last rider within a second of the pole lap from his team-mate.

Ilya Mikhalchik remained the top rookie on the sole remaining BMW in eighth, ahead of Danny Kent in ninth on the second Cheshire Mouldings bike and Christan Iddon, who completed the top ten for Sencat Yamaha.

Joe Talbot missed out on top rookie honours in Q2, but was the best of the riders to move up from Q1 in 11th on the second bimota entry.

Of the remaining five riders still in contention in the showdown in the overall standings, Leon Haslam had the toughest qualifying.

The Moto Rapido rider, who secured pole last time out in Assen, already needed a last minute dash to ensure Q2 passage on Friday, with a worrying pull straight back into the pits in FP3, only to come out and go third.

The Ducati rider had run out of great escapes to throw at the Donington round, in and back to the pits again. When Haslam finally made it out for a flying lap another technical issue reared it’s head, leaving him steering over the grass and last in Q2.

Official British Superbike Donington Park Records:

BSB lap record: Glenn Irwin 1’ 26.832s (Ducati, 2025)
Pole record: Kyle Ryde 1’ 26.123s (Ducati, Q2, 2026)

Round 2:

Qualifying: 1 Kyle Ryde (2 Max Cook, 3 Scott Redding)
Race 1: 1 Scott Redding (2 Max Cook, 3 Kyle Ryde)
Race 2 (sprint): 1 Kyle Ryde (2 Scott Redding, 3 Max Cook)
Race 3: 1 Kyle Ryde (2 Scott Redding, 3 Max Cook)

Q1 - Last minute dash sees Storm Stacey progress

Jason O’Halloran (14th in Q2) set the best time early in the session, which left him safe enough to sit out the closing minutes in the pits.

Also back in the garage was rookie Talbot, in a safe second, with the last spot held by Eugene Mc Manus until a frustrated Stacey (12th in Q2) made it on track.

With only three minutes to get a time on the board, a focused run took the Ducati rider into the top three, taking the final spot in Q2 and denying the MasterMac rookie, who will be in 16th on the grid.

Josh Brookes also just missed out, in fifth in Q1, for 17th for DAO Racing.

Andrew Irwin finished the session without a lap to his name after an early crash at the Old Hairpin.

Full results from BSB Qualifying: