2026 British Superbikes: Brands Hatch - Race Results (2) - Kyle Ryde is 2026 BSB champion!

The BSB sprint race at the final Showdown round of the championship, back at Brands Hatch, saw Scott Redding do all he could to keep the title alive with a win, but third was enough to see the 2026 championship go to Kyle Ryde, his third title in a row.

Third to the chequered flag saw Ryde make history, his 30th podium in 32 races seeing him pick up a third consecutive championship title, making a piece of history as the first rider to take consecutive titles after changing manufacturer, moving from Yamaha to Ducati for the 2026 season with the Nitrous Coin/Nitrous Competitions team.

The race started under overcast conditions, with Race 3 already moved earlier due to rain predicted at the Kent track.

After his determined run from seventh on the grid to victory in Race 1 after dropping back further, Scott Redding earned pole for the shorter race, and held firm into turn one. 

Ryde, from second on the grid, reacted and from lap two onwards they regularly swapped position at the front, the Nitrous rider looking to finish ahead to guarantee the title and be safe and clear on track, while Hager PBM’s Redding knew he needed to win - with Ryde only needing fifth if he did to hold onto the number 1 plate for another year.

Close racing continued between the Ducati pair, bringing the riders behind into play. Redding had fought back to the lead again, up the inside at the end of lap eight to lead into Paddock Hill Bend, with Bradley Ray behind moving past Leon Haslam, who had been applying pressure on the Moto Rapido Ducati.

The McAMS Yamaha rider moved into second at the end of lap ten, with the positions unchanged over a tense final lap.

That saw Redding pick up a ninth win of the season, and his second in the Showdown at Brands Hatch after also taking victory in Race 1, with Ray second. Both Haslam and Ryan Vickers were close enough behind for a move, but a determined, defensive run from Ryde saw him pick up third, guaranteeing the 2026 title.

Redding immediately signalled to Ryde to pull over, wanting to be the first to congratulate his season-long rival, with friend Joe Talbot an team-mate Glenn Irwin also quick to congratulate the Jacksdale rider.

Haslam was fourth to the chequered flag, ahead of top Honda Vickers, for Honda Racing UK.

Max Cook had been in the same group, but a late evasive move to stop himself hitting the rear of Vickers in a close race saw the AJN Steelstock bimota rider drop back slightly, still sixth, a second clear of his rookie team-mate Joe Talbot, who was seventh.

Rory Skinner had dropped outside the top ten in the early laps of the sprint, but fought back passing his team-mate to be the top Cheshire Holdings Yamaha, with a late lunge on Christian Iddon seeing the Scottish rider claim eighth, with the Sencat rider ninth.

Danny Kent completed the top ten on the second Cheshire Mouldings bike.

Lee Jackson was 11th for DAO Racing, ahead of Jason O’Halloran in 12th on the second Honda Racing UK bike and his team-mate Josh Brookes who staged a comeback to 13th on the second DAO entry.

The final points on offer went to Scott Swann again equalling his best result since taking over the TAG Honda seat in 14th, with Glenn Irwin 15th on the second Nitrous bike.

Official British Superbike Brands Hatch Records:

BSB lap record: Bradley Ray 1’ 24.466s (Yamaha, 2025)
BSB best ever lap: Kyle Ryde 1’ 23.954s (Ducati, Q2, 2026)
Pole record: Kyle Ryde 1’ 23.954s (Ducati, Q2, 2026)

Round 5:

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

2025 Showdown Round:

Qualifying: 1 Bradley Ray (2 Kyle Ryde, 3 Christian Iddon)
Race 1: 1 Scott Redding (2 Bradley Ray, 3 Kyle Ryde)
Race 2 (sprint): 1 Scott Redding (2 Kyle Ryde, 3 Bradley Ray)
Race 3: 1 Danny Kent (2 Bradley Ray, 3 Tommy Bridewell)

Charlie Nesbitt continued his time on a second Bathams AJN Ducati in 19th, behind team-mate for the round Storm Stacy who was 16th.

Fraser Rogers was 18th when he was handed a long lap penalty for tagging Eugene McManus and ending his race at the Cooper Straight, coming back after a drop to 20th to finish 18th for TAG Honda.

Neither MasterMac bike finished the race, with Rhys Irwin a faller at the Hawthorn Bend on lap seven.

Ilya Mikhalchik retired to the pits, while Richard Kerr suffered a technical issue, ending his race early.

Championship Standings

Kyle Ryde’s podium finish took him to an unbeatable 566 points and a third title. The tally eclipses his previous winning scores of nine wins and 467 points in 2024 and six wins and 522 points in 2025, with a race still to go this season.

Redding in second has also amassed more points than in both of those winning seasons, hitting the 500 mark in style with a win, on 526 points after 32/33 races.

Ray sits third overall on 423, with Vickers fourth on 400 and Haslam fifth on 336 points.

2026’s top rookie was only only newcomer to the class to add to his total, ninth overall on 194, with Mikhalchik remaining second on 100 after his retirement, with Rhys Irwin (29 points) and McManus (19 points) both crashing out.

Full results from BSB Race 2 (sprint):