Bradley Ray bounced back from a first-lap retirement to score points in race two as the World Superbike Championship continued at Donington.
After an impressive sixth-fastest time in a wet practice session with 1min28.057, Yamaha MotoxRacing rider Ray improved by half a second in the Superpole for 16th place on the grid - however race one lasted less than a lap after tangling with Bonovo Action BMW’s Garrett Gerloff and ending up in the gravel.
Spain’s Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.IT Ducati) won.
Ray did get moving in Sunday’s Superpole race, making up several positions to finish 12th as Pata Yamaha Prometeon’s Toprak Razgatlioglu took the flag first, and there were no dramas for the Lydd rider in race two - although there was another lap one crash involving three other riders.
Ray was able to get off the line fast when the race restarted, moving into 14th place.
His rapid pace and a mistake-free run earned him another position and he finished 13th for three more championship points. Once more championship leader Bautista headed the field, with Ray 20th in the standings on eight points ahead of the next round at Imola in two weeks.
“[Race one was] a race to forget, said Ray. "I was knocked out at turn one on lap one. A pity because we know we have good pace and so we could have scored a good result.
“We weren’t very lucky in Superpole, either, in that my fastest lap was cancelled due to a yellow flag and I had to settle for 16th place.
“Our hard work paid off [on Sunday}. I finished 12th in the Superpole race and could have scored the same result in race two if the tyres hadn’t lost grip in the final stages.
“I’m very happy, not just with the results but also our constant progress, which leaves me optimistic for the rest of
KentOnline reporter
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Garrett Gerloff
Bradley Ray