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Sport

Bradley Ray wins opening two races of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship

By: KentOnline reporter multimediadesk@thekmgroup.co.uk

Published: 10:44, 03 April 2018

Updated: 13:04, 03 April 2018

Bradley Ray delivered a dream double victory start to the Bennetts British Superbike Championship campaign at Donington Park.

The 20-year old from Lydd secured his first win in Sunday's opening race on his Buildbase Suzuki and followed it up with a masterful performance in changing conditions to triumph in race two on Monday.

Ray got off to a flying start in the drying conditions on Monday, leading the race from start to finish, despite initial pressure from Dan Linfoot and defending champion Shane 'Shakey' Byrne.

Home hero Leon Haslam was determined to make amends for missing out on the podium the day before and he made his move on Linfoot on the eighth lap, powering ahead and defending hard before Haslam had to settle for second.

mpu1

On Sunday, Ray had to hold off a last lap challenge from Byrne and James Ellison.

Haslam initially grabbed the advantage, but Ellison was quickly on the attack and took the lead on the opening lap, with Ray holding third place.

Ray was piling the pressure on Haslam, though, and he made a move on lap three to move into second place and ready to target Ellison.

The Kent ace moved to the front of the pack for the first time on the sixth lap with a determined move on Ellison.

With four laps to go the leading trio of Ray, Ellison and Byrne were inseparable in their quest for the first victory of the season.

The battle for the win went all the way to the finish line, but Ray wasn’t giving Ellison and Byrne an inch.

mpu2

Defending champion Byrne moved ahead of Ellison to finish second.

The championship now looks ahead to the second round of the season at Brands Hatch on April 13-15, with Ray and Byrne in the top two positions in the standings.

Championship standings: 1 Bradley Ray (Buildbase Suzuki) 50, 2 Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) 31, 3 Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) 29, 4 Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 27.

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