Having taken his maiden podium finish on Saturday, Kyle Ryde’s weekend got even better on Sunday as he won both of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship races at Silverstone to elevate himself firmly into championship contention.
The Buildbase Suzuki rider sat behind long-time race leader Josh Brookes in the opening 30-lap encounter but after rehearsing the move into Copse a couple of times, he hit the front for the first time on the 27th lap and promptly opened up a gap over the former champion to win by an eventual 1.6s
“I didn’t necessarily expect to win the race but I had a plan that I stuck to and although I didn’t execute it as earlier as I would have liked, I set it up well,” the Nottinghamshire rider said afterwards.
“I had good drive coming onto the start and finish straight all race and tried to set up a move into the first corner a few times but couldn’t quite get close enough. I eventually did though and once I’d got the lead I just put my head down and tried as hard as I could for the last few laps. The bike was absolutely amazing.”
Less than four hours later, Ryde was at it again and it was an equally good performance, if not better, as he led from start to finish. Starting from pole, Ryde grabbed the holeshot from Glenn Irwin and although he was under severe pressure from firstly Jason O’Halloran and then Tarran Mackenzie, he took firm control of proceedings just after half race distance.
By lap 20, he’d eked out a lead of exactly a second but he never let up, extending the gap to more than two seconds after setting the fastest lap of the race before easing off as he crossed the line for his second victory of the day.
“I didn’t intend to lead from start to finish and was actually hoping someone would come by so I could tuck in behind and follow them. After ten laps though, I just decided to go for it and if the tyre held out, great, and if it didn’t, so be it.
“The gap kept going up though so I just kept going and I’m over the moon with the two wins. The bike and team were superb all weekend and I literally can’t ask for any more.”
The results of the weekend have seen Ryde move from ninth to fourth in the Championship and although he’s still 43 points adrift of leader Glenn Irwin, his pace and form means he has to be considered as a potential champion.
