Jacksdale star Kyle Ryde retains British Superbike title in dramatic final race

The whole season went down to a thrilling final race decider in wet conditions with rival Bradley Ray needing to overcome a 30-point deficit.

Ray gave himself a chance by finishing second, but Ryde produced a composed performance to cross the line sixth, enough to seal the title up by 20 points.

“I am super happy to pull through. I only got upset when I saw my mum and dad and saw how much it meant to them,” said Ryde.

“They have put so much money, time and effort into even getting my first title. So to get a second one is the cherry on the top and thanks to them and all my sponsors for believing in me.

“This one is just a massive bonus and we will now keep going.

“That last one was a difficult race. I did have a 30 point lead but you saw how many people fell off in front of me – I didn't have a knee slider on so it was very difficult.

“At the start I was quite surprised as I was quite loose on the bike and I had a few moments that showed I had good speed in the wet.

“But with eight laps to go I had seen three or four people go down so it was obviously treacherous.

“There wasn't enough standing water for the soft wet tyre to be able to work properly so there was a lot of spinning.

“So there were a lot of curveballs chucked at me. I thought it was all going to go wrong at some point.

“But when I saw dad shaking a pit board at me telling me I had a massive gap to where I needed to finish, I relaxed a bit.”

After a steady start, after initially racking up seven podium finishes, Ryde didn’t claim his first victory of the campaign until Brands Hatch in the summer.

But he built momentum through the second half of the season, adding to his victory tally at Thruxton and Cadwell Park before seizing a career-first treble during his home event at Donington Park.

Ryde made just one visit to the podium during the opening Showdown round at TT Circuit Assen before another top-three result in the penultimate round of the season at Oulton Park as part of a weekend of top-five finishes.

Ray’s advantage over Ryde stood at 52 points after the Knockhill round, but the reigning champion continually closed the gap to his Raceways Yamaha rival after that.

It wasn’t until the seventh round at Cadwell Park where Ryde finally moved ahead, by a slender two points.

Ryde arrived at the final round 30 points clear of Ray, with both targeting title number two.

And, after securing pole position, Ray duly made early inroads at his home circuit by finishing ahead of Ryde in Saturday’s opening race to cut the lead by three points.

The duo swapped positions with Ryde taking second from Ray in third in the penultimate race of the year before the dramatic finale saw Ryde clinch it in a race won by Danny Kent with Ray second and three other riders crashing out.

“It was a steady start to the season, but at Donington I won all three races and created a bit of a gap,” said Ryde.

“And I knew with the number of points we get at Brands Hatch I was going to have a shot at some point regardless.

“But I wasn't expecting it to go down to the last race and it being a wet one.

“I am just really glad I beat Bradley in the second race as it would have been a bit more nip and tuck in the last one.

“I am off on holiday now, but it would be nice to stay in that same garage next year on a different bike with the same number one, and thanks to everyone who came down and supported me this weekend.”

Leon Haslam ended the season third outright, despite not starting the final race following earlier bike damage.

Scott Redding, who won the first two races at the weekend, worked his way up to fourth in the final table despite only contesting a partial campaign, while Tommy Bridewell’s last gasp podium secured fifth.