Bradley Ray doubled the tally of his victory at BSB in 2025, delaying the opening match in his second meeting at Donington Park.
The Raceway Yamaha riders were already impressed with Paul and the new lap record, and then got off to a great start from the line, but were cautious when it came to Pirelli Tire’s ability over the full-race distance.
“Everyone knows that tire lifespans aren’t very high from the tests. Today’s temperatures are obviously high on the track, so there were a few more tires left at the end, but we actually ran a 20-lap race to make sure the tires were actually heading towards the end.”
Ray may have wanted to set the pace, but sitting behind his rival was equally pleased.
“I was happy, I got a hole shot, I was going to lead and just set the pace, but Kyle overtook me, so Glenn quickly overtook me, I wanted them to pass my own pace, and for me I was happy sitting behind.
The issue with his rival tires was that #28 had the opportunity to take a slow break for his allowed Ray to take a slow break and lead the 1.744, with Irwin taking the first wide run and allowing him to seize the opportunity.
“He went a little wider into the Melbourne loop. Kyle walked past me and spread out. At that point I knew I had to push a few laps at that point. I had enough tires to set a reasonable lap time and I hoped I would have broken the group or at least a few of us.”
“Hopefully tomorrow’s temperatures will stay like this, knowing where we can improve, and where we can save the lap times we can at the start towards the end,” Ray concluded when asked about the next race coming on Sunday, starting with a sprint before race three.
