Bayliss doubles up at Assen as Ryde wins BSB thriller

2026 British Superbike Championship

Round Nine – Assen

Oli Bayliss gave Australian fans plenty to celebrate at Assen, winning both British Supersport races on his return to the Macadam Triumph Factory Racing team and completing the double on his birthday.

Bayliss twice got the better of championship leader Luke Stapleford in close finishes, while the opening round of the British Superbike Showdown delivered two Scott Redding victories before Kyle Ryde hit back in a spectacular three-way finale with Redding and Bradley Ray.

Ryde emerged with a 68-point championship lead, having limited Redding’s gains across the weekend to just three points. For fellow Australians Jason O’Halloran and Josh Brookes, the meeting brought more modest returns, with O’Halloran recording three top-ten finishes and Brookes scoring in all three Superbike races.

Ray had set the pace in both Friday free practice sessions, but crashed early in Pre-Qualifying before recovering to 11th. Ryde also fell, while Redding topped the session with a 1m35.619 ahead of O’Halloran, whose second place offered encouragement for Honda Racing UK.

Saturday’s changing conditions then put tyre decisions at the heart of qualifying. Leon Haslam and Moto Rapido Racing made intermediates work to claim pole with a 1m43.905, 0.129 seconds ahead of Ryan Vickers. Danny Kent completed the front row, with Ryde, Redding and O’Halloran on row two. Ray qualified 13th and Brookes 19th.

Ray also confirmed he will remain with McAMS Yamaha in 2027, extending his partnership with the Raceways-run operation into a third consecutive season.

Superbike Race One

Scott Redding converted fifth on the grid into a commanding opening-race victory, taking charge on the first lap and keeping the chasing Ducatis of Kyle Ryde and Leon Haslam at bay over 17 laps.

Ryan Vickers initially led away, with Honda team-mate Jason O’Halloran also making a strong start. Redding soon moved ahead, however, and crossed the line at the end of lap one with Vickers second and O’Halloran third.

Ryde was sixth after the opening lap but climbed to third by the end of lap three. Redding then set the race’s fastest lap, a 1m36.077 on lap four, as he began to build a buffer over Vickers.

The Honda rider’s challenge was compromised when he ran wide on lap eight, allowing Ryde and Haslam through. Their subsequent scrap gave Redding breathing room, with Haslam second at the end of laps 10, 11 and 12 before Ryde regained the position on lap 13.

Once clear, Ryde reduced a gap of more than three-and-a-half seconds to 1.863 seconds with a lap remaining, but Redding had enough in hand to win by 2.143 seconds. Haslam completed an all-Ducati podium, a further 0.374 seconds behind Ryde, with Vickers fourth.

Bradley Ray salvaged fifth after a difficult opening lap left him 16th. The McAMS Yamaha rider worked steadily forward, reaching the top ten on lap six and fifth on lap 11, before finishing just over five seconds behind Redding.

Rory Skinner took sixth ahead of Ilya Mikhalchik, Max Cook and Danny Kent. O’Halloran slipped back to tenth, 13.493 seconds from the win, after his promising early run.

Josh Brookes recovered from being forced wide at the first corner and running 22nd to finish 14th. The Australian was a gnat’s whisker ahead of Rhys Irwin at the flag and less than eight-tenths behind DAO Racing team-mate Lee Jackson in 12th.

Joe Talbot and Christian Iddon both crashed on lap four, while Andrew Irwin, Richard Kerr and Luke Hedger also failed to finish.

Superbike Race One Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	TIme/Gap
1	S. Redding	Duc	27m29.661
2	K. Ryde	Duc	+2.143
3	L. Haslam	Duc	+2.517
4	R. Vickers	Hon	+3.747
5	B. Ray	Yam	+5.141
6	R. Skinner	Yam	+9.955
7	I. Mikhalchik	BMW	+11.377
8	M. Cook	Bim	+12.555
9	D. Kent	Yam	+12.992
10	J. O’Halloran	Hon	+13.493
11	G. Irwin	Duc	+22.395
12	L. Jackson	Hon	+30.787
13	S. Stacey	Duc	+30.851
14	J. Brookes	Hon	+31.582
15	R. Irwin	Hon	+31.630
16	F. Rogers	Hon	+39.935
17	S. Swann	Hon	+42.002
18	E. McManus	Hon	+43.418
Not Classified
DNF	L. Hedger	Hon	+2 laps
DNF	R. Kerr	Hon	+2 laps
DNF	A. Irwin	Duc	+12 laps
DNF	J. Talbot	Bim	+14 laps
DNF	C. Iddon	Yam	+14 laps

Superbike Race Two

Redding made it two wins from two in Sunday’s opening Superbike race, although the contest was disrupted before the start and ultimately settled by rain, with the result declared after seven laps.

Rory Skinner suffered an oil-cooler pipe failure and crashed on the warm-up lap, prompting a lengthy clean-up. The scheduled 12-lap race was reduced to ten, but there was further trouble before the restart when Leon Haslam was shown the black-and-orange flag and returned to the pits with a technical problem. Neither rider took the start.

From pole, Redding led the opening lap, while Ryde quickly passed Vickers and Ray to take second. Ray moved ahead of Vickers on lap two and set the fastest lap of the race next time around with a 1m36.060.

Redding was coming under increasing pressure. Ryde reduced his deficit from 0.826 seconds at the end of lap one to just a tenth after six laps, with Ray only less than half a second behind the championship leader.

The change in conditions then proved decisive. Ryde backed off as rain threatened on lap seven and Ray took second, before the red flag ended the contest. Redding’s winning margin was nine-tenths, with Ryde another two-tenths behind Ray.

Vickers again finished fourth, while Cook took fifth after bimota team-mate Talbot crashed out. Mikhalchik improved on his Saturday result with sixth, ahead of O’Halloran in seventh.

Glenn Irwin, Jackson and Andrew Irwin completed the top ten. Fraser Rogers took 12th and TAG Racing team-mate Scott Swann 14th, while Brookes finished 15th after running as high as 12th at the end of lap three.

The result reduced Ryde’s championship advantage over Redding to 63 points ahead of the final race.

Superbike Race Two Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap
1	S. Redding	Duc	11m20.779
2	B. Ray	Yam	+0.918
3	K. Ryde	Duc	+1.106
4	R. Vickers	Hon	+2.464
5	M. Cook	Bim	+3.643
6	I. Mikhalchik	BMW	+4.365
7	J. O’Halloran	Hon	+5.444
8	G. Irwin	Duc	+12.009
9	L. Jackson	Hon	+12.768
10	A. Irwin	Duc	+13.196
11	S. Stacey	Duc	+14.672
12	F. Rogers	Hon	+14.798
13	D. Kent	Yam	+15.105
14	S. Swann	Hon	+15.966
15	J. Brookes	Hon	+16.365
16	E. McManus	Hon	+22.606
17	L. Hedger	Hon	+22.746
18	R. Kerr	Hon	+26.764
Not Classified
DNF	J. Talbot	Bim	+3 laps
DNF	C. Iddon	Yam	+4 laps
DNF	R. Irwin	Hon	+6 laps
NS	L. Haslam	Duc	DNS
NS	R. Skinner	Yam	DNS

Superbike Race Three

Kyle Ryde denied Scott Redding an Assen treble in a final-corner showdown, with Bradley Ray also squeezing past Redding on the run to the line as the first three finished within two-tenths.

Vickers made the best start, but Ryde passed him into the final chicane on the opening lap to take the lead. Ray moved into second on lap four, while Redding spent much of the first half of the 17-lap race trying to find a way past the Honda for third.

Vickers had genuine pace, setting the fastest lap of the race with a 1m35.750 on lap three. Even so, Ray and Ryde began trading moves at the front, with Ryde repeatedly answering the Yamaha rider’s attacks.

The timing sheets tell only part of that story: Ryde led across the line on every lap, despite the positions changing around the circuit. Ray was just 0.049 seconds behind him at the end of lap six.

Redding finally cleared Vickers on lap ten and closed on the leaders. With two laps remaining, the first three were covered by 0.222 seconds. They started the final lap even closer, with Ray 0.202 seconds behind Ryde and Redding only four-thousandths further back.

Redding passed Ray and launched his bid for a clean sweep into the final chicane, braking late to force his way ahead of Ryde. But a slide on the exit cost the PBM rider drive, allowing Ryde to regain the advantage and Ray to snatch second on the drag to the flag.

Ryde won by 0.160 seconds, with Redding just a nose behind Ray. It was Ryde’s first victory since the opening race at Thruxton, and a timely response to Redding’s two earlier wins.

Vickers completed a remarkably consistent weekend with his third fourth-place finish ahead of Cook. Haslam charged from 22nd on the grid to sixth, while Skinner recovered from his earlier drama to finish seventh from 23rd.

O’Halloran finished ninth, between Kent and Glenn Irwin. Brookes took his best result of the meeting in 12th, beating Jackson by less than a tenth, with Storm Stacey only a fraction behind the DAO Honda pair.

Kyle Ryde

“I wasn’t looking at the pit board and before you know it there was three laps to go and I went so defensive everywhere. As Scott said, the physical side was probably not there because the lap time wasn’t there, but it was a great race to be a part of. To beat Scott in one of the races after the weekend he’s had was a good feeling.”

Josh Brookes

“I feel like I’ve underperformed this weekend, even compared to previous rounds where we haven’t been happy with our results. Assen is a really fast track, with a lot of high-speed apexes, so if you’re not confident, it certainly has a damaging effect on the results and the lap times.

“So, I put my hands up. I haven’t performed at my highest standard and it has damaged our results. But we kept our heads up high, rode positively all the way to the end and gave it our all. We’ve just got to keep positive and hope that our results take a turn for the better at the remaining rounds and have a strong finish to the season.”

Ryde leaves Assen on 459 points, with Redding on 391 and Ray on 349. Redding collected 70 points across the weekend to Ryde’s 67, meaning all that effort yielded a net gain of three points on the defending champion.

O’Halloran is 12th on 132 points and Brookes 15th on 110 ahead of the penultimate round at Donington Park on October 2-4.

Superbike Race Three Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap
1	K. Ryde	Duc	27m25.050
2	B. Ray	Yam	+0.160
3	S. Redding	Duc	+0.214
4	R. Vickers	Hon	+3.231
5	M. Cook	Bim	+10.691
6	L. Haslam	Duc	+14.911
7	R. Skinner	Yam	+26.147
8	D. Kent	Yam	+26.358
9	J. O’Halloran	Hon	+26.570
10	G. Irwin	Duc	+26.887
11	A. Irwin	Duc	+27.861
12	J. Brookes	Hon	+32.052
13	L. Jackson	Hon	+32.149
14	S. Stacey	Duc	+32.171
15	S. Swann	Hon	+34.286
16	C. Iddon	Yam	+38.998
17	R. Irwin	Hon	+46.002
18	R. Kerr	Hon	+46.045
19	L. Hedger	Hon	+48.342
Not Classified
DNF	E. McManus	Hon	+2 laps
DNF	I. Mikhalchik	BMW	+6 laps
DNF	J. Talbot	Bim	+11 laps
DNF	F. Rogers	Hon	+16 laps

Superbike Championship Points

Pos	Rider	Bike	Points
1	K. Ryde	Duc	459
2	S. Redding	Duc	391
3	B. Ray	Yam	349
4	L. Haslam	Duc	294
5	R. Vickers	Hon	289
6	M. Cook	Bim	240
7	R. Skinner	Yam	217
8	D. Kent	Yam	139
9	L. Jackson	Hon	139
10	G. Irwin	Duc	134
11	C. Iddon	Yam	133
12	J. O’Halloran	Hon	132
13	S. Stacey	Duc	127
14	J. Talbot	Bim	124
15	J. Brookes	Hon	110
16	I. Mikhalchik	BMW	87
17	F. Rogers	Hon	45
18	C. Nesbitt	Hon	31
19	R. Irwin	Hon	24
20	E. McManus	Hon	19
21	A. Irwin	Duc	12
22	L. Hedger	Hon	10
23	G. Irwin	Duc	5
24	R. Kerr	Hon	4
25	S. Swann	Hon	3
26	B. Elliott	Hon	1

Quattro British Supersport

Supersport Sprint

Oli Bayliss returned to British Supersport action in winning style, overcoming championship leader Luke Stapleford in a tense ten-lap Sprint to give Macadam Triumph Factory Racing the first half of a memorable Assen double.

After a fall at Cadwell Park had ruled him out of action at the previous round, Bayliss quickly found his feet at a circuit he knows from World Supersport. He ended Friday’s combined practice second before qualifying sixth in the wet.

Jack Kennedy secured pole with a 1m47.206, 0.195 seconds ahead of Oliver Barr, with Carter Brown third. Max Wadsworth and Australia’s Jack Mahaffy qualified fourth and fifth, while Stapleford was seventh.

Barr led away in the Sprint and Mahaffy briefly moved into second, but Bayliss was the leading Australian by the end of lap one. He passed Barr on lap two, with Stapleford following him through to establish the contest that would decide the race.

Stapleford led across the line on laps three, four and five, but Bayliss stayed within two-tenths throughout and reclaimed the advantage on lap six. Behind them, Kennedy and Barr were already losing touch.

Stapleford attacked again into the chicane on the penultimate lap, only for Bayliss to respond immediately and lead onto the final lap. Both riders then produced their fastest laps of the race, with Stapleford setting a new lap record of 1m38.836 and Bayliss answering with a 1m38.892.

That left Bayliss 0.242 seconds clear at the flag. Barr finished more than nine seconds behind the winner but beat Kennedy to the final podium position by just 0.012 seconds, with Brown fifth.

Ben Currie was classified seventh, just 0.075 seconds behind Dean Harrison. Mahaffy took eighth after a one-place penalty for exceeding track limits at Turn 18 on the final lap, which explains why his elapsed time was slightly quicker than Currie’s.

Hayden Nelson finished 24th. Wadsworth retired with a technical problem after running fifth, while Josh Whatley was disqualified following post-race technical checks relating to electrics and electronics.

Supersport Race One (Sprint)

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap
1	O. Bayliss	Tri	16m38.018
2	L. Stapleford	Duc	+0.242
3	O. Barr	Duc	+9.642
4	J. Kennedy	Hon	+9.654
5	C. Brown	Duc	+18.018
6	D. Harrison	Hon	+21.051
7	B. Currie	Yam	+21.126
8	J. Mahaffy	Suz	+21.098
9	T. Toms	Kaw	+21.245
10	L. Brown	Suz	+21.485
11	F. Barnes	Tri	+22.070
12	C. Tinker	Duc	+22.191
13	L. Johnston	Tri	+23.764
14	H. Claridge	Yam	+31.613
15	H. Truelove	Yam	+31.675
16	M. Hardie	Suz	+34.092
17	C. Fraser	Yam	+34.247
18	J. Boerboom	Hon	+36.319
19	C. Hall	Kaw	+38.188
20	J. McManus	Duc	+39.061
21	J. Kantola	Duc	+47.261
22	R. Nurmi	Yam	+47.299
23	J. Bannister	Suz	+47.503
24	H. Nelson	Kaw	+47.719
25	D. Herbertson	Tri	+49.706
26	B. Tolliday	Tri	+1’02.283
Not Classified
DNF	M. Wadsworth	Tri	+3 laps
DNF	Z. Shelton	Tri	+5 laps
DNF	S. Doornenbal	Hon	+8 laps
DNF	J. Davis	Tri	+9 laps
DQ	J. Whatley	Tri	DQ

Supersport Feature Race

Bayliss completed his perfect weekend with another hard-earned victory on Sunday, celebrating his birthday by again beating Stapleford after a much closer fight among the leading group.

Earlier delays reduced the Feature race from 15 laps to 13. Stapleford started from pole courtesy of his Saturday lap record, but Barr again launched strongly from the second row and led the opening lap.

Stapleford moved ahead on lap two before running wide next time around, with Bayliss leading at the end of lap three. Stapleford responded to head laps four and five, then Kennedy joined in, leading across the line on lap six with the first four covered by just 0.401 seconds.

Bayliss fought back to lead at the end of lap seven and began to create a small but valuable margin. Barr moved ahead of Kennedy into third by the end of lap nine, while the Australian concentrated on keeping Stapleford behind him.

A 1m38.736 on lap ten helped Bayliss stretch his advantage, which reached 0.691 seconds with two laps remaining. Stapleford then struck back with a new lap record of 1m38.633 on the penultimate lap, cutting the gap almost in half to 0.346 seconds.

Bayliss held firm. He gave away just 0.029 seconds on the final lap to win by 0.317 seconds and bank the maximum 50 points from the weekend.

Barr completed the same podium as Saturday, 4.833 seconds behind Bayliss, while Kennedy again finished fourth. Harrison took fifth, just ahead of Whatley, who recovered from 31st on the grid to sixth after his Saturday disqualification.

It was a tougher afternoon for the other Australians. Currie had reached sixth by the end of lap three but crashed at Turn Five on the following lap. Mahaffy was classified 12th after another one-place penalty for exceeding track limits at Turn 18 on the final lap, while Nelson failed to finish after completing eight laps.

Bayliss’ team-mate Wadsworth was given a double Long Lap Penalty for a jump start, followed by a ride-through when the initial penalty was not served. He was subsequently shown the black flag. Wadsworth said he had missed the penalty signals while concentrating on staying with the leading group.

Oli Bayliss

“I’m happy with that one, especially after yesterday’s Sprint Race win too! It was a really good battle with a lot of fast guys. It’s always good to come out on top, especially here in Assen – I’ve always had good speed here but never really the luck, so I’m happy to finally overcome this place! Thanks to the team, all my sponsors and Triumph Motorcycles for this weekend!”

Despite losing both races to Bayliss, Stapleford strengthened his championship position with two second places. His lead over Kennedy increased from 61 to 69 points, with Stapleford on 395 and Kennedy on 326.

Bayliss is third on 284 points, 42 behind Kennedy and 22 ahead of Harrison. Currie is seventh on 200, Mahaffy 12th on 80 and Billy McConnell 14th on 71.

Supersport Race Two (Feature)

Pos	Rider	Bike	TIme/Gap
1	O. Bayliss	Tri	21m40.357
2	L. Stapleford	Duc	+0.317
3	O. Barr	Duc	+4.833
4	J. Kennedy	Hon	+8.340
5	D. Harrison	Hon	+13.130
6	J. Whatley	Tri	+13.528
7	C. Brown	Duc	+13.569
8	H. Truelove	Yam	+22.481
9	L. Brown	Suz	+23.152
10	H. Claridge	Yam	+22.827
11	C. Tinker	Duc	+23.763
12	J. Mahaffy	Suz	+23.356
13	F. Barnes	Tri	+25.901
14	M. Hardie	Suz	+30.504
15	L. Johnston	Tri	+32.031
16	C. Hall	Kaw	+32.118
17	C. Fraser	Yam	+34.981
18	J. Davis	Tri	+37.020
19	J. Boerboom	Hon	+43.021
20	J. Bannister	Suz	+45.334
21	S. Doornenbal	Hon	+45.011
22	J. Kantola	Duc	+45.556
23	D. Herbertson	Tri	+49.565
24	B. Tolliday	Tri	+1’07.195
25	R. Nurmi	Yam	+1’07.817
Not Classified
DNF	Z. Shelton	Tri	+4 laps
DNF	M. Wadsworth	Tri	+5 laps
DNF	H. Nelson	Kaw	+5 laps
DNF	J. McManus	Duc	+6 laps
DNF	T. Toms	Kaw	+8 laps
DNF	B. Currie	Yam	+10 laps

Supersport Championship Points

Pos	Rider	Bike	Points
1	L. Stapleford	Duc	395
2	J. Kennedy	Hon	326
3	O. Bayliss	Tri	284
4	D. Harrison	Hon	262
5	O. Barr	Duc	210
6	H. Truelove	Yam	208
7	B. Currie	Yam	200
8	C. Brown	Duc	160
9	L. Brown	Suz	131
10	C. Tinker	Duc	101
11	L. Johnston	Tri	86
12	J. Mahaffy	Suz	80
13	T. Toms	Kaw	73
14	B. McConnell	Duc	71
15	M. Wadsworth	Tri	63
16	J. Whatley	Tri	48
17	C. Öncü	Yam	47
18	M. Hardie	Suz	42
19	J. Davis	Tri	32
20	J. McManus	Duc	30
21	H. Claridge	Suz	29
22	C. Hall	Kaw	25
23	F. Barnes	Tri	21
24	C. Fraser	Suz	21
25	E. Colombi	Duc	20
26	C. Swain	Suz	20
27	A. Hartgrove	Tri	2
28	K. Walker	Tri	1

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