Ryde completes BSB hat-trick as Bayliss and McConnell win at Brands Hatch

2026 British Superbike Championship

Round 11 – Brands Hatch

Kyle Ryde completed his British Superbike title hat-trick at Brands Hatch, resisting a determined final challenge from Scott Redding to secure the championship with a race to spare. Redding won the first two races of the weekend, but Ryde’s third place in Sunday’s opener settled the contest before Ryan Vickers mastered the wet finale for Honda.

Ryde finished the season 46 points clear of Redding after an extraordinary campaign that delivered 16 wins and 31 podiums from 33 races. He became the first rider since Niall Mackenzie to win three successive BSB titles, and the first to claim consecutive championships across a change of manufacturer.

There was plenty for Australian fans to follow in the support classes. Oli Bayliss claimed his 11th British Supersport victory of the year and finished third in the championship, just five points behind runner-up Jack Kennedy, while Billy McConnell won the final National Superstock race. Cam Swain also ended the season on top of the HEL Performance Cup standings.

Luke Stapleford and David Allingham secured the Supersport and Superstock titles on Saturday, while Asher Durham had to wait until Sunday’s final Sportbike race to complete his championship campaign. Changing weather, close finishes and several major announcements for 2027 ensured there was considerably more to the Brands Hatch finale than the Superbike title fight alone.

ZYN Superbike

Ryde arrived at Brands Hatch with a 53-point advantage over Redding, but the increased finale points meant there were still 105 available across the three races. His retirement at Donington Park had kept the contest open and ended a run of 89 races without a DNF.

The defending champion set the pace in Friday’s pre-qualifying session, when the first 13 riders were covered by less than seven-tenths. He then claimed pole with a 1m24.398s, edging Max Cook’s bimota by less than a tenth. Ryan Vickers completed the front row despite an early qualifying fall at Druids.

Rory Skinner, Joe Talbot and Leon Haslam filled the second row, with Redding seventh. Josh Brookes qualified 16th, Jason O’Halloran 17th and Brayden Elliott 25th.

Superbike Race One

Scott Redding kept the championship alive with a remarkable recovery in Saturday’s opening race, overcoming a poor first lap and intermittent rain to beat Ryde by just over eight-tenths.

Redding started seventh but slipped back in the opening exchanges, while Ryde led Vickers and Cook. The PBM Ducati was only tenth at the end of lap one and still eighth and 3.6s behind after six laps, leaving Redding with considerable work to do.

As rain flags appeared around the circuit, Redding began working rapidly through the leading group. By the end of lap nine he was fourth, while Cook was mounting a challenge of his own. The bimota rider passed Vickers at Graham Hill Bend and Ryde at Surtees on lap ten to take the lead.

That same lap transformed Redding’s prospects: he gained more than two and a half seconds on Ryde and arrived at the line less than seven-tenths behind new leader Cook.

Cook led across the line for two laps, but Redding continued his charge and was in front by the end of lap 12. Ryde also fought back, reclaiming second from Vickers at Hawthorns as the leading positions continued to change.

Rain brought out the red flags on lap 15, with the result taken after 14 completed laps. Redding had set the fastest lap on that final counted tour, underlining that his late charge was still gathering pace when the race was stopped.

Vickers completed the podium, less than a tenth ahead of Haslam. Cook finished fifth, followed by Skinner and Bradley Ray, with the first seven covered by less than three seconds.

TAG Racing had mixed fortunes, with a technical problem ending Fraser Rogers’ race on the opening lap. Scott Swann brought the other Honda home in 14th, collecting four points under the increased finale scoring system.

O’Halloran advanced from 17th to 12th, Brookes finished 15th and Elliott 21st. Redding’s victory reduced Ryde’s championship lead to 48 points, with 70 still available on Sunday.

Superbike Race One Results

Superbike Race Two

Redding made it two wins from two in Sunday’s opening Superbike race, but Ryde’s third place was enough to put the championship beyond reach.

Starting from pole after setting Saturday’s fastest lap, Redding led away from Ryde and Vickers. Ryde needed only a top-five finish to settle the title regardless of Redding’s result, but still took the fight to his rival, attacking at Paddock Hill Bend on lap two.

The two Ducati riders traded the lead, with Redding responding at Druids and Surtees before Ryde moved back ahead at Hawthorns around half-distance. Redding eventually made the decisive move at Stirlings and led the final five laps.

Ray worked his way into second and finished a little over a second behind the winner. Ryde took third, although Haslam and Vickers kept him honest to the flag: just 0.15s covered the trio.

Cook finished sixth ahead of team-mate Talbot, with Skinner, Christian Iddon and Danny Kent completing the top ten. O’Halloran again finished 12th, Brookes improved to 13th and Elliott was 21st.

Swann repeated his 14th place for TAG Racing, while Rogers climbed from 24th on the grid to 18th despite serving a long-lap penalty for contact causing a crash.

The result left Ryde on 566 points and Redding on 526. With only 35 points available in the final race, Ryde could finally celebrate a third successive British Superbike crown.

Superbike Race Two Results

Superbike Race Three

Ryan Vickers delivered the final victory of the season with an outstanding wet-weather ride, launching from seventh on the grid to lead every lap for Honda Racing UK.

The start was delayed after a red flag during the warm-up procedure, with the race eventually run over 14 laps. Once racing began, Vickers immediately took control ahead of Ryde and Redding, while Haslam initially held fourth from Talbot.

Ryde stayed close throughout, then turned up the pressure with the fastest lap on the penultimate tour. His 1m35.039s cut the deficit from around two-thirds of a second to just 0.16s heading onto the final lap, but Vickers responded to win by less than half a second.

It was Vickers’ fifth victory of the season and a strong finish to a campaign that placed him fourth in the championship.

Talbot supplied the other major story. The rookie moved into fourth early and closed on the leading trio, bringing the first four within a second after eight laps. He passed Redding at Druids on lap 11, then pulled clear of the PBM Ducati to secure his first BSB podium, finishing just over two seconds behind Vickers.

That result also moved Talbot ahead of Kent for eighth in the final standings. Cook backed up his team-mate in fifth, giving AJN Steelstock bimota two riders in the top five, with Haslam sixth.

O’Halloran produced his best result of the weekend in seventh, ahead of Iddon, Kent and Storm Stacey. Brookes took 13th, beating Ray to the line by just two-hundredths, while Elliott completed a set of three 21st-place finishes.

Rogers gained seven places from his grid position to finish 11th, giving TAG Racing a positive end to a difficult Superbike season. Swann finished 23rd after his two earlier points-scoring rides. Rogers ended the championship 17th on 55 points, with Swann 22nd on 13.

Ray’s difficult wet race did not cost him third in the championship. He finished 22 points ahead of Vickers, with Haslam fifth and Cook sixth. O’Halloran ended the year 12th on 178 points, Brookes 15th on 134 and Elliott 26th with one point.

Superbike Race Three Results

BSB 2026 – That’s a wrap

Ryde’s final tally of 596 points put him 46 ahead of Redding. His 16 victories were accompanied by six second places and nine thirds, leaving only two races all season in which he did not stand on the podium.

Ducati also topped the manufacturers’ standings, while Nitrous Coin / Nitrous Competitions Racing secured the teams’ trophy ahead of Hager PBM Racing Team.

Superbike Championship Points

Superbike Manufactures Championship Points

Superbike Teams Championship Points

BMW projects take shape for 2027

The finale also brought confirmation of two new BMW Superbike programmes for 2027. GRYD Racing will step up with Glenn Irwin and Storm Stacey on alpha Racing-prepared M 1000 RRs. The team, co-owned by Michael Laverty and David Eltherington, plans to compete across Superbike, Superstock, Sportbike and the Moto4 British Cup.

Scars Racing announced its own move into Superbike as an official BMW Motorrad Motorsport team. Having just won the Supersport championship with Stapleford on a Ducati, the operation will field two BMW M 1000 RRs, with its rider line-up to be announced.

Both projects arrive as BSB introduces its Next Generation technical regulations. The provisional 11-round calendar opens at Oulton Park on May 1-3 and concludes at Brands Hatch on October 15-17, with Assen again opening the Showdown in September.

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Quattro British Supersport

Supersport Sprint

Luke Stapleford completed his championship mission at Brands Hatch, but Oli Bayliss again supplied the standout Australian performance. The Triumph rider won Saturday’s Sprint before a change in conditions produced a very different contest on Sunday.

Oliver Barr had taken pole for the Sprint, ahead of Kennedy and Bayliss, with Stapleford fourth and Ben Currie fifth. Less than three-tenths covered those five riders.

Bayliss defeated Kennedy by just 0.046s in a hard-fought Sprint, while Stapleford’s third place delivered his second British Supersport title, 11 years after his first.

Kennedy moved ahead of pole-sitter Barr on the opening lap. Bayliss completed that lap fourth, then passed Barr and Stapleford to take second by the end of lap three.

The Australian caught Kennedy and led across the line on lap seven, only for the Honda rider to regain the advantage on the following lap. Bayliss retook control on lap nine and held on through the final four laps, despite relentless pressure from Kennedy. From the moment Bayliss reached second, barely a tenth or less separated the pair at every lap end.

Stapleford finished only a second and a half behind, but third was all he needed. The result gave him a 42-point lead over Kennedy with 35 remaining, securing the championship for Scars Racing in its first Supersport season.

The team had worked through a persistent bike problem on Friday before recovering for qualifying and the title-deciding race. For Stapleford, it was the reward for a season in which he combined seven victories with the consistency needed to withstand the late challenge.

Currie finished fourth, just over half a second behind Stapleford, with Dean Harrison fifth. Carter Brown and Barr followed, while Jack Mahaffy took 14th. Hayden Nelson retired after completing eight laps.

Luke Stapleford

“From day one I’ve gelled with the team and we all have a similar mindset; the goal was clear and that’s just what we did.”

Supersport Race One (Sprint)

Supersport Race Two (Feature)

BSB Supersport 2026

Stapleford finished on 456 points, with Kennedy second on 398 and Bayliss third on 393. Bayliss had joined the championship at round three and also missed the Cadwell Park races after a qualifying crash, yet still claimed 11 victories and 15 podiums from his 16 starts.

His Brands Hatch results helped Triumph Macadam Factory Racing secure the teams’ trophy. Currie finished sixth in the riders’ standings on 237 points, while Mahaffy was 14th on 84. Kennedy has already confirmed he will remain with Honda Racing UK for another title challenge in 2027.

Oli Bayliss

“I’m pretty happy with this weekend, we took the win in the opening race and finished fourth in today’s race.”

Supersport Championship Points

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Pirelli National Superstock Race One

David Allingham secured the National Superstock championship with victory in Saturday’s race, defeating Luke Mossey and Billy McConnell after a close fight over 15 laps.

Allingham started from pole, but Mossey moved ahead at the start of lap three and initially opened a gap. Second would have been enough for Allingham to take the title, although McConnell’s presence just behind ensured he could not afford to relax.

Mossey slowed on lap 11 and Allingham regained the lead. The pair traded places again as they encountered backmarkers in the closing laps, with Allingham ultimately holding the advantage to claim his tenth win of the year.

The first three began the final lap covered by just three-tenths. Less than nine-tenths separated them at the finish, Allingham finishing half a second ahead of Mossey and McConnell a further four-tenths behind.

Josh Owens took fourth, while Tom Oliver advanced from 11th on the grid to fifth.

The result left Allingham 47 points clear of Mossey with one race remaining, completing the championship-winning job before Sunday’s rain arrived.

Superstock Race One Results

Pirelli National Superstock Race Two

Billy McConnell ended the season with victory in the wet, converting fourth on the grid into his first National Superstock win of the campaign.

The start was disrupted by Simon Reid crashing on Brabham Straight, with Josh Owens narrowly avoiding being caught up. TAG Racing’s Jaimie van Sikkelerus also lost ground in the incident before recovering to ninth, his best result of the season.

Declan Connell led the opening lap before crashing on the next, leaving McConnell at the front. From there the Australian led every remaining lap aboard the Motorrad Central Edinburgh by MLav Racing BMW.

His decisive burst came on laps nine and ten: a race-best 1m36.464s followed by a lap only four-hundredths slower stretched his lead from nine-tenths to almost three seconds with two laps remaining.

Carl Phillips initially led the pursuit, but Tom Oliver moved past Matt Truelove and then Phillips in the closing stages to secure second. Truelove also passed Phillips to complete the podium, having started 13th.

McConnell finished just under three seconds clear of Oliver, with Truelove a further two and a half seconds back. Phillips took fourth ahead of Ash Barnes and Owens, while Allingham finished eighth, now carrying the number one plate.

Matt Truelove

“I’m really pleased to end the year like this. To grab a podium in the way we did was pleasing and a mega way to round off the season, not just for me but for the whole team. I did struggle with my shoulder in the dry. It wasn’t painful, just stiff and sore, so the rain on Sunday was a welcome relief, and it’s proved that we are competitive.”

Superstock Race Two Results

2026 BSB Superstock

Mossey elected not to race in the wet and returned to the pits during the warm-up procedure, leaving his final tally unchanged at 317 points. Allingham ended the season on 380, with Owens third and Truelove fourth on 183.

McConnell’s third and first at Brands Hatch delivered 62 points and lifted his final total to 160, enough for fifth in the championship. That put him just two points ahead of both Scott Swann and Barnes.

Van Sikkelerus finished 19th in the championship on 44 points, ending an injury-affected campaign with 11th and ninth at Brands Hatch.

Superstock Championship Points

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Pirelli British Sportbike Race One

Asher Durham arrived at Brands Hatch only three points ahead of Alfie Davidson, setting up the closest of the weekend’s title contests across the four classes.

Davidson was fastest in qualifying but received a three-place grid penalty, promoting Carl Harris to pole ahead of Richard Cooper and Durham. Davidson started fourth, with the two championship contenders together at the sharp end.

Cooper won a three-way dash to the line on Saturday, denying Durham the victory that would have sealed the championship a day early.

Durham led the opening lap before Cooper moved ahead at Paddock Hill Bend. The pivotal moment came at Druids on lap two, where Davidson attempted to pass Durham, made contact with the Suzuki’s rear wheel and crashed out.

Durham continued and led across the line at the end of each of the first 13 laps. A Safety Car period compressed the field, setting up a final-lap contest with Cooper and Edmund Best. Durham emerged from Clearways in the lead, but both rivals found enough drive to beat him to the flag.

Cooper’s CFMOTO finished just 0.029s ahead of Best’s Kawasaki, which had started 12th, with Durham’s Suzuki only another 0.017s behind. Daniel Goodman was also close in fourth, less than a quarter of a second from victory, while Cameron Dawson completed the top five.

Brodie Gawith gained eight places from his grid position to finish 14th, only a little over four seconds behind the winner. Durham’s third place increased his championship lead to 30 points, leaving Davidson with a chance heading into the final race.

British Sportbike Race One Results