Day two of the eighth WorldSBK round in play at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in France was conditioned by wet weather.
During yesterday’s practice sessions, Bradley Ray placed eighteenth, working with his team to adapt the bike to the technically challenging French track.
This morning, on a wet track, the British rider was back out for Superpole, the session that establishes grid positions for Race 1. In difficult conditions and on a slippery track surface, Bradley put in a strong performance, setting the twelfth fastest time (1’54”968) which meant he scored a fourth row start for the afternoon’s race.
The first race of the weekend was complicated by rain, which began to fall immediately after the start, forcing riders to pit and change tyres. Bradley Ray started well and was able to maintain a consistent pace once the rain tyres were mounted. This meant he could climb as high as ninth, before unfortunately, on lap thirteen, the slippery conditions caused the Englishman to crash, his race coming to a premature end.
Tomorrow Ray will return to the track for the Superpole Race and Race 2.
“Today’s race was made very difficult by the weather and track conditions. Despite it all, Bradley was on course to obtain a strong result, reaching the top ten, but unfortunately his race was brought to an early end after he suffered a high side while lying eighth. Result aside, we’ve shown we can aim for important results and will immediately try again in tomorrow’s races.”
“Qualifying was the best session I’ve had all season. The race was tough though, with a lot of water on track. Unfortunately, I crashed out of eighth place just as I was trying to pass riders ahead of me. I’m really disappointed, but this is racing. We’ve made strong progress over the last few days, and I’ll try to put that to good use in tomorrow’s races, in the hope it doesn’t rain.”
