'Lost for words' Rory Skinner seals emotional home British Superbike win in wet at Knockhill to end Bradley Ray's winning streak

Rory Skinner claimed a dream home victory in the British Superbike Championship at Knockhill in Scotland to end Bradley Ray’s winning streak in the final race.

The race was stopped twice on Sunday, with the first red flag due to heavy rain before a second stoppage because of track contamination after a rider crashed on the exit of the hairpin.

Ray took the lead off the line in the re-started 16-lap race, but Skinner quickly forced his way through to the front and led all the way to win in the wet on the Cheshire Mouldings Ducati for Northern Ireland’s TAS Racing team.

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Ray, who had equalled Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne’s record of eight BSB wins in a row after a double at Knockhill, settled for the runner-up spot, four seconds behind on the Raceways Yamaha.

Rory Skinner won the final British Superbike race of the weekend at Knockhill in Scotland on the Cheshire Mouldings Ducati. Photo by Ian Hopgood)placeholder image
Rory Skinner won the final British Superbike race of the weekend at Knockhill in Scotland on the Cheshire Mouldings Ducati. Photo by Ian Hopgood)

Fraser Rogers prevailed in a battle for third with Christian Iddon (AJN Steelstock Kawasaki), Storm Stacey (Bathams AJN BMW) and Max Cook(AJN Steelstock Kawasaki) to seal an emotional maiden BSB podium for the TAG Honda team.

Ray, who has nine wins from 11 races this season, leads the standings by 52 points after four rounds from reigning champion Kyle Ryde (OMG Nitrous Competitions Yamaha), who finished 11th after starting from the back of the grid.

Honda Racing’s Andrew Irwin, 11th in the Sprint race, was eighth.

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A delighted Skinner reflected on a fine weekend at his home circuit, which included third in Saturday’s opening race and second in race two before signing off with a coveted victory.

“Honestly, I’m kind of lost for words at the minute,” he said.

“The emotional wall that broke down there after I crossed the line… It's been a tough 12 months since we were last here and my last win.

“To do that for the boys, Cheshire Mouldings Ducati, they’ve been with me through thick and thin, last year breaking my leg, and I had a really tough end to the year as well.

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“They stuck by me and believed in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself.

“To have a triple podium weekend and be on the top step of the podium in the last race, I’m honestly quite emotional about it all.”

Skinner is third in the championship, 18 points behind Ryde in second.

Scott Redding, who was drafted into the Hager PBM Ducati team as a replacement for injury-hit Glenn Irwin, finished ninth.

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The 2019 champion had a best result of fourth in Saturday’s race in the dry.

Scott Swann (Send My Bag by IWR Honda) failed to finish. The Northern Ireland rider was 17th in the earlier race.

Round five takes place at Brands Hatch from July 25-27.

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