Busy Brad Ray Takes Double Brands Hatch Podium

It was a successful weekend for Bradley Ray as he juggled two different bikes at Brands Hatch, taking two second place finishes in the Hel British Motostar 125 Championship.

Brad would step in for Cameron Horsman onboard the EE125 with the 14 year old out in Spain on Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup qualifying school duty, meaning the 18 year old would be reunited with his trusty friend. The Lydd man would also compete on the Motobreakers Kawasaki ZX-R 600 in the National Superstock 600 Championship.

Brad started the weekend well onboard the 600 finishing a very wet free practice in second place. But straight after he had to re adjust instantly heading out on the 2 stroke 125, an issue that Brad would work hard to cure all weekend long. 

Engine issues forced Brad to complete only 6 laps on the EE125, meaning the team had to work hard to replace the engine before the first qualifying session on Friday afternoon.

First qualifying in the National Superstock 600 championship would see Brad end the session in 15^th, eventually working his way up to fifth in second qualifying, leaving him on the second row of the grid for Sunday’s race.

Qualifying for the Motostar races would make for interesting reading for the ‘Bard.’ Due to an accident in the first qualifying on Friday the session would be cancelled, meaning Saturday’s one and only session before the 10-lap sprint race, would be key.

Brad felt more at home on the 125 machine, and on a drying circuit the Lydd man ended the session in eighth place, only 1.3 seconds off pole man Mike Brouwers on a Moto3 machine.

Saturday’s sprint race saw Brad get a great leap from the line and ran as the first 125, until lap three when Taz Taylor came past and then found his way into the lead. Brad battled in a gaggle of Moto3 bikes, fighting hard to keep his position of 12^th place in the overall race, and second 125.

Brad’s first race on Sunday would be on the 600, as the lights went out he got a bad start and lost two places on the first lap. After a multi bike crash the race was red flagged, and restarted with a 6-lap dash. Brad got a great start and battled hard with Ross Tyman and Tom Ward, eventually crossing the line in 6^th place.

It was then a mad dash to the grid straight after to ride in the final Motostar race of the season. Brad got a good start after starting from 13^th on the grid, he worked his way through the field and after the third lap he was sitting in 11^th place, and 2^nd 125. Brad was then embroiled in a battle with Brian Slooten, but he fought hard to keep the Moto3 man behind him, taking the flag in eighth place, and second 125.

After the weekend, a tired Ray said: “This weekend has been really good. We had really good pace with the Stock 600 in both the wet and dry, I was feeling really good about the race. I wanted to get away with the front group in the restart, but I got cut up by another rider, and that let a couple of other through, we did have the pace to run with Taz (Mackenzie) and the others but it just wasn’t to be.

“It’s been a little bit tough jumping from bike to bike this weekend, it’s been hard jumping from the 600 to the 125 because of the gearing and such like, but the last few laps of the 125 race I didn’t get the lap time I wanted but I’m really happy to leave here with two trophies. I need to thank everyone involved this weekend because without them it would have been really hard.”

Ray Takes Positives After Difficult Grand Prix Debut At Silverstone

Lydd’s Bradley Ray had a tough wildcard weekend at his home Grand Prix at Silverstone, suffering three crashes throughout the three days. 

Friday’s free practice sessions went well for the 18 year old, who worked hard with his team to improve the setup of the FTR Moto2.   Front-end grip was a reoccurring issue, but in the afternoon session he improved in time by 1.5 seconds, posting a 2:10.8, only 2.8 seconds behind the fastest man in the session Sam Lowes.

Saturday would be the turning point for Ray, when in FP3 a crash on his out lap meant the team had to work extra hard with limited resources to rebuild the bike. They did an excellent job and Brad made it back out for the final five minutes of the session.

Qualifying proved even harder for the unfazed Ray, and on his third lap he lost the front end again and, with quick repairs not possible this time, he missed the rest of the session meaning he would have to start fom the back of the grid for the race on Sunday. The team had to work around the clock to have a bike ready for race day.

Come Sunday the weather took a turn for the worse, and saw all the teams setting their bikes to cope with the wet conditions. With no previous data for wet setting on the bike for Ray it was pretty much guess work to find the best setup.   They must have been close though with Ray ending the morning warm up session in 23^rd place.

When the lights went out for the start of the race, Ray got a great leap and after the first lap he made up five places and ran in 26^th place, chasing down the pack ahead on a fast drying track.

At the start of lap three, as the Kent man headed into turn one he lost the rear end and it spat him over the bars, cutting his Grand Prix debut short.   Luckily he was able to walk away uninjured.

After the race a disappointed Ray said: “The weekend got off to a great start and I was feeling more comfortable on the bike every lap. We had a few issues with the feeling of the front end, but I rode around it and worked hard overnight to find more with the setup.

“Saturday didn’t go to plan at all with a crash in FP3 on my out lap, the bike was a mess but the team worked so hard and got me back out there for the final few minutes of the session. Qualifying didn’t go any better after I lost the front again on lap three, but the team worked so hard to get the feeling back but it was hard with the lack of track time we have had.

“Race day was tricky with the weather conditions we ended up on wet tyres on a drying track. I got a great start and by lap two I had made my way into 26^th, but as I entered turn one and tipped in with no brake or throttle the rear just came round and spat me over the bars. It’s not a great end to the weekend.

“I just can’t thank my team members enough, they worked so hard during the weekend. My family, friends, and many others who have helped me get this far and make the wildcard possible. I’m sorry for the disappointing ending.”

Successful FTR Moto2 Testing Programme Completed For Ray Ahead Of British Grand Prix

Last week saw the final test of three for Lydd’s Bradley Ray at Silverstone, ahead of his debut Grand Prix appearance at the end of August.

Ray had tested the FTR Moto2 at Donington Park and the Snetterton 300 circuit, working on the setup of the bike, meaning the final test would be fine tuning the suspension and setup of the British based chassis.

He worked hard all day with his mechanics and posted some very good lap times in traffic, due to the heavy numbers in attendance on the track day, courtesy of No Limits Tracktime.

Brad improved each session in time and with the feeling of the machine, meaning the he is ready for next weekend, where he will make his grand prix debut.

At the end of the day a delighted Ray said: “We’ve had a very positive test at Silverstone ready for the GP in two weeks. Every session we were getting faster and I felt more comfortable on the bike, and we also made a few changes to the suspension on both the front and the rear, which were very positive.

“For the GP we will have data logging so we can see where we are at with the suspension, which will be very helpful. I’m hoping to do the lunch hour at a track day there next week, so we can get some vital track time on my own so I can push harder to get a proper feel for the bike.

“Once again, a massive thanks to Steve Bones, Mark Keen, Roger and all my family for making this possible. Also a big thanks needs to go to No Limits for allowing us the track time, you guys really have been helpful.”

Words: Michael Burton
Photos: Bonnie Lane

Bradley Ray Earns Silverstone Moto2 Wildcard

Lydd teenager Bradley Ray will make his Grand Prix debut at the Silverstone MotoGP, after being granted a wildcard into the British Moto2GP onboard an FTR.  After careful negotiations between Steve Bones and Roger Keys, Brad’s manager, the former owner of the FTR factory has agreed to loan his FTR machine for use at this year’s race. This means that Brad will be the only rider on the Moto2 grid with the British based chassis underneath him, in the British Grand Prix. Ray, who this year has been competing on board the factory Vyrus Moto2 machine in the European CEV Moto2 Championship and also racing in the National Superstock 600 Championship in the UK with the Motobreakers team, achieving a podium in only his second race onboard the latter Kawasaki ZXR-600, but now he has his sights set on making a name for himself on the world stage. Silverstone is a circuit that the 18-year-old Ray has enjoyed much success at, and with the eyes of the world watching his first appearance in the Moto2GP class, and possibly the only wildcard on the grid, expect the youngster to ride with no fear. A jubilant Ray said after receiving the news of his wildcard: “I’m so happy to be given this opportunity to do my first wildcard at my home Grand Prix at Silverstone. For this I need to say a massive thank you to everyone from FTR and Steve Bones who have made this possible for me. “I’ve been riding my Vyrus Moto2 in the European CEV Moto2 Championship so I have the bigger bike experience, but it’s going to be a big step and a big experience at the GP, but I know the track really well and I’m looking forward to finding a good setup on the FTR Moto2.” The team is now set on raising funds for event, and any type of donation is greatly received. You can donate through the website, www.thefabcrowd.co.uk, which will help fund the weekend, making you play a huge part in what is set to be an exciting debut in the Moto2GP class for Brad.

Top Ten Performance From Ray At Knockhill

Bradley Ray finished the sixth round of the Pirelli National Superstock 600 championship in 10^th position, after a battling weekend North of the border.

Following the news that the Vyrus Racing Team would not be competing at the third round of the European Moto2 CEV Championship at Aragon due to machine issues that the team were ironing out, Brad decided he wanted to keep bike fit and made his way north, and to the Knockhill Circuit in Fife, where he turned his attention to the sixth round of the Pirelli National Superstock 600 Championship.

And from the off Brad worked hard with his team to find the right setup around the tight and twisty Scottish track. After making changes to the suspension, Brad improved his time by four tenths of a second, from the free practice session to place him provisionally 13^th on the grid.

But come Saturday, the second qualifying session was cancelled altogether after heavy overnight rain forced an issue with the track surface meaning a delay in proceedings, which forced the organisers to cancelled the final qualifying for the Superstock 600’s. Meaning Brad would line up on the grid for Sunday’s race in 13^th place. 

From the lights Brad got a good start and ran in seventh place after the first few laps, but was then embroiled in a battle with Chrissy Rouse. On lap 10 he was pushed wide at the final corner by an ambitious pass from Rouse, which pushed Brad wide. But he then regroup, and as the race was stopped on the 14^th lap due to rain, Brad had worked his way back up to 10^th place.

After the race a frustrated Ray said: “Its was my first time round Knockhill on a 600 this weekend, and from the first free practice I wasn’t too far off the pace, I was only about nine tenths of a second behind the quickest man, and from that it gave me confidence ahead of qualifying. I qualified 13^th, after really digging in deep on my last lap. We made a few changes before the second qualifying but then the weather meant we couldn’t go out, so I’d start 13^th for the race.

“I got a good start and I was up to seventh at one point, until Chrissy Rouse hit me going into the final hairpin and that run me wide, which meant I went back to about 12^th, I worked my way back through the pack but then the rain came and they red flagged the race.

“Its’ been a good weekend all in all, but I can’t wait for Brands Hatch now.”

Tough Test At Catalunya For Ray

Lydd’s Bradley Ray failed to finish the second round of the European CEV Moto2 Championship at the Catalunya circuit in Barcelona, after machine problems all weekend long hindered his progress. 

Following his difficult result in the National Superstock 600 race at Donington Park, Brad set his sights on the second round of the European CEV Moto2 Championship in Barcelona. 

During the untimed Friday test sessions, Brad struggled with the setup of the front end of the Vyrus, and to add to the problems he had an engine blow out, forcing the team to replace the motor.

After the day’s proceedings, the team worked hard during the night to improve the front suspension of the Vyrus to give Brad more feeling. But the first qualifying session saw Brad fail to get out on circuit due to problems with the front suspension, and the team worked hard to replace the old setup. In Q2, Brad rode hard to post a time of a 1:53.717, after only completing two laps of the session. 

Come race day Brad and the team was confident of achieving a points scoring result from his grid position of 31st. Brad made a great start from the line, and was up to 16^th position after the first sector, but by the middle of the race he had dropped to 22^nd before disaster on lap 11, when his machine stopped due to a technical problem, forcing the 18 year old to retire from the race. 

After the weekend a frustrated Ray said: “Well that was a tough weekend, from the start we knew that we were going to have problem with how the bike was handling, and we knew that it wouldn’t be sorted for this race. We tried a new part on the front of the bike for the first qualifying but it made it a lot worse, so I only did one lap in the first qualifying. The team had to adapt the new part they made for Q2 just for a lap time to get me on the grid for the race. 

“For the race we went back to the original setting that we ran on Friday and throughout testing, the bike still wouldn't handle but it was ride able. I got a mega start and was 16 in the first sector from 31st on the grid, during the race I was running in 22nd and was catching the guy in front, but then unfortunately my bike stopped so I had to retire from the race. It’s not been the best weekend but I’ve just got to keep my chin up and focus on the next race.”

Brad’s next European CEV Moto2 race will be at the Motorland Aragon circuit, where he will be ready to improve his current form.