Pre-season testing is now complete for the RICH Energy OMG Racing Yamaha squad after a successful two days battling strong winds and rain showers at Silverstone over the past two days. With the Bennetts British Superbike pairing of Brad Ray and Kyle Ryde continuing their excellent form on their Yamaha R1 machines with the support of Yamaha Racing UK, the team are looking in great shape ahead of their fifth year of BSB competition.
Kyle Ryde was keen to make his mark on the Silvertstone test to reinforce his feeling with the venue after enduring a difficult time at the Northants circuit last season. The twice British champion took his maiden BSB win at Silverstone in 2020 and was determined to show that his results around the 1.64-mile National circuit were no fluke. After heading the opening session, the 24-year-old from Jacksdale in Nottinghamshire was barely out of the top five, ending the test third fastest overall, and full of confidence for the first round.
Kent’s Brad Ray was riding a wave of confidence heading into the Silverstone test after finishing the team’s previous outing at Snetterton second fastest overall and with it backing up his pre-Christmas lap record performance at Cartagena. The 24-year-old continued that form at Silverstone aboard his Yamaha R1 but with one eye on the weather, Ray chose his times to enter the fray. A lap just 0.004s shy of his teammate was enough for fourth overall in the difficult conditions but with confidence high in the former Red Bull Rookie, his primary focus is success at the 2022 curtain-raiser.
RICH Energy OMG Racing’s Road Racing star, James Hillier worked tirelessly on the set-up of his Yamaha R1 Superstock machine ahead of the road racing season. With teammate Davo Johnson soon to arrive from Australia, the Ringwood-based rider and his crew have taken on the the majority of the test work and are happy with where the bikes and the team are as they make their Road Racing debut, beginning at next month’s fonaCAB Nicoll Oils NorthWest 200.
Junior Superstock rider, Chloe Jones continued her transition to 60cc racing aboard her Yamaha R6 at Silverstone. The 18-year-old used her track time well to gain further experience in differing circuit conditions. Improving with every exit, the Daventry rider is happy with her progress and excited to get her first race under her belt next weekend.
Kyle Ryde, 3rd fastest +0.168 “It’s been really good to ride a different bike fast here at Silverstone after the success I had with another manufacturer here. It’s given me huge motivation as it shows it wasn’t a flash in the pan back then. I’m really happy with the progress we’ve made on both new and old tyres, the testing plan worked perfectly. My crew and the RICH Energy OMG Racing Yamaha team as a whole have worked so hard to get us where we want to be. I can’t wait to get started for real next weekend and hopefully repay the faith and hard work everyone has put into me with a great start to the season.”
Brad Ray. 4th fastest +0.172 “We’ve worked hard over the five days on chassis set-up, and me getting comfortable on the RICH Energy OMG Racing Yamaha R1. The weather hasn’t been too great at Silverstone as the wind has been really strong across both days which has made some of the testing difficult but as a team, we’re ready and I’m ready to finally get round one under way.”
James Hillier, testing ahead of the road racing season, “We’ve worked through so many things as you would expect with a new bike and I feel we’re about 95% there, which at this point gives me and the RICH Energy OMG Racing Yamaha team a tremendous amount of confidence. It’s been about me finding my way again after two years out, working with the team and the Yamaha R1 and the test plan we had has worked very well. I still have things to learn with the bike but we make positive steps every time we go out to get the best out of it where it’s strongest. I’m happy, the team are happy and morale is good and I just want to get racing now!”
Chloe Jones, Junior Superstock, “It hasn’t been an easy move to the Junior Superstock class, but my RICH Energy OMG Racing Yamaha team have helped me so much over the series of tests. I’ve improved with almost every lap and the progress is there to see. Silverstone was fun to ride as it was my first time in wet weather on the new bike after the heat of Snetterton. I’m really comfortable on my Yamaha R6 now and really cannot wait to get the first race weekend here. A massive thank you to the team for all their help, they’ve been a huge boost for me.”
