Knockhill is without a doubt one of the most picturesque circuits in the UK, if not the world. Located in the hills of Fife, and overlooking the Firth of Forth, its Scotland’s only FIA approved circuit, and despite being just 2km long, it provides some of the best action on the calendar, and is a circuit the LAMI OMG Racing riders look forward to, despite the 7+ hour drive for the trucks from base in Cannock.
We’ve come to expect mixed weather at Knockhill, but in the wake of an almost perfect TT, it seems the weather gods were smiling down on us this time. There was a small amount of rain during the weekend (after all, we were in Scotland), but sweltering temperatures and numerous daily ice creams were the order of the day.
Friday’s Free Practice sessions provided a great start to the weekend for the team, with both Kyle Ryde & Ryan Vickers posting fantastic lap times during the two 40-minute sessions. By the time the sun set over the Scottish hills, Kyle would be top of the times, with Ryan just over 0.3 behind in P8.
Saturday’s Qualifying session would see yet more success for the team, with both riders putting in an outstanding performance. Ryan would bag P2 for Race 1, just 0.067 off the Ducati of Irwin on Pole, proving he is firmly on the pace and where he should be. Kyle would end up P4, just 0.214 off the leader, meaning both would be poised to capitalise on the start of the Bennetts Bike Sprint Race that afternoon.
And capitalise they did, as Ryan put his motocross expertise to good use, securing the holeshot into Turn 1, before a well-saved incident on Lap 3 would see him drop to P10 to avoid Storm Stacey. By Lap 10 he’d made up two places, and over the next six laps he’d make up another, to cross the line a strong P7, securing the second fastest lap of the session in the process, meaning he would start Race 2 P2.
Kyle would also have a great opening Race, heading into Turn 1 P3, before snatching P2 on Lap 3, which he would hold for the rest of the race, missing out on a win by just 0.6 of a second. He’d start Race 2 just behind Ryan but still on the front row, in P3.
Come Sunday, and the atmosphere within the 40,000+ strong crowd was electric. Following a hilarious Q&A session for our VIPs in Hospitality, which saw Kyle & Ryan go up against Lee Jackson & Max Cook of Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki in a test of motorcycle general knowledge (which LAMI OMG Racing won, naturally), the boys would be ready for Race 2.
Both riders would again make an all-but-perfect start, with Kyle & Ryan swapping place into Turn 1, with Kyle taking the lead into Turn 2. He would hold the lead until Lap 24, where it’d be taken by Glen Irwin following a fantastic battle between the two rides and Jason O’Halloran, before Kyle would again take the lead around the hairpin on Lap 28, crossing the line 2 laps later for his first Knockhill victory.
Ryan would go just as well, securing P3 into Turn 1, before conceding the place at the start of Lap 2. Lap 9 would see the youngster battle Irwin for P3, dropping to P5 at 2/3s distance before passing Bridewell to finish a strong P4.
Race 3 would see, as we’ve come to expect, another great start from the LAMI OMG racers, with Kyle starting P6 & Ryan P4, the former making up a place on the first corner, finding himself in P2 by the close of Lap 3. He’d lose ground to Irwin on Lap 10, before conceding P3 to Iddon on Lap 17, to be passed by his teammate to cross the line P4 at the close.
Ryan would drop to P7 on Lap 1, before coming into his own in the early stages, bagging P5 on the final chicane on Lap 3, passing Kyle on Lap 20 to secure his second podium of the season, to huge applause from the massive crowd, and an outpouring of emotion from the LAMI OMG Racing garage.
The team leave Knockhill P2 in the Teams’ Standings, with Kyle Ryde P2 in the Riders’ & Ryan P8 (with one round missed). Kyle is also leading the DataTag Fast Start League.
LAMI OMG Racing head to Snetterton for Round 5 of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship on the 7th – 9th July.
