Bradley Ray was in the points at the Czech Republic World Superbike Championship race, a circuit he has never ridden.

It was a weekend of improvement session by session for Ray as he learnt the track and moved his way forward in each race, culminating in the 15th place finish in race two, and that last points scoring position.

With a time of 1’32”216, Ray qualified in twenty-first place, which meant he started Saturday afternoon’s 22-lap race from the seventh row of the grid.

He got away quite well when the lights went out but was then unable to find a rhythm that would allow him to gain much ground. He ended the race in nineteenth place.

Speaking at the end of the race, he said: “The end of Race 1 was pretty difficulty. I felt comfortable and thought I was riding well but a small technical problem began to bother me. I can’t wait for tomorrow, as I know we can do a good job!”

Sunday morning saw the rider from Lydd and his Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team line up for the Superpole Race, a ten-lap sprint. Getting away fast from nineteenth, Ray maintained a good pace throughout the race that allowed him to climb to eventual sixteenth position.

Race two got underway in the afternoon. Thanks to a good start, Ray immediately closed in on the points zone. A consistently fast pace saw him make up more positions and cross the line fifteenth, scoring one championship point.

Giving his thoughts after the weekend, Ray added: “I’m pleased with today’s races. We made significant progress with the bike and were able to be consistent in terms of lap times.

“If I’d had a better qualifying, I’d have been able to stick with the top ten, which is positive. We’ll continue to work like this at Portimao so that we keep closing the gap to those ahead.”