Kyle Ryde claimed a sensational victory in the final British Superbike Championship race of the weekend at the TT Circuit Assen, beating title rivals Bradley Ray and Scott Redding to the chequered flag after a thrilling final-lap battle that went down to the wire at the iconic final chicane of the ‘Cathedral of Speed’.
At the start of the race, Ryan Vickers had grabbed the lead, but Ryde was determined to return to winning ways and he instantly made a pass to hit the front of the field. The Honda Racing UK rider was then under pressure from Ray and Redding, with the McAMS Yamaha contender moving second on the fourth lap.
By lap six, Ryde and Ray were duelling for the advantage, trading places throughout the laps, whilst Redding had his sights on joining the battle after he made a move into third on Vickers on the tenth lap.
Ryde and Ray continued to switch the lead and with five laps to go, the pair were trading blows in the battle for victory, but they then had to contend with Redding. Ray and Ryde had both taken the lead on the penultimate lap and it was going down to the wire in a traditional battle at the TT Circuit Assen.
Ryde started the final lap in the lead with Redding then making his move on Ray to claim second position and then with his sights set on making it a treble. The Hager PBM Racing Team rider made a move down the inside into the Chicane and was able to exit just ahead of Ryde, but on the exit, the rear tyre stepped out and Redding had to save a crash and lost drive.
Ryde was able to reclaim the lead to take the chequered flag first to return to the top step for the first time since race one at Thruxton, whilst Ray seized the advantage on the drag to the line to take second from Redding.
Vickers had another strong points scoring weekend in fourth place with Max Cook completing the top five for AJN Steelstock bimota, after his teammate Joe Talbot was forced to retire from the final race of the weekend.
Leon Haslam delivered another gritty performance to finish sixth after starting 22nd on the grid on the Moto Rapido Racing Ducati. Rory Skinner also battling through after his dramatic warm up lap crash in race two to take seventh ahead of his teammate Danny Kent.
Jason O'Halloran and Glenn Irwin completed the top ten as the BSB Showdown now heads to Donington Park for the penultimate round of the season.
British Superbike Championship, TT Circuit Assen, Race 3 result:
- Kyle Ryde (Nitrous Coin Nitrous Competitions Racing)
- Bradley Ray (McAMS Yamaha) +0.160s
- Scott Redding (Hager PBM Racing Team) +0.214s
- Ryan Vickers (Honda Racing UK) +3.231s
- Max Cook (AJN Steelstock bimota) +10.691s
- Leon Haslam (Moto Rapido Racing) +14.911s
- Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings Yamaha) +26.147s
- Danny Kent (Cheshire Mouldings Yamaha) +26.358s
- Jason O'Halloran (Honda Racing UK) +26.570s
- Glenn Irwin (Nitrous Coin Nitrous Competitions Racing) +26.887s
For the full race result please click here
British Superbike Championship standings:
- Kyle Ryde (Nitrous Coin Nitrous Competitions Racing) 459
- Scott Redding (Hager PBM Racing Team) 391
- Bradley Ray (McAMS Yamaha) 349
- Leon Haslam (Moto Rapido Racing) 294
- Ryan Vickers (Honda Racing UK) 289
- Max Cook (AJN Steelstock bimota) 240
- Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings Yamaha) 217
- Danny Kent (Cheshire Mouldings Yamaha) 139
- Lee Jackson (DAO Racing Honda) 139
- Glenn Irwin (Nitrous Coin Nitrous Competitions Racing) 134