Bradley Ray gave him a sense of his presence in the British Superbike Paddock after breakaway victory and record-breaking race pace to secure victory in the domineling style when he returned to class.
The 2022 champion was scheduled to return to teammate Kyle Ryde with his old team in 2025 at OMG before everything fell on the eve of the Navarra Test.
Much of the work behind the scenes led both riders to the grid with the new sponsor of OMG on the Now One Man team featuring Ryde, and MCAMS’ former manager Steve Rogers makes a comeback to the paddock, regaining the old raceway name and getting Ray on the grid, thanking Hoss. In my corner.”
Before the race, Ray had the opportunity to speak with Shaneburn, as revealed in a report on TNT Sports BSB. Returning to the UK superbikes, the rider revealed that he had no solid plans before he entered the race.
“I really didn’t plan on going to the race, I’ll just talk to Shane (Bearn) and get off to a good start, see what happens on the opening lap and then I’ll go from there.
I was fine at first and quickly felt better – the bike really felt good on the first lap of the start, so I thought I knew, I was going as hard as I could.
The comfortable ray seemed to ease – the pace of his early race record had built up a lead of over five seconds – but there was further revelation from the Yamaha man who said he had in fact had a small error, but it had enough advantages to keep the sunny front.
“If there’s a gap, it’s good to manage towards the end. And I made a bit of a mistake. Maybe four or five laps allowed Glen to get a little closer, but I just looked at the pitboard, raced my own and obviously wasn’t in this position for a long time.”
The Kent-born rider also added that it’s difficult to come forward on his own after the disappointing WSBK campaign over the years since he left. He only recorded one top-10 finish – sixth in Imola in 2023, saying, “It was 18 laps long in front of you, just a pitboard to see all the laps.
It wasn’t easy – looking at the results of the World Championships, they’re not good at all, but honestly, I felt like I had taken a step forward since I left in ’22. “
Ray also touched on the idea that he was presented as a one-lap wonder, believing that his race victory in the first attempt should be paid for that concept:
“Back back, I learned a lot on my own. I learned how to manage sessions and manage races. This is a positive challenge this season. Today, many people have shown you that you’re quick just for one lap.
Ray ends with emphasising that he will return with little ride, saying, “To be honest, across the moon – it was a good winter – I’d like to thank those who made it possible, saying there was obviously a lot of stuff that happened, but yeah, yeah, competitive.