[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https://cdn.crash.net/2026-04/ih_bsb_donington-test_03119.jpg?width=1600&aspect_ratio=16:9″]
Ryan Vickers makes “big steps” after “tough” start to Donington BSB test
Ryan Vickers’ Donington BSB test turned out positively, he says, despite a “tough” first day.
Fourth place for Ryan Vickers at the Donington Park BSB test was achieved after making “big steps” on the Honda on the second of two days.
Vickers’ Donington BSB test saw him end the two days behind the two TAS Racing Yamahas and Bimota’s Max Cook who was almost 0.3 seconds clear at the top of the combined times.
It took until the final session of day two for Vickers to use more than one tyre in a session and he felt he’d been able to make progress on Saturday after a “tough” day one.
“Pretty solid,” Ryan Vickers summarised at the end of Saturday’s running, speaking to Crash.net.
“[Friday] was a tough day.
“We had four days in Spain that was great, really got a good setup with the bike. We came here, it was a little bit different yesterday, also track conditions: very cold, windy – very different to Spain.
“Honestly, we made big steps [on Saturday], learnt a lot with the bike, did quite a lot of exits with a lot of different things and trying different things, and understanding what works and doesn’t work with the bike.
“We’ve still got more to go, there’s a lot more to come out of me and the bike. We know the direction now, which is good, so a very positive test.”
Vickers added that he had settled on a chassis setup during his first test at Jerez last November.
“I rode the bike back in November [2025], I think it was, we did a test at Jerez,” he said.
“I got on the bike and I instantly said that we needed to make a certain change to it, we made that change, and honestly I haven’t changed the chassis since. I knew that it would work, and it did, and we went fast straight away.
“I felt comfortable in Spain, I was really comfortable at both circuits [Andalucia and Monteblanco], super-fast as well – did some really good lap times.
“I’ve not quite got that feeling back yet; I think some temperature would help, to be honest – I always perform better when it’s hotter, anyway.
“But we’re not far away.
“Considering we’re not fully there with the bike and there’s a lot to improve on, we’ve been inside the top-three, top-two, most of the session, and honestly that last session was the only time that I put two tyres in, every other session was only one tyre.
“So, the lap times were quite good considering we were only [using] one tyre.”
Comparing to Yamaha
Vickers’ last season in BSB saw him win more races than any other rider in 2024 aboard the OMG Racing Yamaha.
Kyle Ryde won the title that year as Vickers’ teammate, and backed it up last year with a successful defence against Bradley Ray on the Raceways Yamaha. Ray was champion back in 2022 on the OMG Yamaha, and Tarran Mackenzie won with a McAMS-backed Raceways Yamaha team in 2021.
The R1’s success over the past five seasons means it has established itself as the benchmark in the championship, but Vickers thinks the Honda is not far away from matching the R1 in terms of performance.
“The lap times I did on that bike [Yamaha] are still competitive now, so it’s a very good reference,” he said.
“Honestly, the Honda is very similar in a lot of areas, but there are a couple of areas where it just needs a little bit more compared to the Yamaha.
“But, honestly, we’re really happy, to be honest. We’re not on the strongest bike, but we’re at the sharp end, which is great.
“I know how the bike likes to be ridden, and we’ve got to keep working in that way to extract the most out of it every weekend.”
In this article
More News
2026 BSB Donington Park Test Results: Day 2 Lap Times
Returning Honda BSB rider enjoys bike setup “novelty” at Spanish test
Scottish Superstock rider was “touch and go” after horror Donington crash
FIRST LOOK: Ryan Vickers gets Honda debut ahead of BSB return
Ryan Vickers set for BSB return as Honda ends relationship with past winner
Kyle Ryde gets first triple on “absolutely amazing” return to Donington Park
Ryan Vickers’ Donington BSB test turned out positively, he says, despite a “tough” first day.
Fourth place for Ryan Vickers at the Donington Park BSB test was achieved after making “big steps” on the Honda on the second of two days.
Vickers’ Donington BSB test saw him end the two days behind the two TAS Racing Yamahas and Bimota’s Max Cook who was almost 0.3 seconds clear at the top of the combined times.
It took until the final session of day two for Vickers to use more than one tyre in a session and he felt he’d been able to make progress on Saturday after a “tough” day one.
“Pretty solid,” Ryan Vickers summarised at the end of Saturday’s running, speaking to Crash.net.
“[Friday] was a tough day.
“We had four days in Spain that was great, really got a good setup with the bike. We came here, it was a little bit different yesterday, also track conditions: very cold, windy – very different to Spain.
“Honestly, we made big steps [on Saturday], learnt a lot with the bike, did quite a lot of exits with a lot of different things and trying different things, and understanding what works and doesn’t work with the bike.
“We’ve still got more to go, there’s a lot more to come out of me and the bike. We know the direction now, which is good, so a very positive test.”
Vickers added that he had settled on a chassis setup during his first test at Jerez last November.
“I rode the bike back in November [2025], I think it was, we did a test at Jerez,” he said.
“I got on the bike and I instantly said that we needed to make a certain change to it, we made that change, and honestly I haven’t changed the chassis since. I knew that it would work, and it did, and we went fast straight away.
“I felt comfortable in Spain, I was really comfortable at both circuits [Andalucia and Monteblanco], super-fast as well – did some really good lap times.
“I’ve not quite got that feeling back yet; I think some temperature would help, to be honest – I always perform better when it’s hotter, anyway.
“But we’re not far away.
“Considering we’re not fully there with the bike and there’s a lot to improve on, we’ve been inside the top-three, top-two, most of the session, and honestly that last session was the only time that I put two tyres in, every other session was only one tyre.
“So, the lap times were quite good considering we were only [using] one tyre.”
Comparing to Yamaha
Vickers’ last season in BSB saw him win more races than any other rider in 2024 aboard the OMG Racing Yamaha.
Kyle Ryde won the title that year as Vickers’ teammate, and backed it up last year with a successful defence against Bradley Ray on the Raceways Yamaha. Ray was champion back in 2022 on the OMG Yamaha, and Tarran Mackenzie won with a McAMS-backed Raceways Yamaha team in 2021.
The R1’s success over the past five seasons means it has established itself as the benchmark in the championship, but Vickers thinks the Honda is not far away from matching the R1 in terms of performance.
“The lap times I did on that bike [Yamaha] are still competitive now, so it’s a very good reference,” he said.
“Honestly, the Honda is very similar in a lot of areas, but there are a couple of areas where it just needs a little bit more compared to the Yamaha.
“But, honestly, we’re really happy, to be honest. We’re not on the strongest bike, but we’re at the sharp end, which is great.
“I know how the bike likes to be ridden, and we’ve got to keep working in that way to extract the most out of it every weekend.”
Fourth place for Ryan Vickers at the Donington Park BSB test was achieved after making “big steps” on the Honda on the second of two days.
Vickers’ Donington BSB test saw him end the two days behind the two TAS Racing Yamahas and Bimota’s Max Cook who was almost 0.3 seconds clear at the top of the combined times.
It took until the final session of day two for Vickers to use more than one tyre in a session and he felt he’d been able to make progress on Saturday after a “tough” day one.
“Pretty solid,” Ryan Vickers summarised at the end of Saturday’s running, speaking to Crash.net.
“[Friday] was a tough day.
“We had four days in Spain that was great, really got a good setup with the bike. We came here, it was a little bit different yesterday, also track conditions: very cold, windy – very different to Spain.
“Honestly, we made big steps [on Saturday], learnt a lot with the bike, did quite a lot of exits with a lot of different things and trying different things, and understanding what works and doesn’t work with the bike.
“We’ve still got more to go, there’s a lot more to come out of me and the bike. We know the direction now, which is good, so a very positive test.”
Vickers added that he had settled on a chassis setup during his first test at Jerez last November.
“I rode the bike back in November [2025], I think it was, we did a test at Jerez,” he said.
“I got on the bike and I instantly said that we needed to make a certain change to it, we made that change, and honestly I haven’t changed the chassis since. I knew that it would work, and it did, and we went fast straight away.
“I felt comfortable in Spain, I was really comfortable at both circuits [Andalucia and Monteblanco], super-fast as well – did some really good lap times.
“I’ve not quite got that feeling back yet; I think some temperature would help, to be honest – I always perform better when it’s hotter, anyway.
“But we’re not far away.
“Considering we’re not fully there with the bike and there’s a lot to improve on, we’ve been inside the top-three, top-two, most of the session, and honestly that last session was the only time that I put two tyres in, every other session was only one tyre.
“So, the lap times were quite good considering we were only [using] one tyre.”
Comparing to Yamaha
Vickers’ last season in BSB saw him win more races than any other rider in 2024 aboard the OMG Racing Yamaha.
Kyle Ryde won the title that year as Vickers’ teammate, and backed it up last year with a successful defence against Bradley Ray on the Raceways Yamaha. Ray was champion back in 2022 on the OMG Yamaha, and Tarran Mackenzie won with a McAMS-backed Raceways Yamaha team in 2021.
The R1’s success over the past five seasons means it has established itself as the benchmark in the championship, but Vickers thinks the Honda is not far away from matching the R1 in terms of performance.
“The lap times I did on that bike [Yamaha] are still competitive now, so it’s a very good reference,” he said.
“Honestly, the Honda is very similar in a lot of areas, but there are a couple of areas where it just needs a little bit more compared to the Yamaha.
“But, honestly, we’re really happy, to be honest. We’re not on the strongest bike, but we’re at the sharp end, which is great.
“I know how the bike likes to be ridden, and we’ve got to keep working in that way to extract the most out of it every weekend.”
[analyse_source url=”http://crash.net/bsb/news/1092882/1/ryan-vickers-makes-big-steps-after-tough-start-donington-bsb-test”]