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Ducati forcing Bradley Ray to find “different direction” with Yamaha in BSB
Bradley Ray admits he and the McAMS Yamaha team “can’t stand still” in BSB given the performance of the new Ducati.
Bradley Ray says he was looking for a new “direction” to follow with the Yamaha R1 during BSB testing, the former champion feeling he and the McAMS Yamaha team “can’t stand still” given the strength of the new Ducati.
2025 BSB runner-up Ray was fastest in three out of the six sessions across the two days at Oulton Park, but was 0.7 seconds adrift of the final benchmark set by Kyle Ryde on the new Panigale V4 R in the final session.
Ray was one of the dominant riders during last season, finishing on the podium in each of the first 12 races, winning 10 of those. So, approaching a new season in which he will ride the same bike for the same team, needing substantial changes to be competitive might not be expected, but the performance of the new Ducati has pushed Ray and the Raceways team to look for a “different direction” with the R1.
“It was good,” Bradley Ray said, speaking to Crash.net after the Oulton Park test.
“A lot of changes to the bike, trying to find a different direction with it.
“Obviously, the package is good but we can’t stand still, especially with the new Ducati, so we’ve got to try and find small improvements where we can. That was the most important thing over these two days.
“I think after that last session we found something good with the bike, and putting it all together for Oulton race weekend is quite exciting. So, looking forward to next week.”
Ray was vague on the details of the new direction he’s trying to pursue with the Yamaha, but said he feels good with the bike after the final preseason test of 2026.
“Nothing massively in particular, to be honest, just finding literally tenth here and a tenth there, that’s all we need to find and over a 20-lap race that makes a difference,” he said.
“I think today we found a good direction and that’s the most important thing.
“Obviously, we didn’t top the time sheets, but the feeling is there with the bike and we have a good direction now.”
Having been making changes to the bike throughout testing, Ray is looking forward to riding a stable platform at the opening round on 2-4 May.
“I enjoy Oulton Park, had some good success over the years,” he said.
“Looking forward to getting back here in race trim.
“Testing has been hectic, a lot of changes, so it will be nice to come to a race weekend with the bike and not change too much – that’s what I’m looking forward to and I think we’ll definitely be alright.”
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Bradley Ray admits he and the McAMS Yamaha team “can’t stand still” in BSB given the performance of the new Ducati.
Bradley Ray says he was looking for a new “direction” to follow with the Yamaha R1 during BSB testing, the former champion feeling he and the McAMS Yamaha team “can’t stand still” given the strength of the new Ducati.
2025 BSB runner-up Ray was fastest in three out of the six sessions across the two days at Oulton Park, but was 0.7 seconds adrift of the final benchmark set by Kyle Ryde on the new Panigale V4 R in the final session.
Ray was one of the dominant riders during last season, finishing on the podium in each of the first 12 races, winning 10 of those. So, approaching a new season in which he will ride the same bike for the same team, needing substantial changes to be competitive might not be expected, but the performance of the new Ducati has pushed Ray and the Raceways team to look for a “different direction” with the R1.
“It was good,” Bradley Ray said, speaking to Crash.net after the Oulton Park test.
“A lot of changes to the bike, trying to find a different direction with it.
“Obviously, the package is good but we can’t stand still, especially with the new Ducati, so we’ve got to try and find small improvements where we can. That was the most important thing over these two days.
“I think after that last session we found something good with the bike, and putting it all together for Oulton race weekend is quite exciting. So, looking forward to next week.”
Ray was vague on the details of the new direction he’s trying to pursue with the Yamaha, but said he feels good with the bike after the final preseason test of 2026.
“Nothing massively in particular, to be honest, just finding literally tenth here and a tenth there, that’s all we need to find and over a 20-lap race that makes a difference,” he said.
“I think today we found a good direction and that’s the most important thing.
“Obviously, we didn’t top the time sheets, but the feeling is there with the bike and we have a good direction now.”
Having been making changes to the bike throughout testing, Ray is looking forward to riding a stable platform at the opening round on 2-4 May.
“I enjoy Oulton Park, had some good success over the years,” he said.
“Looking forward to getting back here in race trim.
“Testing has been hectic, a lot of changes, so it will be nice to come to a race weekend with the bike and not change too much – that’s what I’m looking forward to and I think we’ll definitely be alright.”
Bradley Ray says he was looking for a new “direction” to follow with the Yamaha R1 during BSB testing, the former champion feeling he and the McAMS Yamaha team “can’t stand still” given the strength of the new Ducati.
2025 BSB runner-up Ray was fastest in three out of the six sessions across the two days at Oulton Park, but was 0.7 seconds adrift of the final benchmark set by Kyle Ryde on the new Panigale V4 R in the final session.
Ray was one of the dominant riders during last season, finishing on the podium in each of the first 12 races, winning 10 of those. So, approaching a new season in which he will ride the same bike for the same team, needing substantial changes to be competitive might not be expected, but the performance of the new Ducati has pushed Ray and the Raceways team to look for a “different direction” with the R1.
“It was good,” Bradley Ray said, speaking to Crash.net after the Oulton Park test.
“A lot of changes to the bike, trying to find a different direction with it.
“Obviously, the package is good but we can’t stand still, especially with the new Ducati, so we’ve got to try and find small improvements where we can. That was the most important thing over these two days.
“I think after that last session we found something good with the bike, and putting it all together for Oulton race weekend is quite exciting. So, looking forward to next week.”
Ray was vague on the details of the new direction he’s trying to pursue with the Yamaha, but said he feels good with the bike after the final preseason test of 2026.
“Nothing massively in particular, to be honest, just finding literally tenth here and a tenth there, that’s all we need to find and over a 20-lap race that makes a difference,” he said.
“I think today we found a good direction and that’s the most important thing.
“Obviously, we didn’t top the time sheets, but the feeling is there with the bike and we have a good direction now.”
Having been making changes to the bike throughout testing, Ray is looking forward to riding a stable platform at the opening round on 2-4 May.
“I enjoy Oulton Park, had some good success over the years,” he said.
“Looking forward to getting back here in race trim.
“Testing has been hectic, a lot of changes, so it will be nice to come to a race weekend with the bike and not change too much – that’s what I’m looking forward to and I think we’ll definitely be alright.”
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