Buildbase Suzuki will get its Bennetts British Superbike Championship title assault underway this weekend, as Oulton Park hosts the first round of The Showdown. Ray, who secured his spot in the series’ top-six at Silverstone, is looking to convert the raw speed he’s shown all season into more wins and podiums at the Cheshire circuit.

After a crash at Silverstone following another rider’s overtake, Richard Cooper, riding the second Buildbase Suzuki GSX-R1000 superbike, will look for two clean races and exploit the true pace he knows he can display. With two top-ten finishes at Oulton Park in round three of the championship earlier this year, he will look to hit the ground running and qualify well in an attempt to mix with the Showdown top six.

Billy McConnell, riding his superstock GSX-R1000 will work to retain his championship lead after regaining the top spot at Cadwell Park. Two top-five finishes from Silverstone amongst a competitive pack will give him the confidence to re-capture his front-running form.

Billy McConnell

Bradley Ray,

“The real work starts now. We’ve got to be fighting for the podium, and the aim’s got to be race wins. We’ve been fast all year but sometimes haven’t quite been able to convert it into wins. We were fast again at Silverstone, so if we take that speed into this weekend we should be able to challenge for wins. I took my first BSB podium here on the Suzuki last season, so hopefully we can be strong again this weekend.”

Richard Cooper,

“We’re going into this weekend the same as we always do, aiming to have a good qualifying so we can try and get away well in the races and fight at the sharp end. Results have been solid and fairly consistent. BSB’s so competitive, but we’re always pushing, always trying to improve, and for us the plan’s to try and get in amongst the title fighters and have an impact on the championship.”

Billy McConnell,

“It’s the run-in now and there can’t be any mistakes. We’ve got the championship lead – it’s a narrow one but we’ve got it – and the goal is to keep it until the end of the season, and the best way to do that is with race wins. The bike’s been good all season, we’ve just got to dial in the setup in practice and do our best in the races.”