Rider Coach James Ellison returned to action at Silverstone on Day 1 as he stood in for Bradley Ray,
Riding a Superbike for the first time since 2019.
Photo - Ian Hopgood Photography

It's been a cold and windy day here at Silverstone for the official start of the 2021 Bennetts British Superbike Championship, a day that saw two out of three of our RICH Energy OMG Racing riders take to the Northamptonshire asphalt to shake off the winter blues and dial in their brand new BMW M1000RR machines. With Bradley Ray sitting on the sidelines for this test it was down to rider coach and former BSB race winner James Ellison to rack up the testing miles for the team alongside double Silverstone race winner from last season, Kyle Ryde and Pirelli National Superstock 1000 contender Billy McConnell ahead of next week's three-day trip to Snetterton in Norfolk.

While Ellison used the sessions to return valuable data for the team it was the man from Nottinghamshire who grabbed the bull by the horns on his first day on the new machine, returning three top five's from the days four sessions with the highlight being an excellent second fastest in the final outing of the day to trail MCAMS Yamaha's Jason O'Halloran home by just 0.2 seconds around the 1.64 miles National circuit. With another full program of work to progress through tomorrow and some subtle changes made, Ryde will undoubtedly be pushing for more from his BMW M1000RR to close the gap at the top of the timesheets.

Aussie Billy McConnell carried on where he left off in 2020 on a day where the former British Supersport champion was barely out of the top two positions. Times were tight in the hotly-contested Pirelli National Superstock class with the top fifteen riders were covered by a under second across the final two sessions of their sole day of testing. The Adelaide native used his considerable experience to good effect to lap on his own and forge his own pace on a busy track and post times that, despite the conditions, were only 0.3 seconds off Free Practice in more favourable conditions at the same circuit last September.

The RICH Energy OMG Racing trio become a duo for day two as the Pirelli National Superstock contenders make way for the Pirelli Junior Superstock class with the Bennetts British Superbike Championship field enjoy another four sessions to further refine those settings.