The sun was well and truly out in ‘leafy Cheshire’, and after a rain-soaked Snetterton, the entire BSB field was chomping at the bit to get back out around the 2.6-mile circuit. Kyle Ryde continued his strong form throughout testing, finishing in the top two in each of the first two sessions and missing out on the top spot on both occasions by less than 0.1 seconds. Unfortunately shortly after setting the pace in the final session of the day his session was cut short after a crash at Island, meaning as other riders improved he dropped to P8 on the combined classification.

For Brad Ray, Oulton was his first opportunity to ride the M1000RR having missed the earlier trips to Silverstone and Snetterton whilst recovering from a minor operation. The 24-Year-Old wasted no time on his return, utilising his experience on the S1000RR last year to immediately return to the top 10 in P9, less than a tenth off Kyle’s fastest lap of the test.

In the Pirelli National Superstock class, Billy McConnell’s focus was on testing a number of different setup options and he finished the day in P15, 1.3 seconds back from pacesetter Luke Hedger. But a good haul of 29 laps allowed the team to monitor and address previously identified development areas, and of course Billy was more than happy to show off with a few wheelies for a crowd who’ve waited over 20 months to see Superbikes back on UK circuits.

Next up, the team head for a brief one-day test at Knockhill followed by the final Bennetts British Superbike test of the season at Donington Park on 8th June.

Kyle Ryde - #77 - RICH Energy OMG Racing

"It felt great to be back out on the RICH Energy OMG Racing BMW M1000RR, we'd come close to topping the first two sessions but unfortunately only did 2 laps in the last session due to crashing at Island bend. I'm feeling okay and the bike held up so we'll be back on the limit at the next test.

The bike feels great and I'm enjoying being part of the team so we'll keep working hard so that we get to the first round in a position where we can challenge right at the front."

Brad Ray - #28 - RICH Energy OMG Racing

"Really happy to be back out riding again and getting plenty of laps in on the new bike. Obviously with me missing Silverstone and Snetterton there's a bit of catching up to do, but I did well here last season on the S1000RR and the team have been able to use the data from Ellison and Kyle's tests so far, so we made a good start on getting comfortable and towards the end of the session I could start to push bit by bit.

I'm feeling good and the bike feels mint, so a massive thank you to the RICH Energy OMG Racing team and we'll look forward to Donington Park and the next official test."


Paul Curran - Team Principal, RICH Energy OMG Racing

“A good test for us at Oulton Park and I think we're really starting to see what the M1000RR is capable of in the hands of our riders. Brad got his first laps in on the new bike and Kyle was in the top 5 for most of the day, even after his late crash, so we're very happy.

For Billy, it's easy to look at the timesheets and talk but I remember him being 1.5 seconds off the pace at a test here in 2018 and then putting it on pole during the race weekend. He's a really talented stock rider and a professional, so I'm sure when we're back here for Round 1 he'll be right where he expects to be.

Obviously, there's still a lot of learning to do and even though we're in a good place right now, other teams will continue to improve before the first round, so we're concentrating on our own development and we'll get some more track time in at Knockhill before heading to Donington for the final official test.”