Kyle Ryde was victorious in the opening Bennetts British Superbike Championship race of the weekend at Donington Park, holding off Tommy Bridewell, as the OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing rider emerged victorious after withstanding the race-long pressure from the reigning champion.

Ryde launched into the lead on the opening lap ahead of Danny Kent and Josh Brookes with Bridewell in the mix, but the McAMS Racing Yamaha rider made a costly mistake at the Fogarty Esses and ran on, rejoining in 12th place. He then had to fight back to finish in fifth place at the chequered flag.

At the front Ryde was constantly shadowed by Bridewell as he continued to pile on the pressure, but the local hero delivered an inch perfect performance to finally break his Honda Racing UK rival over the final laps to win his seventh race of the season and in doing so half the lead in the standings to just three points.

Glenn Irwin returned to the podium in third place for the Hager PBM Ducati team; he was holding fifth place over the opening laps, but soon made a move on Christian Iddon and Brookes to move ahead. In the latter stages of the race he was closely followed by brother Andrew on the second of the Honda Racing UK Fireblades, but he didn’t have enough to bridge the gap to his rivals ahead of him.

Kent was fifth after his comeback performance after making a move on Charlie Nesbitt with two laps remaining with Ryan Vickers, Lee Jackson, Brookes and Iddon all in the battling pack for top ten finishes.

Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Donington Park, Race 1 result:

1. Kyle Ryde (OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing)
2. Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK) +2.071s
3. Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) +8.689s
4. Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing UK) +8.972s
5. Danny Kent (McAMS Racing Yamaha) +9.710s
6. Charlie Nesbitt (MasterMac Honda) +10.661s
7. Ryan Vickers (OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing) +11.796s
8. Lee Jackson (MasterMac Honda) +13.601s
9. Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad Team) +13.915s
10. Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +15.114s

Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:

1. Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK) 356
2. Kyle Ryde (OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing) 353
3. Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) 309
4. Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 251
5. Danny Kent (McAMS Racing Yamaha) 250
6. Ryan Vickers (OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing) 240
7. Lee Jackson (MasterMac Honda) 217
8. Leon Haslam (ROKiT Haslam Racing BMW Motorrad) 212
9. Jason O'Halloran (Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki) 183
10. Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) 178