Buildbase Suzuki's Bradley Ray has stated his main aim is to beat Danny Buchan in the opening Bennetts British Superbike race at Silverstone and so extend his Showdown spot cushion for the final two races on Sunday.

Ray wants to have a 50-point advantage over the Kawasaki man after the initial Saturday clash so he can relax and not have to worry about Peter Hickman on for the Sunday double-header. The gap is currently 40 points.

“My aim is to try and beat Buchan by as many points as I can in the first race and if I don’t beat Hickman that isn’t so bad as he is in sixth at the moment, so we can swap places and still be in the Showdown,” said Ray.

“The ideal scenario would be to try and gain ten points on Buchan in race one and then have a 50 point advantage going into the final two races.

“In race one I will need to use my head a little bit to either secure a place in the Showdown or get close to it. I will be giving it everything we have got to try and secure the place and get as many Podium Points going into the Showdown as possible.

“To be in the Showdown would be unbelievable and really good. We are quite far behind Leon in Podium Points at the moment but not far behind Jake and ahead of the others for now, so to be in the Showdown and going in to the final three rounds in contention in only my second year in the championship at 21-years-old is great.

“I think we have some good circuits coming up and we have been strong, yes we have had a few mistakes from myself and a little bit of bad luck, so if we can get in [to the top six] it will be one of them, where I have nothing to lose as a youngster so I can try and prove myself and get as many points as I can.

“I can’t see why we can’t be in with a shout of wins and podiums over the final rounds and you have to use your head a little bit but I have a lot less to lose than the likes of Haslam, but at the end of the day it is going to be the Showdown that decides what happens.”