After five years in the Championship, Kyle Ryde has been crowned the British Superbike Champion.
Kyle Ryde won his first British Superbike Championship in the final race of the season at Brands Hatch. The OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing rider has been in the Championship for five seasons and has finally clinched the title.
Across the 32-race season, Ryde won nine races and stood on the podium a further nine times. These results and his consistency throughout the year allowed Ryde to amass 487 points.
"I don't know what to say really," Ryde said after winning the British Superbike Championship. "It is an incredible feeling being British Champion. The whole season has been building I feel like the first couple of meetings I was riding well. But we did not have a feeling or a setting with the bike to fight for podiums so I kept finishing fourth and fifth.
"It was this round in July with the SC1 front, though I don't like it in some places, I get away with murder compared to the SC2. Ever since Brands if I have not been on the podium I have been fourth, fifth or sixth. I built as many points as possible, I didn't want to jinx it and tell anyone this but I have only had one DNF all season, which wasn't my fault.
"In a BSB season where it has been cold and wet to stay on the bike for a full year is an achievement in itself, I think that is what got me the win today."
'I bit the bullet and let a few people beat me when I needed to'
Ryde has always shown that he is a top-class rider in the British Superbike Championship. However, there have always been tracks where the #77 would struggle compared to his rivals.
The 2024 season saw Ryde improve at his weak tracks as he took victory at Cadwell Park and Oulton Park, tracks he had never won at.
Ryde said: "Everyone expects me to do well at some tracks and not do very well at others. If anything the tracks I do well at did not outshine the results from Cadwell and Oulton. Overall, I have been really consistent, I bit the bullet and let a few people beat me when I needed to instead of crashing. It is another BSB season where it has ended on the last round, last race, last lap and last couple of corners."
'I am only going to get faster... It is going to be cool to try and defend my title.'
Looking ahead to the 2025 season Ryde will remain in the British Superbike Championship to defend his crown. However, he will be rejoined by Bradley Ray in the OMG Yamaha Racing squad.
Ray was the 2022 British Superbike Champion for OMG Racing before he moved to World Superbikes in 2023. With Ray returning for the 2025 season there will be four British Superbike Champions on the grid next year.
"I can't wait to work with Brad (Ray) again," Ryde stated. "He is going to be very fast straight away. We are all fast on our day, like my teammate Ryan (Vickers) he has been a brilliant teammate. I have always wanted to beat him and he has always wanted to beat me. At a few tracks this season it has shown it helps to have a teammate like that. Here (Brands Hatch) in the middle of the season he smoked us all on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Having someone like Brad will be the same thing he is going to be fast everywhere and I can't wait to work with him again.
"But I am only going to get faster. I have got faster every year in every British Championship I have entered. It is going to be cool to try and defend my title."
Finally, Ryde was asked whether he would be running the #1 plate in the 2025 season. To which Ryde responded: "I have got to, if I get to 40 years old and I didn't run it I would be gutted. So, I have got to give it a go."
