The OMG GRILLA Yamaha Team are ready to fight for the podium positions this weekend, as the Bennetts British Superbike Championship returns to Brands Hatch for its first of two visits.

OMG GRILLA Yamaha’s Kyle Ryde and Ryan Vickers return to their beloved Brands Hatch this weekend, as the Yamaha duo aim to continue their title quest in Kent and become King of Brands.

Following a positive weekend in Norfolk, Kyle Ryde heads to Round 6 full of confidence having taken victory and two third-place finishes at the venue in October. The Nottinghamshire rider made a breakthrough with the setting of his R1 in the challenging conditions at Snetterton and hopes to continue his run of point-scoring finishes this weekend and reduce the 30-point gap to the Championship leader.

For team-mate Vickers, the Brands Hatch circuit is another favourite for the 25-year-old having splashed his way to a maiden Bennetts British Superbike victory there in July last year. Two fourth-place finishes in the dry confirmed the 2.43-mile undulating course as one of Vickers’ favourites and looks to get back to the front this weekend and put the struggles of his home round behind him.

The King of Brands weekend gets underway on Friday with Practice 1 at 13:00 with the fight for Qualifying 2 concluding with Practice 2 at 16:10. Saturday’s dose of Superbike action kicks off with Practice 3 at 10:30 before Qualifying at 10:50. The first of three races gets underway on Saturday at 16:15 before Sunday’s Warm Up, Sprint Race and final 20-lap Race brings the action to a close.

Kyle Ryde
OMG GRILLA Yamaha
Championship: 4th (147 points)
“I’m looking forward to this weekend, getting back with my team and riding my R1. Overall Snetterton was a good weekend, a podium and two top five results in a tricky weekend with the changeable weather conditions gives us good confidence heading into the Brands weekend. I love riding the R1 at Brands Hatch, it’s been a track I’ve had some strong success at in the past and took a win and two podiums at the end of last year. Hopefully we can pick up where we left off there last season, and head home with three more solid results come Sunday night.”

Ryan Vickers
OMG GRILLA Yamaha
Championship 8th (92 points)
“Brands Hatch is a perfect circuit for me and the R1, and to be honest, it’s probably the place where I felt like I had the best bike of last year, especially in the dry. The track holds some special memories for me; our target is to make more this weekend. Hopefully, we can roll out with a bike that’s like last year and work towards getting back to the top. The weather is looking good for a change, with some warm temperatures, which could play into our hands with tyre life. We’ll see, but I’m ready to give it 100% and so are the team.”

Alan Gardner
OMG GRILLA Yamaha, Team Owner

“This weekend we return to Brands Hatch, a track where both we as a team and the Yamaha has had good results at in the past. Kyle took a fantastic race win there at the end of last year and brought home two strong third places on Sunday in his title attack, so we know he’ll be fast again this weekend. Again, Ryan is also very quick around Brands Hatch. His first British Superbike victory came at the circuit in the wet conditions and had some strong races in the dry in October. As always, we’ll be pushing for strong results on both sides of the garage and can’t wait to get going.”

Paul Curran
OMG GRILLA Yamaha, Team Principal

“Brands Hatch has been a strong circuit for us and the R1 in recent years. Both Ryan and Kyle managed race wins in 2023, and the pair achieved some more strong results across the two rounds last year. It’s confidence boosting knowing the whole package is strong at Brands, and recent steps in tricky conditions means we’ll be ready come rain or shine to add some more points to the Championship tally.”