Three-Time King: Kyle Ryde Makes British Superbike History as Ducati Wins Again

That’s it: as the second of the three races in the Brands Hatch finale gets underway, Ducati rider Kyle Ryde mathematically seals the deal and celebrates his third consecutive British Superbike title. The Italian manufacturer adds yet another jewel to its collection of 2026 titles.

At 29, the King of England writes a page in British Superbike history: only Niall Mackenzie had previously won three titles in a row, from 1996 to 1998. Kyle Ryde’s streak began in 2024 with Yamaha and continued over the next two seasons aboard the Panigale V4 R. At this point, the second race scheduled for late afternoon becomes a mere formality: it will be the finale to a fantastic show in front of the huge crowds who have flocked to one of the world’s motorsport temples since Saturday.

By winning Race 1 after a breathtaking comeback, the former MotoGP rider had cut the gap to the championship leader to 48 points. With the Showdown format offering increased points and 70 points still up for grabs, hope was alive. But winning alone obviously wasn’t enough; he needed another stroke of luck, like Ryde’s mechanical retirement at the previous round in Donington. Kyle Ryde made a fearless start, because celebrating a title from the top step of the podium always feels special. But Redding is on fire at the undulating circuit just outside London. He got on his wheel, looked for a way through and took the lead on lap three of the scheduled twelve. But it wasn’t enough...

To take the title fight down to Race 3, Scott Redding needed Kyle Ryde to finish outside the top four. And that was possible, with Bradley Ray (Yamaha), Leon Haslam (Ducati) and Ryan Vickers (Honda) also in the leading group, while Max Cook’s Bimota was lurking close behind. Ryde came under attack from Ray but fought tooth and nail to defend third place from Haslam’s attempts to pass: third was all he needed to pull on the celebratory number 1 shirt early. There was no need to change anything on the Ducati, because the #1 had been emblazoned on it for quite some time...

At the moment of triumph, winner and runner-up shared a wonderful embrace: Scott Redding waited for the champion trackside and was the first to congratulate him. British Superbike has held on to the spirit of the old days: on track, they battle fiercely, but once the chequered flag falls, sportsmanship takes over. Wonderful.

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