Motorcycle racing is for youngsters. Longevity is just for a select few. There’s something iconoclastic in Bradley Ray: when you think that your career goes through a cursus honorum, a sort of path till the lead, a young 20-year-old man comes and shows that it’s not that true.
BABY COURAGE – He’s talented, but Bradley Ray chose a different way. HIS way. What he did in Brands Hatch Indy, where he started twice from pole position and finished 2nd in Race 1 after an exciting duel with Shane Byrne, tells about him ore than many articles. What strikes is his career, very different from the “planned” one usually imposed by motorcycling. Ray raced in Red Bull Rookies Cup and CEV Moto3, but it didn’t work. He did some races in Moto2, including a wildcard at Silverstone (retired). Some years ago the English website crash.net talked about him as “an interesting rising talent” for several reasons. But Ray could not do very much in MotoGP World Championship.
UP-AND-COMER – A rider must race, or find himself another job. So Young Gun decided to race in British Supersport. «Bradley is one of the best up-and-comers of British motorcycling» said the Buildbase Suzuki Team Owner, Chandler Warren-Gray. And this is what happened. And the echo of his double win at Donington, where the first 2018 BSB Round took place, even reached MotoGP. No working class going to heaven, but a Young Gun that just wants to race. And that shows he deserves to be there. You can follow the path you prefer, choose a planned one, face a world that rejects you if you have no sponsor. Or you can create your path.
SENSATION – Wasn’t Suzuki the “Cinderella” of SBK? Now, thanks to Ray, Suzuki can fight against Shane “Shakey” Byrne, a tough guy for everyone, especially for veterans. Once again, the Young Gun upsets all the clichés, that usually resist in a conservative world such as motorcycling. Moreover BSB, too hastily considered as a “championship for pensioners”, showed that it can also develop a young rising star. No more Old school Vs. New school, but an original mix of experience and fresh blood. The future is already here.
Massimiliano Garavini