2026 British Superbikes: Brands Hatch - Qualifying Results

Qualifying on Saturday ahead of Race 1 for the final Showdown round saw Kyle Ryde secure the final BSB pole position of the year, with his main title rival Scott Redding back on row three at Brands Hatch.

Ryde had topped the Friday action, so was the fastest rider heading into Q2, and then led the earlier FP3 session. The championship leader was also the rider on pole at the earlier visit to the Kent track, back at round five.

The Nitrous Coin/Nitrous Competitions rider executed the Q2 session perfectly pushing his championship advantage with the fastest lap of the weekend so far, a 1’ 24.398s best.

That lap on the Ducati prevented a first bimota pole, taking over from Max Cook to re-gain the top spot, with the AJN Steelstock bimota rider back in his pit box, finishing just 0.092s slower.

Ryan Vickers had fallen in the session, off at Druids with five minutes remaining while shadowing Ryde.

A quick return to the pits, with a swift repair job from the Honda Racing UK mechanics saw the number 7 back on track for the final moments for a final two lap attack, which lifted Vickers from last place to eighth, then onto the front row for Race 1, in third.

Rory Skinner will line up fourth after steadily improving over the 15 minutes for Cheshire Mouldings Yamaha.

Joe Talbot had just gained a place, with Vickers progression pushing the second bimota back to fifth, again the top rookie in qualifying.

Heading into the final minute of the session Leon Haslam had moved from sixth to fourth, with all the late flying laps seeing to Moto Rapido Ducati rider back to sixth.

All the late action was detrimental to Scott Redding, who saw a qualifying result unfold that will make his final title push become a bigger task.

The Hager PBM Ducati rider was still in the pits, helmet off, as the first laps came in. On track he had company behind from Ryde’s team-mate Glenn Irwin, as he moved into fourth on his first run.

From there Redding could not move forward as his next lap, with a purple sector saw him stay fourth, as Ryde found time in the final sector to top the session.

The number 45 then had a big wobble though Druids as he pushed to make up the difference but looked to have enough time for a final run. That was not to be, looking behind and pulling out for clear track saw Redding get his timing all wrong as he tucked in but took the chequered flag instead, dropping from fifth to seventh as both Talbot and Vickers made the most of their last runs.

Danny Kent was the first rider over half a second away from the best lap in eighth for Cheshire Mouldings Yamaha.

Bradley Ray was on pole at the final round last season at Brands Hatch, before ultimately losing out in the title hunt to reigning champion Ryde and is still technically in the title battle this year, with the smallest mathematical chance of the championship before the final three races. That became increasingly unlikely after qualifying ninth for McAMS Yamaha.

Storm Stacey competed the top ten in the session for Bathams AJN Ducati.

Glenn Irwin was the best of the riders to come through from Q1 in eleventh on the second Nitrous bike, just ahead of Ilya Mikhalchik on the sole BMW for the ROCKiT Motorrad team in 12th.

Christian Iddon had a technical issue, which saw him pull his Sencat Yamaha onto the grass, dropping to last in Q2.

Official British Superbike Brands Hatch Records:

BSB lap record: Bradley Ray 1’ 24.466s (Yamaha, 2025)
BSB best ever lap:Kyle Ryde 1’ 23.954s (Ducati, Q2, 2026)
Pole record: Kyle Ryde 1’ 23.954s (Ducati, Q2, 2026)

Round 5:

Qualifying: 1 Kyle Ryde (2 Scott Redding, 3 Max Cook)
Race 1: 1 Kyle Ryde (2 Scott Redding, 3 Max Cook)
Race 2 (sprint): 1 Kyle Ryde (2 Scott Redding, 3 Max Cook)
Race 3: 1 Scott Redding (2 Kyle Ryde, 3 Max Cook)

2025 Showdown Round:

Qualifying: 1 Bradley Ray (2 Kyle Ryde, 3 Christian Iddon)
Race 1: 1 Scott Redding (2 Bradley Ray, 3 Kyle Ryde)
Race 2 (sprint): 1 Scott Redding (2 Kyle Ryde, 3 Bradley Ray)
Race 3: 1 Danny Kent (2 Bradley Ray, 3 Tommy Bridewell)

Q1 - Glenn Irwin leads progression trio from garage

Glenn Irwin exited pit lane and went straight back in for some set-up changes, which paid off, hitting the top of the timing screens to lead the three riders moving onto Q2.

Confident in his time the Nitrous rider returned to the pits, as did Mikhalchik and MasterMac Honda rider Rhys Irwin (14th in Q2), who also progressed.

There was no way out for the experienced Josh Brookes, who just missed out in fourth, so will line up in 16th for DAO Racing, ahead of fellow Australian Jason O’Halloran who was fifth , for 17th on the grid on the second Honda UK bike.

There were falls for Luke Hedger, a heavy off on the Cooper Straight, and Eugene McManus, with a late crash at Surtees. Richard Kerr was shown the black and yellow flag for smoke from his bike.

Charlie Nesbitt, after a mid-season split from the TAG Honda team, was back in action on a second  Bathams AJN Ducati, as a thank you for riding the bike at the Oulton Park test, joining Stacey on a second bike, made possible with the use of spare parts and stock components. The returning rider placed 10th in Q1 for 22nd on the Race 1 grid.

Full results from BSB Qualifying: