Rich Energy OMG Yamaha's Brad Ray scorched to victory from pole position in the Bennetts British Superbike eBay Sprint Race at Cadwell Park this afternoon (Sunday).
The title challenger was one of a handful of riders to break the lap record on the way to his fourth win of the season, but only after the original start was red flagged following an early crash.
Rory Skinner had just taken the lead with a mighty move on Ray at Chris Curve, when Lee Jackson fell exiting the Mountain, eliminating Takumi Takahashi and Dan Jones in the aftermath.
The race was restarted over a shortened 12 lap distance based on the original grid line-up, putting Ray back on pole ahead of Skinner. Ray made the most of the restart to lead every lap, finishing 0.786s ahead of Skinner, who had to settle for second on the Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki.
Danny Buchan claimed third for SYNETIQ BMW Motorrad, after a bold move on McAMS Yamaha's Championship leader Jason O'Halloran on lap seven, bagging his first podium of the year in the process.
O'Halloran settled for fourth ahead of Oxford Products Racing Ducati's Tommy Bridewell, who claimed the new lap record honour with a 1m25.950s on his way to fifth.
Local man Peter Hickman was sixth for FHO Racing BMW ahead of Andrew Irwin's BMW with Leon Haslam eighth and just three tenths of a second behind at the flag.
Glenn Irwin (Honda) and Josh Brookes (Ducati) completed the top-10, after Tom Sykes was wiped out of contention by Christian Iddon late on.
Two more Bennetts BSB races will provide plenty of drama tomorrow, as racing continues at Cadwell Park's Bank Holiday 'Party in the Park'.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, eBay Sprint
Race result, Cadwell Park:
1. Brad Ray, Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha, 12 laps
2. Rory Skinner, Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki, +0.786s
3. Danny Buchan, SYNETIQ BMW Motorrad, +1.293s
4. Jason O'Halloran, McAMS Yamaha, +3.340s
5. Tommy Bridewell, Oxford Products Racing Ducati, +3.667s
6. Peter Hickman, FHO Racing BMW, +8.388s
7. Andrew Irwin, SYNETIQ BMW Motorrad, +12.418s
8. Leon Haslam, VisionTrack Kawasaki, +12.719s
9. Glenn Irwin, Honda Racing UK, +13.136s
10. Josh Brookes, MCE Ducati Racing Team, +14.294s
Click here for full event results.