Nottinghamshire motorcycle ace Kyle Ryde is raring to go ahead of his home round of the World Supersport championship at Donington Park this weekend (27-29 May), on the support bill for the prestigious MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship.
The 18-year-old from Jacksdale shot into prominence at the Donington round last year, where, as a one-off wildcard entry, stunned the paddock with a sensational podium finish. That performance, and his runner-up position in the British Supersport Championship last year, landed him a full season deal in World Supersport for this season on a Yamaha. But after his team withdrew from the championship after the Imola round at the start of May, he was left without a seat on the grid.
After a great deal of work behind the scenes, and with effort from his mentor, the current World Superbike Champion Jonathan Rea, a deal has been put together with Schmidt Racing, allowing Ryde to see out the remainder of the season on an MV Agusta machine alongside team mate Nico Terol, much to the youngster’s relief, and just in time for his home round this weekend.
“I’m delighted to be back out on a bike and it’s an added bonus that I’ll be learning it at a track that I know really well, instead of on a track that I haven’t been to before,” he commented.
“I’m really happy to get a second chance to carry on in World Supersport, and it’s given me the hunger to really wring the bike’s neck. When I was on the Yamaha I was trying to make it my bike too much and was simply hoping I’d be able to get it better by the end of the season, but in truth I should have just wrung its neck from the start. But I’ve got a second chance now and I’m really going for it.”
After his brilliant performance on the world stage at Donington last year, Ryde admits there was considerable pressure on his shoulders heading into the season. “At times I thought to myself that I wish I hadn’t done the Donington round last year as everyone was suddenly expecting me to get podiums all the time, despite the fact I was going to circuits I didn’t know!
“But now that all of this has kicked off and I’ve got a new team, it’s all good and I’m so grateful to Schmidt Racing and everyone who has helped me get another chance, and I just can’t wait to get out there at Donington to show everyone what we can do.”
Tickets for the only UK round of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at Donington Park on 27-29 May are available in advance until 5pm on Wednesday 25 May, priced from £10 with free entry for children aged 13 and under. Camping tickets for the infield campsite are also available for £25 per person in advance. For more information, visit
www.donington-park.co.uk.