British Superbikes: Irwin loses series lead as Ray secures Oulton Park double

Glenn Irwin dominated last month's opening round at Silverstone as he won all three races

Glenn Irwin lost his lead in the British Superbike Championship as Bradley Ray's two wins and a third place at Oulton Park moved the Kent rider to the top of the standings.

Carrickfergus man Irwin had to settle for 11th, ninth and seventh spots.

Ray followed his win on Sunday with victory in race two and led race three for 13 laps before dropping back as Lee Jackson took a first BSB victory.

However Ray's performances moved him six points ahead of Irwin.

After his stunning treble at Silverstone, Irwin was not the same force on his Honda Racing bike on the Cheshire circuit.

The county Antrim man held a 29-point advantage over Ray heading into the weekend but that was trimmed to a single point after his opening 11th and ninth places as Yamaha rider Ray dominated the opening two races.

The Ashford man took victory from Rory Skinner and Kyle Ryde in race one and then had 0.585 seconds to spare for Lee Jackson and 2018 champion Leon Haslam in race two.

Safety car deployed in Monday Superbike races

As had been the case in race two, the safety car had to be deployed early in race three after Tom Neave's crash on the opening corner on the 18-lap race, with the rider said to be conscious as he was stretched away for medical treatment.

When the riders resumed competitive action after lap three, Irwin's brother Andrew immediately crashed out as Ray appeared on course for a meeting treble of his own as he forged a 2.5 second lead by lap six.

However as Ray's pace began to drop, Tommy Bridewell cut the margin to 1.78 seconds by lap 11 and by lap 13 he was right behind the leader.

By lap 14, Bridewell was ahead with Jackson also soon ahead of Ray and the Lincolnshire then produced a brilliant move of his own to take the lead as he recorded an emotional first win in the series.

Andrew Irwin exited early in both Superbike races at Oulton Park on Monday

Ray now leads with the championship on 102 points with Irwin on 96, Rory Skinner on 86, Kyle Ryde a further five back and Jackson 22 points off the pace following his race three win.

Andrew Irwin's exit from race three followed a similarly early departure in race two after finishing 12th in Sunday's opener.

In the British Supersport series, Dubliner Jack Kennedy continued his domination of this year's championship by recording two wins over the weekend which leaves him 24 points ahead of second-placed Fermanagh man Lee Johnston after the opening four races.

Three-times champion Kennedy had 4.219 seconds to spare from Bradley Perie in Sunday's race with Johnston in third spot.

Kennedy maintained his 100% record on Monday by dominating race two as he finished 8.365 seconds of Johnston, with Perie completing the podium positions.

In Monday's National Superstock race, after leading early on, Eglinton rider David Allington took fourth place as he finished 3.367 seconds behind winner Billy McConnell, with Brayden Elliott and Davey Todd occupying the other two podium positions.