Bradley Ray 'gobsmacked' by MotoGP debut

A dream came true for British Superbike star Bradley Ray at Sepang on Sunday when he got half-an-hour on a Suzuki GSX-RR MotoGP bike around the Malaysian Grand Prix venue.

The ride had been 'on the cards for a while', but was only confirmed last week, prompting Ray to grab a quick flight to the Sepang paddock, where he has spent his time with the Yoshimura Superbike team as well as Factory Suzuki MotoGP team.

Crash.net spoke to Ray shortly after his MotoGP ride (pictured)…

Crash.net:

You've ridden some big and powerful bikes, but this must be something else?

Bradley Ray:

Yeah completely, I mean I arrived here on Friday and Yoshimura let me have a go on the Superbike yesterday just to spin some laps and see where the track went.

It was still completely different on the MotoGP bike, to try and find the lines and learn the circuit, but it was an unbelievable experience and something that I've always dreamed of as a kid, to throw a leg over one of these bikes. Now Suzuki have given me that chance.

Crash.net:

What impressed you most?

Bradley Ray:

Everything! The carbon brakes are a big difference and just the speed of the engine. Unbelievable. And then the seamless gearbox. It just wants to pull in every single gear from first to sixth. That was a massive difference. The whole bike was just a completely different animal to anything I've ridden. It was amazing.

Crash.net:

Despite the massive power and torque, some people say that they are surprised by how smooth a MotoGP bike is, due to the electronics?

Bradley Ray:

It was. I jumped on it and it was a nice bike to ride. Everything was smooth and the bike felt really nice. Obviously, the power was a big thing, but the electronics – like you said – is a good thing there.

At the end of the day you are just jumping on a bike and riding it, so you just have to try and forget what bike it is and ride as you normally would. But I was a bit star-struck and obviously didn’t want to push too hard and launch it down the road! It was just amazing to get some laps.

Crash.net:

You've never ridden this track before on any bike?

Bradley Ray

Never ridden it before. So it was nice just to get laps yesterday to see which way it went.

Crash.net:

Did Sylvain [Guintoli] give you any advice?

Bradley Ray:

Suzuki went through all the controls and buttons, then Sylvain went through the gears to use in each corner, what to watch out for on the track and be careful of with the bike. He told me quite a bit, even just before I went out, so that really helped.

I'm still just gobsmacked now!

Crash.net:

You had two runs?

Bradley Ray:

15 minutes, then in again. Then 15 minutes again. It was worth coming out here for, that's for sure!

Crash.net:

You were on one of Sylvain's test bikes?

Bradley Ray:

Yeah, that was it. Sylvain is obviously out here testing for Suzuki so while they are working on one bike he needs to be out on the other. So they let me ride it during the lunch break.

Crash.net:

And the tyres, were they the normal MotoGP tyres?

Bradley Ray:

No, we had the production tyres. The plan was to use the MotoGP tyres, but Sylvain's done these three days and has another three days to do. I think they said they've got seven tyres for the next three days… So they need as many tyres as possible.

But for me it's not a problem. It's still the same bike. It was unbelievable!

Crash.net:

Are you staying out to watch the official test?

Bradley Ray

No, I'm back tonight. I'll hopefully do some more laps for Yoshimura later on the Superbike before I go.

Crash.net:

Will you do Suzuka with Yoshimura again this year?

Bradley Ray:

Hopefully. I'd like to for sure, we've just got to see what their plan is.

Crash.net:

The Japanese championship bikes are quite high-spec Superbikes, is it still a big step from the Yoshimura bike to the MotoGP bike?

Bradley Ray

The step from my BSB bike to the Yoshimura bike is not that massive. The bike feels pretty similar. But from that to the MotoGP bike is just a different kettle of fish. You can't even compare it.

Being out here with these guys [Yoshimura] we can also gain a lot of information to help us in the British championship, which is the biggest thing for me now.

Crash.net:

Glenn Irwin has been messaging us to ask about your lap times, because he has a bet with Andrew on what it will be…

Bradley Ray

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