There weren’t too many surprises in round three of the 2026 British Superbike Championship at Knockhill. Ducati’s dominance continued, with Yamaha’s top man Bradley Ray again nipping away in all three races, but behind them, just off the podium, Ryan Vickers gave Honda Racing plenty to smile about with a pair of fourths to his name.

It’s been a tough return to BSB for the 27-year-old, who was a nine-time BSB race winner before moving to WorldSBK on a private Ducati last term. With the Motocorsa team reportedly putting up the cost of their berth for 2026, Vickers decided to return home and sign up for the high-profile Honda UK squad, with a clause in his contract which has seen him called up as a replacement rider for the factory HRC world superbike team twice so far.

Despite not yet scoring as highly as he did in his last BSB campaign, when he was team mate to Kyle Ryde on the OMG Grilla Yamaha R1, he’s been comfortably faster than all the other Honda riders, including vastly experienced team-mate Jason O’Halloran.

Honda’s Fireblade has never been short of outright speed, but without the tractability and user friendliness of the Ducatis and Yamahas, it’s proven to be an inconsistent machine over the years. Glenn Irwin and Tommy Bridewell have both taken championship silver medals on the CBR1000RR-R, but Vickers’ seventh in Oulton Park’s Sprint race had been the best result of the year heading up to Knockhill Racing Circuit in Fife. Vickers’ side of the garage found the ‘Blade’s sweet spot in Scotland. Despite a crash while running sixth in the Sprint race, and he was in great company all weekend. In race one he was the best of the rest, the top non-Ducati rider, and coming out on top in a battle with Knockhill specialist Rory Skinner, who’s won at his local circuit for the past two years.

Sunday’s third race was arguably his most impressive though, hanging with the lead group for most of the race and finishing just 4.4 seconds behind winner Scott Redding.

“That result in the last race proved that we can run with the front riders in this championship,” he said. “When we get things right, we can battle for podiums but clearly small changes equal progress and we made some this weekend. Knockhill is such a demanding circuit to race but I kept digging away and we not only maintained our position but ran in a podium position for a few laps as well. That felt great. I wouldn’t have been able to push like I did had the team not managed a rebuild so well. The bike felt identical to the bike that I crashed, this is a great measure of the quality and dedication from my team and from Honda. Yes, there’s still improvements to make and we’ll keep working on making them, but I’m pleased for me and the team that we can see some progress.”

From Knockhill, the championship moves to Snetterton. The long and flat Norfolk circuit is almost the complete opposite of the short and undulating Scottish venue, and it has special importance for Vickers, who comes from nearby Thetford.

Despite growing up close to the venue, it’s not exactly been the happiest of hunting ground for Ryan – whose best result there on a superbike was fourth on the Yamaha in 2023. His only previous national level win at Snetterton came during his dominant 2008 National Superstock 600 winning season, but Honda Racing had one of its best rounds of 2025 at the Norfolk circuit, with predecessor Bridewell bagging a pair of podiums, and they’ll be hoping the progress made at Knockhill wasn’t just a flash in the pan.

And remaining with the leading pack remains Vickers’ target this time around. He continued: “I am really looking forward to Snetterton. It’s obviously a track I didn’t go to last year when I was in the world championship, but I always have a great attendance of fans and personal sponsors. I am really excited to get back there after a year away.

“It’s a track that I enjoy and a track that the Honda Racing UK team have had some good results at, so I am looking forward to getting there and seeing what we can do. Hopefully, we can make some more progression and I hope to fight for the podium and put on a good race and a good show for all of my home fans.”

Round four of the 2026 British Superbike Championship takes place at Snetterton on the weekend of 3-5 July.

Photos: Impact Images