Breakthrough victory for The r9 & Ben at Donington park.
Round two of the 2026 British Supersport Championship at Donington Park was a weekend that reminded us exactly why we love motorcycle racing.
The highs were incredible. The lows were brutal. But one thing became very clear across the weekend — the Yamaha R9 is becoming a serious contender.
After a challenging start to the season, Donington felt like a turning point for both myself and the entire McAMS Yamaha team.
Finding Our Pace Early
From the first laps on Friday, the feeling was immediately more positive. Session by session we continued making improvements, building confidence with the bike and understanding more about what the new R9 needs to perform at its best.
By the end of Friday, we’d worked our way up to P2 overall — a huge result considering how early we still are in the development of this project.
The belief inside the garage was growing.
A Huge Breakthrough on Saturday
Saturday turned into one of the most memorable days we’ve had so far with the new Yamaha R9.
After another strong qualifying performance, we headed into the sprint race believing we had genuine podium pace. But once the lights went out, everything just clicked.
The bike felt incredible underneath me. I was able to ride aggressively, attack the braking zones, and finally flow the way I know I can when everything comes together. Lap after lap the confidence kept building.
To take victory in the sprint race at Donington Park was a massive moment.
Not just personally, but for the entire project.
This is still a brand-new motorcycle in British Supersport competition, and to stand on the top step this early into its development says so much about the hard work being done behind the scenes by every single person involved.
Moments like that are why we push so hard through the difficult periods.
For one afternoon at Donington, everything came together perfectly.
Sunday Heartbreak… and Recovery
Unfortunately, Sunday became the complete opposite.
From warm-up onwards, something just didn’t feel quite right. I crashed in the morning session while pushing to understand the front-end feeling, and heading into the feature race we were already trying to recover momentum.
Even after reverting changes, I still struggled to get the bike turning how I wanted during the race compared to the feeling we’d had on Saturday.
Then came the jump start penalty.
A frustrating mistake that completely changed the complexion of the race and left us with a mountain to climb.
But despite everything, we fought back hard.
From serving the penalty, I managed to recover through the field and bring the bike home in P4 — salvaging valuable championship points from what could easily have ended as a disaster.
Considering everything that happened across Sunday, the comeback ride was something we can still take confidence from moving forward.
That’s the reality of racing sometimes. One day you’re standing on the top step — the next you’re digging deep trying to limit the damage.
Plenty of Positives Moving Forward
Despite the disappointment of Sunday, there’s still a huge amount to be excited about leaving Donington.
The pace is real.
The progress is real.
And the potential of this Yamaha R9 project is massive.
We’re learning every single session, getting stronger every weekend, and building towards something special.
A huge thank you to the entire McAMS Yamaha team, my crew, sponsors, partners, and everybody supporting the journey both at the track and online.
We’ll regroup, reset, and come back stronger at round three.
See you at the next one.
Follow the journey throughout the 2026 British Supersport Championship:
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