Kyle Ryde's bid to become the first rider to win three successive British Superbike Championship titles since Niall Mackenzie in 1998, and the first ever rider to win back-to-back championships for different manufacturers, got off to a perfect start with three dominant wins at Oulton Park last weekend.

In an ominous display, the 28-year-old from Mansfield put in a perfect performance on his first outing with the new Ducati Panigale V4R sweeping aside the competition at a circuit where he has rarely shone in the past.

Pre-event, there was still some uncertainties regarding the competitiveness of the new Ducati. As the bike that's dominating the world championships, it would clearly be fast, but with limited testing due to late delivery and the fact that Ryde's Nitrous Coin / Nitrous Competition Racing squad was switching brands from Yamaha, there was no guarantee they would hit the ground running. In the end Ryde qualified on pole position and won all three races, with the Moto Rapido team's Leon Haslam behind him each time on a similar machine.

Speaking after the third race, Kyle said: "It's been obviously a great weekend, very unexpected but these are weekends don't come like this very often. I'm going to cherish the moment and then get ready for my home round at Donington Park."

While Ryde's performance may appear worrying for the competition, there are signs that this could be shaping up to be a spectacular season. Even if BSBÕs 30th anniversary year proves to be dominated by the new Ducati, there's still plenty of inter-brand rivalry to keep things interesting. Where Ryde and Haslam found the magic formula out of the box, Oulton Park proved more challenging for other riders of the new Duke.

Glenn Irwin, riding the sister bike to Ryde, had a horrid time throughout the weekend with all kind of teething problems mostly relating to gear shifting but after his mechanics changed a gear sensor for the final race he signed off with a tremendous charge through the pack to finish fifth in race three and confirm himself as one of the top runners.

One of the other pre-season favourite, 2019 champion Scott Redding, flew under the radar with three fourth places as he and his Hager PBM squad got to grips with their new factory Ducati. Team boss Jordan Bird explained that they were still working on setting up the bike, saying:

"This weekend was about establishing our baseline and proving the progress we've made through testing. Every session moved us forward, and the data we've gathered at Oulton Park gives us a strong platform for the next rounds. Scott and the team have worked tirelessly, and the steps we've taken are clear."

While Oulton Park proved to be Ducati's playground, they'll likely face a stiffer challenge when Donington Park hosts the Carole Nash King of Donington round, on the weekend of 15-17 May. The Ducati riders missed the test their last month, as their bikes weren't ready in time, and it was bimota's Max Cook who topped the test ahead of the Cheshire Mouldings Yamahas of Danny Kent and Rory Skinner.

Cook was fast, if a little inconsistent, at Oulton Park, leaving the Cheshire track sixth in the standings, while the Yamahas proved the main rivals for the hoards of Ducatis.

The R1 has powered the champion in four of the last five years, and McAMS Yamaha's Brad Ray took a trio of third places at Oulton Park to confirm he's still one of the main men this year. The Yamaha may not quite have the same outright power as the Ducati, but it's chassis, usability and mechanical grip make it a real threat at fast and flowing circuits like Donington Park. 

Ray, the 2022 champion, was positive about his weekend at Oulton Park. He said: "I can't complain about that weekend - we made a really good step forward from Sunday's race into Monday. The boys put in a great shift getting the bike to a point where it could consistently clock 1:33s, keep up with the pace up front and be in the fight for the win. The pace is there and I left nothing out on the track.

To come away with three third-place finishes is a solid result. We gave it everything, but we just didn't quite have the pace in the closing stages of the races. We head to Donington Park in good spirits, and hopefully we can close the gap a little more there."

Like Brad, we can't wait for the flag to drop at Donington Park, where it's hard to imagine Ryde will have it all his own way again. Sure, it's a local venue for both he and Haslam but the whole grid knows the track well and its status as a circuit of two halves (being fast and flowing for the first half and "stop-start" in the second) means that there are areas where all bikes and riders can use their strengths and weaknesses over a lap.

Storm Stacey was strong on the Bathams AJN Ducati at Oulton Park, and both he and Irwin will get some additional riding time at this week's North West 200 road race in Northern Ireland, so they'll be in the mix. All the aforementioned Yamaha riders will go to Donington thinking they can come away as King of Donington, while Redding will almost certainly make another step on his V4R, at the circuit where he became the youngest ever Grand Prix winner in 2008. 

But such is the depth of field, there are 15 previous BSB race winners lining up. Cook and the bimota have shown their pace, while the returning Ryan Vickers' performance at Oulton Park shouldn't go unnoticed either. He grabbed three top eight finishes at one of the Fireblade's historically weaker tracks, so don't rule him out at Donington while team-mate Jason O'Halloran won the corresponding race on a Kawasaki back in 2024, when he last rode in BSB.

While the podium men are likely to be found among the many names we've already mentioned, there are a handful more capable of delivering on their day. And if it rains, which it often does at Donington Park, well all bets will be off!