Bradley Ray’s Superbike World Championship season came to an end in disappointing fashion in Portugal.

Last year’s British Superbike champion showed what he is capable of with sixth place at Imola back in July, but that was the Lydd racer’s only top-10 finish of the year for Yamaha Motoxracing. He also underwent shoulder surgery in the summer, missing the Czech round of the series.

Despite the addition of an extra European round after the season finale in Argentina was cancelled, Portugal was Ray’s and Motoxracing’s final outing of 2023. He qualified 18th at Portimao with a best time of 1min41.147sec but, despite gaining two places before the start due to disqualifications, dropped back to 17th.

Ray’s final 10-lap Superpole race saw him 17th, and race two was marred by a problem with the bike’s rear, forcing him to slow up and finish only 18th. He sits 18th in the standings with 19 points and no decision has been made as to where he will race in 2024.

“It’s been a difficult Sunday,” Ray admitted. “I wanted to do a good job for the team in race two as that was our final race of the season but we had some technical problems throughout and so I wasn’t able to show my full potential.

“I was able to finish the race, but it was very difficult. I just want to say a massive thank-you to the entire Motoxracing team for everything this season. It’s not been easy, but they have supported me 100% through it all.”

Team principal Sandro Carusi added: "We hoped to conclude the championship with a better result, but unfortunately we were unlucky and failed to see the results of our hard work.

“The season has been positive overall, though, as both the team and rider have continued to grow and so I want to thank both sides for all their efforts.”