Brands Hatch GP: Rounds 16-17-18

It was a tough finish to the 2020 season for the Oxford Products Racing team at Brands Hatch. Tommy Bridewell ended the season with three solid results.

The sun was out for the final round of the Bennetts British Superbike at the glorious Brands Hatch GP circuit, The team gets one practice on the Friday afternoon to collect some data before moving into Saturdays qualifying knowing that rain was forecast overnight.

The practice session on Saturday morning was in drying conditions which saw the team lose some precious track time and Tommy qualified in 15th place for the opening 16-lap race on Saturday afternoon.

Despite a great start the front pack had managed to break away slightly and Tommy was able to work his way through to ninth.

He moved up to 12th on the grid for the second race on Sunday afternoon, he got a steady start and was able to make up a couple of places over the 20-lap race. With competition being so close his race lap time put him backwards on the grid for the final race of the season where he had to start from 15th position. He got a fantastic start and had his best race of the weekend so far, making some confident passes and worked his way through to seventh position and with the top 16 riders all within 1 second of each other it was great to see Tommy carving his way to securing 7th place in the overall Championship standings.

Tommy Bridewell - “It’s not all down beat; we were just experimenting with the bike all weekend. We had nothing to lose; the goal for us all weekend was to treat the weekend as a test. The plan over the weekend was to see what was working and what wasn’t.

In the shorter race on Saturday the bike wasn’t bad, but I just didn’t have the pace of the front runners. We felt good in morning warm-up and we made some changes for race two, but we went in the wrong direction and it made the bike very difficult to ride.

For the final race of the year we went the totally opposite to race two and things did feel a lot better and the bike was working really well and we dialled a lot of the issues out. When we lose fuel and tyre life we start coming across a few problems, my grid positions for the races made it very difficult to get any strong results this weekend.

I am happy with how the weekend went in general and we learnt a lot, how the bike worked and the progress that we made throughout the weekend. We have a few ideas going into the winter and it will be a long one so plenty of time to analyse the data and make some positive changes.”

Iain Hopcroft - “ This year has been full of action from tough hard fought weekends to winning races, I can’t thank Tommy and the team enough for all the hard work and dedication to put such a good package together, it’s been tough without the fans cheering us on but with the power of social media and the TV we know just how much support we have out there.

Huge thanks to all the sponsors for their continued support through the stressful times of this pandemic because without them we could not make any of this happen. We are really looking forward to what 2021 brings and the new calendar looks very interesting for us and the fans.”

In other news, the Moto Rapido supported Ducati Tri Options Cup race team of Josh Day riding the ‘Host IT’ Ducati V2 secured the Championship title and retained the number 1 plate for 2021.

Donington Park: Rounds 13-14-15

It turned into a very mixed weekend, not only weather wise but results wise for the Oxford Products Racing team. Rounds 13, 14 and 15 all took place on the Sunday at Donington Park, Tommy Bridewell ended up 15th in race one, fifth in race two and an unfortunate DNF in the final race of the weekend.

The weather conditions on Friday were mixed, with a dry opening session and wet afternoon session. Tommy and the Oxford Product Ducati team made a switch of suspension manufacturer just after Oulton Park and used K-Tech this weekend for the first time at a race weekend. Therefore the team had to learn quickly the set-up on Friday in the mixed conditions.

Saturday was declared a washout and all track activity was cancelled so the three races were run on Sunday. The grid positions for the opening race were determined by the combined practice times, putting Tommy in sixth place for race one.

With the late morning race, the track was still very wet in places with a small drying line appearing at other parts of the circuit. They took a gamble with tyres and Tommy opted for the hard rear wet compound tyre, sadly it was the wrong decision and Tommy struggled throughout the race and was only able to salvage 15th place.

Due to this he was unable to put in a fast lap-time for the second race, this placed him in a low 19th place on the grid. The race was fully dry but cold, Tommy got an incredible start and he was soon pushing his way through the pack and quickly. He worked through the pack and secured a fantastic fifth place.

Luckily in the final race of the weekend he was able to start from a much better grid position in fourth place. He got a great start and took the wide line around the outside and slotted into third, he was soon through to second and chasing Josh Brookes down for the lead. Glenn Irwin came past for second but shortly after that Tommy was forced to retire into the pits with a problem on lap seven.

Tommy - “Obviously it was a very mixed weekend, but for me it was very positive. I know it’s the time of the year but we really could have done with some more dry track time to learn the new K-Tech suspension with the Ducati V4-R. We only had FP1 in which we were sixth in so that was a good start and then every other session was wet.

Race one was very patchy but we decided to go with the harder rear tyre and for some reason the wheel spin from start to finish was unreal, it was a real shame as we had a good opportunity for a strong race.

Race two was dry so it was going into the unknown, starting from 19th was the hardest bit. The bike felt good, not great but I felt positive, I was more than happy with fifth.

In the last race we made some good changes and the bike was fantastic and I felt great on it. Sadly we had a mechanical that caused me to DNF the race. I’m taking the positives, I felt really good on the bike, really strong. I could see Josh struggling with chatter and fortunately I wasn’t in that position this weekend. Onwards and upwards to Brands Hatch and the final race of the year.”

Oulton Park: Rounds 10-11-12

It was a difficult weekend for the Oxford Products Ducati team at Rounds 10, 11 and 12 of the Bennett British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park. Tommy Bridewell had an extremely challenging weekend and had to settle for a 14th and two 11th places, dropping him to 5th in the BSB Championship standings.

Tommy Bridwell and the Oxford Products Racing team were hoping they had found the issue at Silverstone and were eager to get to Oulton and start off strong. However, they were having problems with the front tyre and finding a good, comfortable set-up to suit Tommy’s style at a track he is normally very strong at.

It has been frustrating and the team continued to make changes throughout the weekend but the results and progress just did not come as they had all hoped. Tommy qualified in 15th place for the opening race on Saturday; despite pushing hard Tommy raced a pretty lonely race to finish in 14th.

A slower lap time put him in 15th again for the second race of the weekend on Sunday. He got a good start and tried to make some progress through the pack; he was in a close battle with Gino Rea and managed to get 11th at the end of the 18-lap race.

He was promoted to 14th on the grid for the final race of the weekend but it is always difficult to be starting that far back and able to make strong progression. He worked hard as always but once again had to settle for 11th place.

Tommy Bridewell: “It really has been a difficult and frustrating weekend for all of us. We have literally tried everything and gone round in circles but nothing seemed to work. I feel disappointed for myself and the team as we gave it everything we possible could. It is just so disheartening.

We have to move forwards from here and look forward to Donington now where I took my first win. This was just a bad weekend at the office and we will bounce back stronger.”

Tough weekend for the team at Silverstone

It was a tough weekend for the Oxford Products Ducati team at round seven, eight and nine of the Bennett British Superbike Championship at Silverstone circuit. Tommy Bridewell had an extremely difficult weekend and had to fight hard during the three races to secure a 10th, 6th and 5th place.

Qualifying was cut short by eight minutes due to an on track incident, which caused an oil spillage. Sadly Tommy was unable to get any fast laps in and was forced to start the opening race on Saturday from the very back of the grid in 24th place and it was a big task to ask. He got a great start and was soon making up the places through the pack, with tyre wear being an issue at Silverstone, Tommy made up 14 places to finish in 10th.

He was placed in tenth on the grid for race two of the weekend on Sunday and once again Tommy had to think hard about his tyres, in the closing laps he was able to make some strong passes and worked his way through to sixth to gain some valuable Championship points.

Tommy Bridewell: "It was a very tough weekend we have been suffering with severe chatter problems and I have not been able to find a way around it with my riding and I have tried everything physically possible to try and sort it but it didn’t happen. We did struggle this weekend, the team did an amazing job changing so many things on the bike in endless amounts of ways but unfortunately they never gave us a direction.

We made a big fundamental item change for the very last race which gave us light at the end of the tunnel and to now feel like we’ve got a point to work from. Race three was like FP1 so I felt like we were a little bit behind but got there in the end. We now have a good start up point for FP1 at Oulton; it was a great job by the team they gave everything as always. I feel like we are moving in the right direction now and moving forwards for the final rounds.

The next three tracks are strong for me and hopefully now we can start winning races again and I look forward to it."

Iain Hopcroft: "We move forward to the next race now and with the improvements from this weekend we hope to be back on the top step and retaining our lap record at Oulton Park!

There was a lovely 5 minute tv piece of Tommy’s background on Eurosport over the weekend which is a must watch."

In other news we are still currently leading the Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup series by 36 points with Josh Day ahead of Levi Day (no relation) who is also a supported rider.

Triple podium for Tommy at Snetterton

It was an exceptionally good weekend for the Oxford Products Ducati team at the Snetterton-300 circuit.

Tommy Bridewell gained two brilliant third places and went one better in the final race of the weekend to secure second place. He is currently second place in the Championship standings as we leave to Norfolk circuit.

It has been no secret that the Ducati are struggling with the new tyre compounds, which in turn is causing the bike to have serious chatter problems. Despite this, Tommy and the Oxford Products Ducati team worked tirelessly all weekend to find a comfortable set-up. Qualifying was tricky and Tommy could only secure 11th place on the grid for the opening race on Saturday.

Tommy got a good start and was eighth after the opening lap; the safety car was then deployed to clear up an accident, bunching all the riders together. Tommy took advantage once the car came in and moved through to sixth place and slowly working his way through the competitive field. He was soon making some strong passes and was up to third and hunting down the leaders, bridging the gap on every lap. With not enough laps left in the race Tommy had to take a strong third place.

He was elevated to the front row for the second race of the weekend and was eager to take advantage of that. He held his position of third place from start to finish and was sitting in second place in the Championship standings after race two.

Back to the second row for the final race of the weekend and Tommy started from fourth place. He got a great start and moved through to third place after the opening lap. It was a fraught race and about eight riders were able to run the pace at the front. They were swapping and changing each lap and at one point Tommy dropped back to fifth. He had to get his head down and work hard to make up positions. He took advantage of Brookes and Iddon running wide and briefly led the race. Tommy was locked in a battle with Iddon, Brookes and Lee Jackson and a final corner manoeuvre on Iddon saw him move through to second as the chequered flag came out.

Tommy Bridewell: “It was a tricky one this weekend, it was difficult. We struggled with the bike; we had a few issues that we couldn’t find a solution for. I’m happy to come away with three podiums as I feel like it could have been a lot worse but thankfully it wasn’t.

At the end of the day after what was a very hard weekend for us, we came away with two thirds and a second so we have to take all the positives from that. We made some good changes for the final race and that was definitely in the right direction. We have to see where we are at Silverstone and see what we can do there.

It’s been a very good start to the season, a win and podiums have given us some good points in the Championship which is the main thing. We were hoping for more at Snetterton but some issues held us back, but the team will address these before we get to Silverstone and see if they can be fixed. The Oxford Products Ducati team worked exceedingly hard as always this weekend and we have come away second in the Championship.”

We also had great success in the Ducati Cup races with Josh Day taking another two wins to extend his championship lead.

And John Hopkins got plenty of attention in his Alpinestars/Moto Rapido suit at the weekend’s MotoGP after riding some parade laps on a Moto2 bike at the Redbull ring.

Tommy triumphant at Donington

It was such a mixed weekend for the Oxford Racing Ducati team at the opening round of the Bennetts British Superbikes Championship at Donington Park. Tommy Bridewell secured a fifth in the opening race, ninth in race two and then he went on to get a fantastic win in the third and final race of the weekend.

After being troubled with set-up issues throughout practice and qualifying it was bitter sweet to end a tough weekend with an amazing win.

The team worked incredibly hard all weekend to get a bike Tommy felt comfortable on. They had a lot of new settings and components to test and they had to pack it into a short space of time.

Tommy qualified for the opening race of the weekend in eighth place. He got a steady start but had to work hard to carve his way through the pack eventually securing a solid fifth.

His consistent lap times gained him a front row start on Sunday for race two. The second race was fraught with a lot of pushing and shoving going on. Tommy lost one of the famous Ducati wings into turn one when he was hit by another rider, this caused a few issues with the handling of the bike. Tommy pushed hard and was sat in third place but had to take avoiding action into the chicane in the closing laps, running across the gravel and dropping several places to ninth at the chequered flag.

His times were once again super consistent and fast enough to put him on pole position for the final race of the weekend. Tommy was gone as soon as the lights went green; no one saw which way he went. At one point he opened up over a four second lead and was looking dominant. His lap times were great and at one point broke the lap record before it got broken again a few laps later by another rider. He eased off a little with four laps to go but still took an awesome win, two seconds ahead of the second placed man.

Tommy - “To be honest I’m very very happy to get the win. We struggled all weekend and we had a number of issues that led me to feel really uncomfortable on the bike, free practice and qualifying were really tricky. We kept our head down and we were happy to salvage a decent qualifying and get a result of fifth in race one.

We really got the bike going well for race two; we tried some things in morning warm-up and then went bold with more changes for the race. It was a shame I made a mistake going into the last chicane and ran through the gravel. I’d worked so hard in that race, got a bit beaten up, came back through and dug deep to challenge for the win. Two laps to go and Andrew (Irwin) stopped his bike a lot sooner than I, and I like to carry corner speed; I had to swerve to miss him, which caused me to run straight on.

Starting from pole made it a lot easier for the last race. I didn’t have a game plan, I wasn’t sure if I had the pace to lead from start to finish. I expected another big dog fight like the other two races but I felt good off the line and the time on my pit board just kept going up. I didn’t want to ruin the tyre as it was 26 laps with a track temperature of 40 degrees. I thought I’d push really hard for a few laps but saw the lap times going up and up. At that point I just thought I had to keep riding the way I was. The credit must go to the team, they were flawless and worked so hard to get me comfortable on the bike, and honestly I can’t thank them enough for this weekend and the effort and hard work that they have put in.”

“It was sad not to have the fans there and my thoughts also go to anyone that has been affected by covid over the last few months. We are lucky to have been allowed to come racing and do what we do best and thanks to everyone involved in letting us do that this weekend. I am looking forward to Snetterton and hopefully we can get a few more wins there.”