Thruxton: Round 4
It was certainly challenging all weekend with mixed weather conditions and a circuit Tommy has always struggled at previously. The team worked exceptionally hard to try and find a set-up that worked well for him around the super-fast Thruxton track.
It was a tough weekend for the Oxford Products Ducati Racing team and Tommy Bridewell at Thruxton Circuit. Tommy was able to bring the Ducati home in 10th, 12th and 18th places respectively.
It was certainly challenging all weekend with mixed weather conditions and a circuit Tommy has always struggled at previously.
The team worked exceptionally hard to try and find a set-up that worked well for him around the super-fast Thruxton track. They made a drastic change for qualifying which unsettled the bike and rider and he was only able to qualify for race one in 18th place only managing four laps.
It was a big ask in the race but they made some changes and got the Ducati working well, he pushed hard to secure 10th on Saturday in race one. That put him in 15th for race two on Sunday. Tommy is still struggling a little off the start but once he got his head down he was in a battle for 8th but it was tight and he had to settle for 12th at the end of the 20 laps.
The heavens opened shortly before race three and tyre choice was always going to but key on what is a very grippy track. The team selected full wets but the track dried quickly and Tommy was really struggling for grip so pulled into the pits and swapped for a slick rear, by the time he got back out on track he had lost too much time and finished in 18th place and sadly no Championship points. He is however, still lying in 5th in the overall Championship tables and there is a lot of points still to play for, roll on Donington.
Tommy Bridewell: “It was a really difficult weekend with limited track time. Thruxton isn’t a circuit I’ve ever really gelled with, it doesn’t suit my riding style and just couldn’t get the feeling from the bike that I wanted and needed. It was a tricky weekend but we move onto Donington which is a track I love and we just have to put this one behind us and move on. It was hard but we’ll come back stronger.”
Moto3
The lads showed amazing Pace in the opening practices with Ryan Hitchcock making his way to 4th before crashing and unfortunately breaking his arm putting him out for the weekend. He should be fit and back on the bike for the Silverstone British GP round at the end of August.
Ollie Walker qualified 4th and held his own amongst the top five guys but due to a stone in the radiator and loss of power he finished 5th, good news was he set the second quickest lap time putting him front row for Sundays race.
Sunday came and the heavens opened and for these very lite Moto3 bike the ponding water was too much and the race was cancelled and due to be run at Donington in a weeks’ time.
Brands Hatch GP: Round 3
It was a pretty successful weekend for the Oxford Products Ducati Racing team this weekend at Brands Hatch circuit with Tommy Bridewell. He secured two fantastic second places but was unfortunate to have a technical issue in the final race forcing him to retire.
It was a pretty successful weekend for the Oxford Products Ducati Racing team this weekend at Brands Hatch circuit with Tommy Bridewell. He secured two fantastic second places and was unfortunate to have a technical issue in the final race forcing him to retire.
Tommy and the team worked hard on Friday to get the bike set up for the fantastic Brands Hatch circuit and he was able to secure a place in Saturdays Superpicks, the top 12 riders from practice on Friday automatically get put straight into the second qualifying session.
The team worked hard overnight to make some more tweaks to the Ducati and again before qualifying. Tommy shined in that session and ended up on the front row in second place for the opening race of the weekend. He struggled off the start and was in sixth place when the red flag came out due to an incident on the circuit. On the re-start Tommy was eager to get a better start but once again found himself down in sixth place. He had to dig deep and make some strong passes but worked his way through the field, he was able to get on the back of Tarran Mackenzie but was not able to make a clean pass on him, securing a brilliant second place.
For race two on Sunday he was placed in fourth place on the grid, once again another bad start saw him slip back to eighth on the opening lap. He really did put in some amazing lap times to push his way through and made some exceptional passes to get up to second place again. He caught up 1.7 second gap to the back of Jason O Halloran but by this point his tyres did not have much left to make any moves, another very solid second place for Tommy.
A front row start for Tommy in the final race of the day, with mixed conditions anything was possible, the race was red flagged due to track contamination. A tyre swap in the pits and he was looking forward to getting out fighting again. However his chain broke on the opening lap and that was the end of the race for Tommy and the team.
Tommy Bridewell: “Firstly my thoughts go to Brad Jones and his family and friends, I hope he can continue to keep fighting and make a good recovery. That’s the most important part of the weekend, we all come racing to race and do well but the most important thing is that we all go home safe.
I’m really happy with the two second places this weekend, we made some really good progress, had a great qualifying session but I’m struggling a bit to get the bike off the line. I’m not making excuses but I’m dropping back on the start and having a lot of work to do to get back towards the front runners. By the time I’ve got back up to the leaders I’ve used most of my grip so then it’s harder to push. The team worked so hard as always and to come away with two second places is great. I’m gutted about race three but now we concentrate on Thruxton this weekend and hope for some more podium results.”
The Ducati Cup saw our rider Josh Day take victory in race one and other supported rider fill four more spots inside the top ten but race two had it’s trouble with rain just before the start leaving riders unsure what tyre to choose, Josh opted for wets but the track dried up as the race went on to finish 6th and Chris walker (Moto Rapido rider) took his maiden victory this season as he opted for dry compound tyres.
Moto3 was equally action packed with Ryan Hitchcock completing his Practice sessions in P2 in the dry conditions but qualifying was wet… Ryan was 15th and Ollie Walker started his race from 11th.
The boys rode both so well despite Ollie's poor start he finished in 9th and Ryan stormed through the pack to almost grab a podium position in 4th!
Race two saw Ryan start from the front row, Ryan and Ollie finished 5th and 6th respectively, a great improvement from our young stars.
We now have a quick turnaround for Thruxton this week, Make sure you catch it on Quest tv or Eurosport player live this weekend
Knockhill: Round 2
The Oxford Products Racing Ducati team made the long trip north this weekend to the second round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Knockhill Circuit where Tommy Bridwell had a promising weekend with an eighth, fifth and seventh.
The Oxford Products Ducati Racing team made the long trip north this weekend to the second round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Knockhill Circuit where Tommy had a promising weekend with an eighth, fifth and seventh.
Tommy was struggling during the practice sessions to find a setting that he felt comfortable with at the tight and technical circuit. However, he was able to put in a fast lap towards the end of FP2 which put him into the Superpicks 12, straight into the qualifying two session.
Tommy worked hard during qualifying but ended up starting race one from 14th place. He knew he had a lot of work to do, he got a great start and was soon pushing forwards. He was able to work his way through to a strong eighth place. This also put him on eighth on the grid for race two on Sunday.
He got a steady start in race two but soon got into a rhythm and worked hard to secure a fantastic fifth place. For the final race of the weekend he was placed in eighth again and had to do all the work again, he had another tough battle but brought the Oxford Products Ducati home in seventh place
In our Moto 3 news we had a mixed weekend, Ryan Hitchcock pushed hard during practice to be 2nd fastest but the next mornings qualifying session was wet and he started 12th on the grid with Ollie Walker in 18th. Both of them had good starts but Ryan fell at the hairpin while Ollie pushed through to finish 8th.
Race 2 was better for them both with Ryan in 9th and Ollie in 6th with a lap time of 54.999.
Tommy Bridewelll: “It was a positive weekend, I am happy with the progress we made all weekend and as always the team worked so hard. We missed the test at Knockhill, which put us on the back foot so we had to work extra hard to get the results.
Knockhill isn’t my favourite circuit and I don’t think it’s the strongest for Ducati, I’m glad it’s done and out the way now and we can move onto tracks where I know we go well.
I think we’ve had a strong start to the season, we are understanding the bike really well now and looking forward to the rest of the 2021 campaign. I can’t wait to get to Brands and use all the potential the Ducati has there."
We now head to Brands Hatch for round three of the Championship where we have seen much success for all our riders and hope to see some of you there now we can have more crowds back!
Building and running a BSB race bike – how much really goes into it?
Although a superbike may look like a regular machine you could ride out of a dealership, it really is anything but. Carl Stevens recently caught up the team at Moto Rapido who run the Oxford Products Racing Ducati, to find out for just what it takes to build and race one of these weapons…
Although a superbike may look like a regular machine you could ride out of a dealership, it really is anything but. Carl Stevens recently caught up with the Oxford Products Racing team at Moto Rapido to find out just what it takes to build and race one of these weapons.
Whether you’re heavily into your racing or not, there’s no denying that top level racing bikes really are works of art; machines sculpted with the sole purpose of being as fast as possible. Every single part on a superbike there for function, whether that’s to keep it on the cusp of the rulebook, or to shave off those vital tenths when it comes down to gunning for a lap time.
And standing at the side of a track, although a superbike looks trick it’s only when you get up close that you can really appreciate the time, effort and extravagance that goes into creating one of these monsters. For example, the Oxford Products Racing Ducati is a relatively small team, running out of the workshop of Moto Rapido Ducati in Hampshire, yet even so, there is a mechanic whose sole, full-time job is just to work on Tommy Bridewell’s race bike. It’s not just a case of bolting some bits on either, oh no, as nothing is that simple. For example, with such a busy schedule for this year, the team need a bunch of engines in rotation, yet even these take days to put together. They come direct from Ducati Corse in Italy, and arrive as multiple boxes of parts and bolts, that is then assembled by the crew in Winchester. But it sets the scene nicely for the little details; the thumb brake, for example operates the clutch and the clutch lever operates the rear brake, and every single part of the Panigale looks like it was crafted to perfection – which, if you’ve ever built a race bike before, you’ll know is nigh on impossible.
And then pretty much everything around the engine has been designed solely for this exact machine, in this exact championship. The exhaust and the tank for example are built for Moto Rapido to an exact spec, which then means that they need to make bespoke fairings to fit on, which then means that they alter the engine covers to look and fit nicely… the list goes on, and that’s before they even switch it on.
Because that’s where the hard work really begins. In line with British Superbike rules, all machines run a spec Motec ECU, which means that the amount of fine tuning that has to be done to create a fast, effective race bike that will make a tyre last over a full race distance is infinite. And we haven’t even touched on the datalogging of brakes, throttle trace, suspension…
But don’t just take our word for it – Watch the video below to get the inside line from Steve ‘Wilf’ Moore on what it takes to manage a successful superbike squad.
Oulton Park: Round 1
The opening round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship took place this weekend at Oulton Park for the Oxford Products Ducati team and Tommy Bridewell. It was a good start to the season for Tommy and the team with pole position and two third places.
The opening round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship took place this weekend at Oulton Park for the Oxford Products Ducati team and Tommy Bridewell. It was a good start to the season for Tommy and the team with pole position, two third places and a DNF.
Tommy looked strong from the start on Friday and he was soon settling into a good rhythm on the Ducati and they were eager to get going. He had a fantastic qualifying session and set the first pole position of the season for the opening race on Saturday.
He did not get one of his usual flying starts and had to battle for position in the opening laps. Tommy pushed hard throughout the race and started the season with a podium in third place.
For race two he started from fifth place on the grid and was in the mix at the front in the early stages dicing for positions. However, he went to make a pass on Tarran Mackenzie but realised he was not going to make the corner, he was forced to run straight on but clipped Tarran on the way through, which caused a problem with his chain and Tommy was forced to retire.
Tommy started 12th for the final race of the weekend and the team knew there was a lot of work to do to get a podium position. Tommy put the work in and moved his way through the field quite quickly, he was soon on the back of Tarran and looking for a podium position. He made a solid clean pass on him for third and started to hunt down the leaders, O’Halloran and Iddon. Despite his hard work it was another third place but a very good position after the lower starting place.
Tommy – “It was a strong weekend for us for the start of the season. The race results were as we wanted but it was hard work all weekend. We had strong pace from the start and I felt really confident with the bike, the team, as always did a mega job.
Everything worked perfectly, I’m so happy on the bike, we were able to make the tyres last and we managed to preserve the new tyre really well and run a strong pace at the front.
It was my fault in race two when I had a coming together with Tarran, which caused the chain to come off but we were running well again up to that point but it was a shame as it could have been another good result.
I can’t thank the team enough for all their hard work, through the off season and this weekend to allow me to just get on and ride it hard. It’s a really strong start for 2021 with pole position and two podiums and it sets us up well for Knockhill, which I am looking forward to.”
A BSB test ban sees a rise in training bikes. But what exactly is one?
Bennetts British Superbike teams aren’t permitted to go testing in exotic places or even Spain this season in order to save some wedge. So an increasing number of riders are getting themselves training bikes in order to stay track sharp over the big winter break.
Bennetts British Superbike teams aren’t permitted to go testing in exotic places or even Spain this season in order to save some wedge. So an increasing number of riders are getting themselves training bikes in order to stay track sharp over the big winter break.
Oxford Racing Ducati's Thomas Bridewell is one such rider and he has his own, self-funded (at a discount) Panigale V4R which he will use to keep himself bike fit but what exactly is a training bike? Team boss Steve Moore explains: "Well there is some confusion. Racing, testing and practice are all very different things and serve different purposes with different costs, so we use different bikes.
Testing is using a BSB-spec bike, with the whole team there to run through what works on all aspects of setup. Chassis, electronics, motor specification, tyres. It’s very involved and very expensive in terms of logistics, staff and material costs of using a full superbike.
To save a lot of budget, there will be no testing this year in southern Europe for BSB Superbike teams or riders. All the teams were in agreement and the organisers have instead launched a UK based testing programme, so the track time is fully relevant to our racing too.
This is great for the teams to save money and have more relevant testing, but it leaves the rider without action for six months. So, apart from just getting grumpy about not riding, it’s impossible to keep bike fit and focused, so they go practicing.
You’ll see riders on mini-bikes, pit-bikes, off-road riding and as we get closer to the start of testing in the UK, they pack a van and go to few tracks with a modified road bike spend a few days riding round to warm up for the testing programme and season.”
Steve continues, "It’s a good compromise. The cost of lapping round on a road bike and the logistics required are a tiny fraction of Superbike testing costs and the rider gets fit enough that we don’t waste valuable testing time while they warm up after the break.
As well as a BSB team we are a motorcycle shop and workshop, so we prepare many track-day Ducatis, so it was simple to put a V4R together for Tommy. It’s not a gift, he bought it himself... with some staff discount.
The spec of training bikes is simple, it’s a road bike with road bike electronics, swingarm, brakes, just with some track upgrades from K-tech, Termignoni, HEL Performance, Fullsix Carbon and Spider racing (I make no apologies for name dropping our sponsors, who helped with this bike too).
Then we paint it, add the Oxford Products logos and he’s ready to go and get fit and train.”
This article is published with thanks to Bike Sport News.