Donington Park: Round 10
It was a mixed weekend for Tommy Bridewell and the Oxford Products Ducati Racing team at the penultimate round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Donington Park
It was a mixed weekend for Tommy Bridewell and the Oxford Products Ducati Racing team at the penultimate round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Donington Park. Heading into October, weather was always going to become a factor to the series. Tommy crashed out of wet race one then secured a seventh and fourth in the final two races.
It was cold and wet the majority of the weekend and this played havoc with tyre choices and set-up. Tommy was able to qualify on the second row in sixth for the opening race on Saturday. The weather conditions were horrendous for race one and Donington is renowned for being like an ice-rink once wet. He got a good start and looked settled in second place when he just touched the brakes and down he went, crashing out.
After the disappointment of Saturday Tommy was keen to make amends on the Sunday. The weather once again was cold so Tommy and the team opted for the harder SC0 tyre, sadly this did not work with the Ducati as they had hoped, he started from fifth but just could not get the heat and grip in the tyres that he wanted and finished in seventh place.
He started race three from ninth and as they sat on the grid the heavens opened again and soaked everything, a delayed start enabled the team to make some changes, find a problem they did not know they had and start again, wet race declared. After the previous day Tommy was extremely cautious for the entire race and it was a battle to bring the Ducati home in one piece, he was able to secure a strong fourth position.
It is still all to play for at the final round at Brands Hatch with three races and 75-points up for grabs! There are only 21 points now separating the top four in the series and as Oulton and Donington have proved, anything can happen. We will be fighting hard to the end.
Tommy Bridewell: “The weekend was full of mixed emotions; there is a lot at stake. It was a tough weekend with the weather which we knew would play a part in the final rounds. I think it’s obvious to see that Donington is dangerous in the wet, I did absolutely nothing wrong, I did exactly the same as what I did all weekend and it took me out of second place. 20 points would have seen me second in the Championship and now we are 21 points behind. It was a massive dent to crash out of the race.
In the dry I just didn’t have the feeling with the bike that I really wanted due to limited track time in the dry conditions. We made some good changes for the final dry race of the weekend but then it rained really heavily.
I didn’t have the pace to match the top three, I knew I was safe in fourth, it wasn’t a race it was more like survival of the slowest! It is all still the play for, Brands has always been good for us, the bike is phenomenal there and I hope we can be back challenging for wins there.”
Iain Hopcroft: ”Tommy rode so well all weekend and is thinking about the championship, we came away from Donington with an amazing opportunity to Win this championship!! Roll on Brands Hatch in a couple of weeks!”
Moto3
it was to see the return of Ryan Hitchcock who had crashed at Thruxton earlier in the season and broken his arm, being the last round of the season he used the time to settle back into riding and prepare himself for some winter testing and the 2022 season.
Ollie Walker had some great practice sessions and even qualified 5th for the race but unfortunately crashed out of the session breaking his arm and some ribs, like a champ he stayed on to watch his team mates before heading to hospital back in Bristol where he undergoes surgery today.
Oulton Park: Round 9
What an amazing weekend for Tommy Bridewell and the Oxford Products Ducati Racing team at Oulton Park in the first showdown round of the Championship. He secured a strong sixth place in the opening race on Saturday and was just incredible on Sunday taking victories in both races, his first double win!
What an amazing weekend for Tommy Bridewell and the Oxford Products Ducati Racing team at Oulton Park in the first showdown round of the Championship. He secured a strong sixth place in the opening race on Saturday and was just incredible on Sunday taking victories in both races, his first double win!
The weekend started well for Tommy and the practice sessions went really well putting him straight into Q2 on Saturday. In the final practice session in the wet conditions Tommy was quickest and despite damp condition for qualifying, unfortunately Tommy had a tyre issue and he was not able to gain grip anywhere which left him in 15th on the grid for the opening race.
He got a good start and was soon picking his way through the fierce riders and made good progress with some fast lap times. He managed to work his way back through to a strong sixth place.
He was also placed in sixth on the grid for the second race on Sunday; a tough start saw him drop back to ninth after the opening lap. He made a move on Mackenzie into the chicane but out braked himself and he was forced to run on through the barriers on the slip road. He re-joined down in 13th place and knew it was going to take a severe amount of determination and effort to get back to a podium position. One thing Tommy does not lack is grit and determination and his pace was exceptional, plucking off riders every lap and he was soon on the back of the leading pack. As always he made some clean and consistent passes, he had a foot on the podium but wanted more and had the pace to get more. On the final lap he made another strong pass on race leader Jason O’Halloran and took one of the best wins we have seen all season!
His super-fast lap times in race two saw him sitting in pole position for the third and final race of the day. Tommy got a fantastic start in race three and there was no turning back, despite spots of rain throughout the race Tommy just disappeared into the distance, gaining nearly a nine second lead at one point. He was absolutely phenomenal taking a hugely dominant win; he is now only 9 points off winning the Championship!
Tommy Bridewell – “Firstly I would like to dedicate my wins to Dean Berta Vinales who sadly lost his life at Jerez this weekend. Things like this affect the entire racing paddock and my wins are for him.
All in all it was a great weekend. I felt really good on the bike after some changes in warm-up, we made some big changes. I was struggling to stop the bike and I ended up running straight on down the long lap penalty, which was my fault. That obviously dropped me a long way down the field and I lost about 2.5 seconds. It wasn’t the time I lost it was the time and effort I had to put in to pass the riders I’d already passed! I seemed to have really good pace compared to anyone else which helped me take the win!
The plan in the second race was if I could make the start and get to the front just go! That’s what I managed to do, it’s easy to let another riders to do the hard work at the front but I knew if I could get off the line I had the pace. I couldn’t believe I could do nearly lap record pace on several laps, the bike was awesome, the team were amazing and now we’re 9 points off winning the Championship. We have to keep the pressure on Yamaha and see what we can do in the final two races of the year.”
Ducati Cup – Dominant Day reigns supreme!
Josh Day has been dominant all season and this weekend was no different!! He was fastest in every session and continues his streak of pole positions for qualifying.
Race 1 on Saturday Saw Josh take control of the race and win in style and Sundays Race 2 was the realisation that he could win the championship with one round remaining. Everyone else knew to keep the hunt alive they ad to beat Josh and David Shoebridge gave it his all and lead the race early on but Josh played it smart and as the race entered two thirds distance made his move, this was to be perfect as the race was then red flagged and Josh took the Championship for the THIRD time!!!
Silverstone: Round 8
It was a very fast and consistent weekend for Tommy Bridewell and the Oxford Products Ducati Racing team at Silverstone this weekend with Tommy scoring another podium finish.
It was a very fast and consistent weekend for Tommy Bridewell and the Oxford Products Ducati Racing team at Silverstone this weekend with Tommy scoring another podium finish.
It was a very fast and consistent weekend for Tommy Bridewell and the Oxford Products Ducati Racing team at Silverstone this weekend. Tommy took to the podium on Saturday with a third place and two fifth places on the Sunday.
Tommy was having a good run of form recently and unusually during qualifying he crashed out causing a lot of damage to the Ducati as it barrel-rolled into turn one. The team worked well to get the bike back for race 1 and Tommy was feeling fine. Despite the crash mid-session his fast lap time enabled to qualify on the front row.
Tommy got a good start and was leading after the opening lap, he was locked in a battle once again with the Yamahas for the podium positions. In the closing laps Mackenzie and O’Halloran had a coming together causing the flag to be red flagged, Tommy took third place and some more important podium credits.
The team being very meticulous stripped the bike that night and re-built it for the two races on Sunday. Tommy started race two from seventh place on the grid and held his position after the opening lap. He worked his way through to second place at one point but he just was not able to stay with the leading pack dropping to fifth at the chequered flag.
Tommy started from fourth place on the grid for the final race of the weekend, he got a great start and once again was up to second. A couple of mistakes and running wide due to tyre wear saw Tommy slip backwards again but he fought to the end and still managed to secure a strong fifth place. With the Championship standings being reset to 1000 points plus podium credits, Tommy is now fourth in the Championship standings with it all to play for in the final Showdown races.
Tommy Bridewell: “All-in-all it was a strong weekend, I’m happy but disappointed if that makes sense. It’s not the results we go racing for but I felt like I was riding to the limit and I couldn’t do any more than I did.
We now wipe the slate clean and start again with the Showdown, it’s three circuits I feel comfortable and strong at and the serious business starts here. I’m looking forward to it and keeping the momentum going and take advantage at the last three races of the season and end the season on a high.”
Ducati Cup
Josh Day started his weekend strong with his run of pole positions continuing but as Tommy he uncharacteristically crashed during the first race from a lead of 1.5 seconds. Race two was to be a different story, Josh started from Pole Position again and held off Elliot Pinson to secure another victory for the team with Chris ‘Stalker’ Walker in third.
Josh is now 44 points in the lead with four races to go.
Moto 3
Ollie Walker struggled with the tricky conditions in qualifying and started the first race from tenth but he knew he could run with the front pack. Ollie studied the guys in front all race and waited to make his move on the last lap, the front pair were so busy battling each other that Ollie took advantage and took the chequered flag for his first podium of the season and his first WIN!!!!!
Unfortunately Ryan Hitchcock is still out injured but will return for the last race of the season at Donington Park.
Snetterton: Round 7
It was an extremely successful weekend for Tommy Bridewell and the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team at Snetterton Circuit with a hat-trick of podium finishes.
It was an extremely successful weekend for Tommy Bridewell and the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team at Snetterton Circuit. Tommy secured another hat-trick of podiums with two seconds and a third place.
It was a steady start to the weekend during practice and qualifying and Tommy was only able to qualify the Ducati in 10th place. Tommy got a steady start but lost several places into turns one and two and was 14th after the opening lap. However, he was not prepared to settle for that and rode through the fierce pack and up to a podium position. He was then involved in an epic drag to the line, just clinching second place. He was 0.069 off the win and Jason O Halloran was just 0.026 behind Tommy in third!
With his amazing pace in the opening race, Tommy was fast enough to put it on pole position for the second race of the weekend. He dropped back to fourth but was once again fighting for a podium place and the top three gapped the chasing riders by two seconds. Tommy took a strong third place.
Again for the final race of the weekend he was placed on the front row in third. He got a good start and looked strong at the front being chased hard again by the Yamahas. The race was red flagged due to an oil spillage caused by the BMW and re-started as a five lap dash. Tommy started on pole, got a good start and had a real fight with Tarran Mackenzie for the short race. He pushed hard and took another second place and secured his spot in the showdown.
Tommy – “It was a good weekend. It was a great performance from the team; I didn’t feel comfortable on the bike on Friday and didn’t know where we were with the pace. We kept plugging away through every session to make changes to improve the bike.
We worked on our weak areas and it was better every session even a quick change in the last sprint race. We got the bike handling really well which really helped in all three races. We have just a few areas we need to work on for edge grip.
We’re confirmed for the showdown now, which is a relief but we will also be using Silverstone as a test for the bike and getting it perfect for the Showdown races. I will be going there to win also and I’m looking forward to getting there next week!”
Ducati Cup
Josh day continues his streak of Pole positions and made plans for the race knowing Elliot Pinson would be hot on his heels, he is a much wiser rider and let Elliot lead the race and overtook him on the last turn clinching race 1 victory.
Race 2 was similar but he wanted to be out in front a little earlier and control the pace, Elliot was pushing hard behind and made a last lap move but Josh came back to drag him over the line securing another 1st place for the team.
This leaves him 63 points clear of second place rider Chris Walker with three rounds (6 races) to go.
Moto3
Ollie Walker made good progress after his crash at Silver GP last weekend and found himself 5th on the grid for race 1. He battled with two other riders for 2nd place and made a move on the last lap but saw him crash out at turn 2 on the last lap.
He started 4th for race two on Sunday and got run wide on and pushed him back to outside the top ten, he fought back and recovered to 8th place. Ollie is now 7th in the Championship with only two rounds remaining.
Cadwell Park: Round 6
Another successful weekend for Tommy Bridewell and the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team
It was a successful weekend for the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team at Cadwell Park, where Tommy Bridewell was able to secure a hat-trick of third places.
Tommy was consistently fourth during the practice and qualifying sessions and started the opening race from the second row in fourth. It’s no secret that he’s been struggling with his starts and after the opening lap he had dropped to sixth after the opening lap, he made some clean passes to take his first podium finish of the weekend.
For race two he started from fourth again and was eighth after the opening lap with a lot of work to do. His laps were super fast and he made good progress and some strong passes to fight his way up to third.
He set the fastest lap time and started the final race from pole position, a really tough start again saw him drop back but he made up some positions on the opening lap and was fourth after lap one. He got through to third and was in a battle for the win but just was not able to make a safe pass so it was three podiums in a row. Tommy is now in fourth in the overall Championship standings.
Tommy Bridewell: “All in all it was a good weekend. I felt good from off set with the bike. I felt happy and confident. Finishing third is a good achievement in BSB but I am slightly disappointed as you always want more and to win.
As a team we need to find that next step forward, we’re in a good place but need to fight for the wins and get a little bit more out of the bike. We have good points, good podium credits and it’s still very close in the Championship still. Thank you once again to the amazing Oxford Products Racing Ducati team for all their hard word.”
Ducati Cup
Josh Day set the pace early on and qualified on Pole for the opening race and stormed away from the pack from lap one and ending the race with a 5.7 second lead over Chris Walker.
Race two saw Josh start from Pole yet again but weather conditions were damp and tricky, he made the decision to turn on the traction slightly which later caused him lap time as the circuit dried finishing 4th after leading the race for over half the distance.
Josh is still leading the Championship by 39 points to Chris Walker and Elliot Pinson at 54 points.
We now move forward to Snetterton in two weeks with the team but have a little stop on route this week at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone Moto GP with the British Talent Cup to support our rider Ollie Walker.
Donington Park: Round 5
It was a strong weekend for the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team at Donington Park. Tommy Bridewell secured two fifths and topped the weekend off with an amazing win!
It was a strong weekend for the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team at Donington Park. Tommy Bridewell secured two fifths and topped the weekend off with an amazing win!
Practise and qualifying was tough but the team dug deep to qualify in seventh place on the grid for the opening race of the weekend.
He struggled off the start in the opening race and dropped to 10th after the opening lap but he quickly moved up through the field to sixth place at the finish but gained a position after Ryan Vickers was given a time penalty.
For race two he started from eighth on the grid, dropping down to 11th after lap one Tommy once again had his work cut out. He pushed hard through the field in some close battles avoiding some dramas to finish in a strong fifth.
For the final race of the weekend Tommy started from fourth place which put him in with a good chance of doing well. He got a good start and held his position but he was eager to get to the front and was soon making progress. He took to the front and bridged a gap of 3 seconds over the 20 lap race to secure a fantastic win. He is sitting in fifth in the Championship standings.
Tommy Bridewell - “It was a strong weekend in all. Happy with everything. I didn’t quite have the feeling I needed to fight for the victories in the first two races.
We did some good changes for the last race, I felt really comfortable in the race in the wet and dry and really pleased to take the win. It was a gamble on tyres as we’ve never used them before but it paid off. We are looking forward to a strong weekend at Cadwell.”
Moto3
Ollie Walker was fast all weekend and finished 4th,6th and 5th putting him 7th in the championship while Ryan Hitchcock is unfortunately still recovering from his broken arm and will miss the next round at Silverstone supporting the Moto GP in a couple of weeks.
Ducati Cup
Josh Day stormed his way to victory in race one Saturday winning by 3 seconds over Elliot Pinson but narrowly missed out to Elliot in race two by 0.018 seconds. He still leads the championship by 29 points.