Thruxton - Round 6

The Oxford Products Racing Ducati Team had done their homework going into Thruxton Circuit this weekend as the track has not been favourable to them in the past. However, the team and Tommy Bridewell worked exceptionally hard to secure some positive results with two tenths and a seventh place. He is a Showdown contender currently sitting eighth place in the Championship standings.

With the extraordinary heat this weekend and track temperature at 40 degrees it was always going to be important to find a good setting on the Ducati that worked well with the tyre from Pirelli. The team worked hard on Friday to quickly find something that worked at Thruxton that could complete the race distance, which secured Tommy a spot in the Superpicks 12 qualifying session.

Qualifying proved tougher than expected and the team were working towards a race setting as opposed to a one lap setting and Tommy had to start race one from 15th. He got a steady start but soon found a good rhythm and started to work his way up through the pack, his lap times got stronger, and he was able to finish in 10th.

Up a place on the grid for race two to 14th, he lost a couple of places off the start but once again soon settled down and conserved his tyres well to make moves through the pack, another tenth place and some more solid Championship points.

Starting 22nd for race three was tough. This was a big ask for Tommy and the team and they really had their work cut out. A flying start saw him gain several positions on the opening few laps, he had fantastic pace and really found his feet having one of his best rides of the season. Tommy gave everything he had to come through and finish in an amazing seventh place.

Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati #46)
“All in all it was a good strong weekend. My riding style is not completely suited to Thruxton, so for me it was a big learning curve, we learnt a lot about how we can conserve tyres and like I say my riding style improved all weekend.

Thruxton for me and the team is always about consolidating as many points as we can so to get two tenths and a seventh it was a good, positive weekend, and we got faster as the weekend went on was always the target and that’s what we managed to do.

The last race to be in the group where we wanted to be, was a big bonus, so all in all a good weekend and looking forward to going to Cadwell and moving forward with good momentum.”

Iain Hopcroft, Team Manager
“The team and Tommy performed really well over the weekend finishing seventh in the last race keeps us within the top eight for the showdown as we head to Cadwell Park. We are looking forward to the remainder of the season now hoping for some strong results and podium credits before we get into the showdown to fight for the title again.”

Brands Hatch - Round 5

It was a very positive weekend for the Oxford Products Racing Ducati Team and Tommy Bridewell. Tommy gained two podium places and a solid fifth place and currently sits in seventh in the overall Championship standings, a vital Showdown spot as it stands.

Everyone within the team has been working extremely hard to ensure Brands was a successful weekend and that hard work paid off! The conditions were mixed on Friday, but Tommy was straight through to Q2 with an eighth place in the combined practice times.

The rest of the weekend was sunny and dry, Tommy qualified in fourth place for the opening race on Saturday afternoon. He got a steady start and dropped back through the pack, but he worked hard and as always was able to fight his way back through the field and secured a fantastic third place. His lap times were consistently fast throughout, and all the leaders were setting a good pace on every single lap.

For race two Tommy started from the front row in second place and once again he dropped back slightly but he was in a close battle in the first half of the race for the lead, the leaders pulled a small gap, but Tommy was able to gain another solid podium finish in third.

Fifth on the grid for race three, the team made a few changes between races but maybe not in the direction they had hoped for, he was able to finish in a very encouraging fifth place and a really strong weekend and some very good Championship points.

Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati #46)
Race 1, 3rd - Race 2, 3rd - Race 3, 5th
“It was a good weekend; the main target was a good strong points haul. It’s nice to be back challenging where I expect to be every weekend. It was a very positive weekend and I hope now we can build on it and take this momentum for the rest of the season. We went the wrong direction with the bike in race three, but if we don’t try these things we don’t know, and I still managed to get a fifth place!

We will certainly take two podiums and a fifth and we will analyse everything over the next two weeks before the next round and see where we can improve. I look forward to getting to Thruxton.”

Iain Hopcroft, Team Manager
“It was a superb weekend for Tommy and the Oxford Products Ducati Racing Team. Brilliant to get some strong points in the bag with some great riding from Tommy. Now we are in a good position within the Showdown top eight and we can focus our attention to Thruxton and the rest of the season.”

Knockhill - Round 4

It was a very productive weekend for Tommy Bridewell and the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team at round four of the Championship at Knockhill. Tommy secured an eighth, and two fifth places in the three British Superbike races.

The team have been working hard in the break on all aspects of the Ducati and they have made really good progress at Knockhill. It has always been a tricky track in the past for the team, so they are very happy with the results this weekend.

The weather conditions on Friday were mixed so the dry practice time was limited but Tommy was comfortably into the Superpicks qualifying session on Saturday. He qualified in ninth place for the opening race on Saturday, he had a good start and was locked in a battle with Glenn Irwin who held him back from the pack ahead and gained eighth place.

He was placed in sixth on the grid for race two on Sunday afternoon, he got another great start and had the leaders in sight, he was able to come home in a fantastic fifth place. Seventh on the grid for the final race of the weekend and he pushed hard with some very consistent, fast lap times to finish in fifth position.

Tommy Bridewell: “It was a good weekend, all in all it was a strong and positive weekend with three solid points scoring results which is certainly what we needed. We got a good direction with understanding the bike, we are making steps forwards now and it’s great, and this is only round four, so we are feeling much more confident for the rest of the season.

We need to analyse the data from this weekend and continue to make progress for Brands, I felt like I rode well and got the best out of the package. We are looking forward to Brands and hope to be fighting for podiums again very soon!”

Iain Hopcroft - Team Manager: “It was a good weekend for the team, we aim to build on our success each time we visit Knockhill. Tommy rode fantastically well and the team worked hard to achieve the points we needed to get us back in the top eight and in the title fight. Thanks to all the supporters that came this weekend, it was great to see such a huge crowd there.”

DONINGTON PARK - ROUND 3

It was an extremely testing and frustrating weekend for Tommy Bridewell and the Oxford Products Ducati Racing team at round three of the British Superbike Championship at Donington Park. The team were able to salvage one eighth place from the weekend, Tommy then had a crash in race two and a DNF in race three.

Track time was limited in the dry and with the mixed conditions on Friday it was always going to be a race against time to find a perfect set-up on the Ducati. Despite getting straight through to Q2, Tommy was only able to qualify in 15th place.

The team and Tommy worked tirelessly to solve the problems and despite their best efforts just were unable to make the Ducati push for podiums around Donington Park. He rode hard in race one on Saturday and gave his all to work his way through the pack to gain eighth and put points on the board.

He was placed in eighth on the grid for race two, a good start saw him in a good position but on lap two he tucked the front crashing out. Due to lack of laps in the second race he was placed in 13th for the final race of the weekend and once again he was pushing hard but was forced to retire with a technical problem.

It is certainly not the weekend the team were hoping for, but they will re-group before Knockhill and try and find some solutions to kick start their season.

The team are grateful to all their loyal sponsors for their continued support through the good and the bad. The good times will come, we are sure!

Tommy Bridewell: “It’s been a really difficult weekend; we’ve had a lot of head scratching this weekend trying to understand the bike and which way we need to go with it. It’s not been the start to the season we’d hoped or expected after finishing last season so strong.

I’m struggling to get a direction with the bike, we have a lot of work to do to get us back to where we should be. We will be working hard to rectify the faults and get it back on track as soon as possible.”

Iain Hopcroft, Team Manager: “The team had a tough weekend. We thought we would be much stronger than we were going into the weekend, it was unfortunate to have a crash in race two whilst Tommy was pushing for positions with the bike we gave him.

We believe in race three the fuel pump failed why he had to pull in and Tommy had done really well again to fight for positions. We are disappointed with how Donington went but we will work hard before Knockhill and the remainder of the season to get the results back where they should be.”

Oulton Park – Round 2

It has been a mixed weekend for Tommy Bridewell and the Oxford Products Ducati Racing Team at round two of the British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park. Tommy was sixth in the opening race; he had a small crash in race two and rounded off the weekend with a fantastic second place in the final race of the weekend.

The weather conditions at Oulton Park were mixed on Friday and Saturday and it was hard to get some good consistent laps under their belt. There have been many changes to the Ducati this year and every track the team goes too they are starting fresh with new settings and making Tommy as comfortable as possible on the new machine.

Tommy was within the top five of both practice sessions on Friday and this automatically secured a place in the second qualifying session on Sunday. In FP3 Tommy topped the time sheets and his race pace was beginning to look strong. However, the weather changed for qualifying and in the tricky conditions Tommy ended up starting the opening race on Sunday from 16th place on the grid. He knew he had a lot of work to do but he always shines come the races, he got an average start but soon dug deep and began to make some strong passes and progress through the field. He was soon up to sixth place and rapidly catching the battle for the podium, sadly the race was red-flagged and cut short, he had to settle for sixth.

This promoted him on the grid to fifth for race two on Monday, in the dry conditions Tommy was eager to make quick progress through the field. He was about to make a pass for fourth but was caught out and tucked the front crashing out of the race. He’d managed a few laps and was placed in fourth on the grid for the final Superbike race. Another good start and great pace saw him eager to get a strong result. He managed to reel in race leader Brad Ray but in the process took Lee Jackson with him, he briefly took to the front but a move by Jackson saw Tommy pushed back to second, he had nothing more in the tank but secured a fantastic second place, his first podium of the season. He is now seventh in the Championship standings.

Tommy Bridewell: “It’s been an up and down weekend for definite. We got caught out in qualifying which made the weekend hard, we came through to a strong sixth from 16th on Sunday and we had strong pace.

I made a mistake in race two, but we bounced back in the final race to get second and our first podium of the season. It’s really positive all round and we still have a lot of work to do on this new spec bike but it’s certainly going in the right direction.

Thank you for all the teams sponsors and the supporters and we’re looking forward to some more strong results at Donington in a few weeks’ time.”

Silverstone – Round 1

It was the opening round of the British Superbike Championship this weekend for Tommy Bridewell and the Oxford Products Ducati Racing team at Silverstone Circuit. It was a solid start to the opening round and Tommy secured a seventh, eighth and a seventh in the three races.

It was a challenging weekend for the team as they struggled with set-up and tyre wear especially in the two longer races on Sunday. It has never been their strongest track and it is good now to be able to move on to some tracks that are more suited to Tommy and the Ducati.

Everyone worked extremely hard over the weekend and to leave in eighth position in the Championship standings is not a bad start to the Championship campaign. It is a very long season; it is important to pace ourselves and continue to get consistent Championship points.

Tommy had good practice and qualifying sessions and started the opening race on Saturday from fourth place on the grid. It’s hard to pass at Silverstone and only one main racing line but he got a reasonable start and was riding well but just lost rear grip from around the halfway point in the race, he slipped back to finish in seventh.

He was back in eighth for the second race on Sunday and the team made some overnight changes to help his progress. The races on Sunday were longer and his initial lap times were strong but once again struggled in the closing stages and had to settle for eighth place.

A big bold change for the final race of the weekend and Tommy started from seventh place, he worked hard and again had good pace, he secured another solid seventh position. Everyone worked extremely hard, they are now looking forward to moving on to more suited circuits and fighting for the podiums and wins.

Tommy Bridewell – “It was a positive but frustrating weekend; we need to understand what the difference is having the new parts on the bike. We can see the positives its made and we just need to unlock the true potential of the new bike to allow me to just make that step forwards.

It was a good weekend, the team worked great as always, we worked hard, we were learning all weekend. We knew it wouldn’t be easy as Silverstone has always been a tricky track for us in the past.

I’m really happy with the potential we have and the steps forward that we are definitely going to make, it will only get better at the rest of the rounds.”