Snetterton - Round 8

After the sad passing of Her Majesty the Queen, it was a sombre mood at Snetterton Circuit this weekend. The Oxford Products Racing Ducati team send our condolences and full respect to the entire Royal Family.

Tommy Bridewell and the team knew they had their work cut out this weekend to secure a ‘Showdown’ slot. Tommy secured a 19th, a strong 3rd place in race two followed by a 7th which secured his place in the top eight for the Showdown. These top eight are now the only riders that can win the Bennetts British Superbike championship from this point on.

The weather conditions were mixed all weekend, so it was hard to get a good amount of track time. However, Tommy was able to gain third on the grid for race one. He got a good start and was sitting in a strong second place when he hit the kill switch after exiting a turn, he managed to get re-started and finished in 19th place.

He set a good laptime before the issue and was placed on the front row in third again. He had a steady start but had to work his way through the pack to come through to finish on the podium in third place.

Again, he started from third for the final race of the weekend and he got away with the leaders but dropped a few places towards the end due to tyre wear to finish in seventh which gave him his Showdown position.

Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati #46)
“All boxes were ticked this weekend; our objective was to get the Showdown confirmed and boxed off. We are continuing to work on the bike to get it ready for the final three races of the year, to get a podium credit was a bonus.

We will continue to work hard to get the next level out of the bike to come out stronger at Oulton Park. Fully focussed on the final three rounds of the Showdown, thank you to all the team once again for their hard work this weekend.”

Iain Hopcroft, Team Manager
“The Showdown is thankfully confirmed now and it’s now about pushing for the Championship. Our pace at the weekend was fantastic and we have some great tracks ahead of us, we are looking forward to it.”

Cadwell Park - Round 7

It was a positive weekend for Tommy Bridewell at Cadwell Park, where a fifth and two third places promoted the Oxford Products Racing Ducati rider to sixth place in the Championship standings, with some solid showdown podium credits.

Coming from the ultra-fast Thruxton circuit to Cadwell Park's very tight and twisty layout meant it took a while to find a comfortable set-up on the Ducati. After testing new factory parts on the Friday evening test, the Winchester-based team kept working hard and pushed forwards to get the best possible set-up for the three races.

The series brought back the popular Superpole session whereby the rider has one lap to set a fast time. Tommy was top of the practice sessions and therefore had to wait for 14 riders to complete their laps, some smashing lap record pace. Tommy had a good lap and secured eighth place on the grid for the opening race.

He gained from a steady start but soon the race was red-flagged due to an incident and after a long wait they re-grouped and did a full re-start over 12 laps. A better start saw him make up positions through the pack and he also smashed the lap record pace in the process which put him comfortably on pole position for race two. Despite catching the leading bunch, he was unable to make passes on the riders in front and had to take fifth.

Tommy had a good start from pole and battled hard, but the leading pace was exceptional and even though he kept them in his sights throughout the race he had to settle for a fantastic third place. Another front row start for race three from third and Tommy once again got a strong start and pushed hard in the opening laps to enable him to stay with the leading pack. He once again brought the Oxford Products Ducati home in a brilliant third position with the top three riders being a huge eight seconds clear of the other riders to claim some very solid Championship points seeing him move up the standings to sixth in the championship.

Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati #46)

“It was a good, strong points haul of a weekend which was the target, that’s what we achieved. Podiums are a big benefit; at the minute we still have one eye on the showdown. I must ride and calculate risk against reward and all that considered I have beat the main guys immediately around me in the showdown and that was the first big tick. To get a couple of podiums along the way is great for myself, the team, and sponsors.

We still have some work to do on the bike and get it stronger for Snetterton. I think that will be a good track for us and I’m looking forward to getting there and some more strong results.”

Iain Hopcroft, Team Manager

“It was another positive weekend for the team, the crew worked hard all weekend with the updates on the bike to give Tommy a good package for the races and putting us in sixth in the Championship standings. I’d like to thank everyone involved in making this happen and we look forward to Snetterton.”

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.”