Brands Hatch final - Round 11

It was the final round of the British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch this weekend. Tommy Bridewell and the Oxford Products Ducati Racing had a strong end to the season with a fourth, fifth and fourth in the three races. Tommy also secured a fantastic third place in the overall Championship standings, marking another successful season with the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team.

The weather was mixed again this weekend so track time was limited, Friday was half wet half dry, and just not worth going out there too much and risking doing damage during practice.

Tommy got through to the Superbikes qualifying two session and qualified for the opening race on the front row, in third. Come the race he had a steady start and had to make some progress through the pack, the leaders had made a break at this point and Tommy had to settle for fourth.

For race two he started from second place on the grid, but disaster struck just before the warm-up lap and a small technical problem saw him being wheeled off the grid. The team quickly found the issue and Tommy was forced to start from pit-lane, re-joining the pack many seconds off the last man. He got his head down and focussed on the job in hand, picking off rider after rider, lap after lap. His determination got him through to fifth place by the end of the race, a great achievement (and a great race to watch if you haven’t seen it).

For the final race of the year, he was placed in fifth position, another steady start saw the leaders make a break. Tommy was fighting hard with Peter Hickman on the closing laps, and he gained another fourth place and third in the Championship standings.

This was the last race for Tommy and the Oxford Products Ducati Racing team after a great four and a half years together. The team would like to wish Tommy all the best for his future and thank him for his time with them. Also, a huge thank you to Oxford Products and all our other loyal sponsors. The team are looking forward to a strong 2023 with new riders.

Tommy Bridewell: “It was another strong weekend; it was good to end the season with three good solid race results. I was gutted not to get any race wins, but we did have good strong race pace. My highlight was starting from pit lane and managing to get up to fifth place!

It was nice to end the season on some strong results. As most are aware it was my last race with the team, I’d like to wish the team every success in their future and a huge thank you for everything they have done for me.”

Iain Hopcroft: “It was another great way to end the season, the team have performed so well this year with a great performance in the last three races at Brands Hatch.

The team can’t thank Tommy enough for the last four and half years, it’s been a lot of fun and podium pudding!

For 2023 we have the exciting news starting our Supersport challenge, alongside a strong Superbike rider.”

Donington Park - Round 10

Tommy Bridewell and the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team kept their Championship hopes alive during the weekend at Donington Park by securing an eighth, sixth and fourth place in the three British Superbike races.

Friday was a wash out so dry track time over the weekend was limited and Tommy was struggling with set-up during qualifying and race one.

He managed to qualify in 11th for the opening race on Saturday and this was always going to be tricky to fight for a podium from that far back. He worked hard and did what he could to finish in eighth place.

Tommy progressed up the grid to ninth for race two on Sunday and got a good start, but the leaders had bridged a gap as he made a break, he was fighting for fourth but ran wide with Jason O’Halloran on the last corner and finished in sixth.

For the final race of the weekend, Tommy started from eighth on the grid, he pushed hard and got to the back of the leaders but had to settle for fourth position.

He is still third in the overall Championship standings, and anything could happen at Brands Hatch so the team will keep fighting and pushing hard until the final race of the series this year.

The whole Oxford Products Racing Ducati team would like to send our thoughts and best wishes to Chrissy Rouse and hope he can make a speedy recovery.

Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati #46)
“It was a tough weekend to get the bike to do what I wanted. We struggled all weekend with rear grip which hampered us throughout. I’m a little disappointed to have lost a big points gap on Brad but all in all we will just have to try and bounce back to Brands and have a strong weekend there.”

Iain Hopcroft, Team Manager
“Despite beating our teams personal best we just couldn’t find the pace to fight at the front. We are now looking forward to Brands where we will fight for every point we can muster!”

Oulton Park - Round 9

It was an eventful but incredible start to the Showdown for the Oxford Products Ducati Racing team at Oulton Park this weekend, with Tommy Bridewell riding amazingly well at one of his favourite circuits to secure two second places and a brilliant win.

He was consistently fast from the start and the practice sessions went well with a couple of small changes. He got straight through to the Superpicks 12 qualifying session and started the opening race on Saturday from the front row in second.

He had a good start and looked strong throughout the whole race and consistently battling for a podium position. He managed to make a break on third place but was unable to catch leader Brad Ray, finishing in second place.

For race two on Sunday afternoon, he started from third on the grid. Another good start saw him fighting at the front but unfortunately Tommy had a coming together with Jason O’Halloran, the race was red-flagged due to another incident on circuit and Tommy was given a 15 second penalty so he had to start from 22nd place. He worked his way through the pack on the re-start, but another red flag saw him line up in 7th on the grid. Once the race finally got underway it was a 7-lap dash to the finish, Tommy worked hard and eventually got himself to second place and a good handful of Championship points.

For the final race of the weekend, Tommy dropped back to the second row in fourth place due to a penalty from race two. The race was cut slightly shorter to 15-laps, but Tommy was eager for another strong result. It was a real battle at the front and several riders were in the mix for the win. Tommy made some strong moves and got himself to the front of the pack. He kept focussed for the remainder of the race to take an impressive win, elevating himself from eighth in the Championship standings to second!

Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati #46)|
“Firstly I must apologise to Jason and McAMS for the incident in race two, I’m sorry and that is never my intention to do anything like that and it’s not the way I ride.

It was a strong and positive weekend to come away with two seconds and a first. I feel like we made some positive steps to understand the bike and get the best out of the package. I think we can make some good leaps at Donington before the races.

I’m still in with a chance of this Championship and I will be fighting until the last race at Brands to ensure we do all we can.”

Iain Hopcroft, Team Manager
“Oulton Park did not disappoint once again! Our favourite track mixed with some great riding and awesome teamwork made for a dramatic weekend. Now we can really fight for this Championship, bring on Donington!”

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.”