Round 7 – Thruxton
Round 7 of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship took place at the ultra-fast Thruxton Circuit. Tommy Bridewell secured a solid eighth in race one and was fifth in the second race on the Oxford Racing Ducati. He is now lying in third place in the overall Championship.
It is always tough at Thruxton to get a good set-up for tyre life as the track is very abrasive but Tommy put in some good times during practice, we worked on tyre life for the race within the three sessions but with the variable temperature conditions it made this tricky. We excelled in qualifying putting the Oxford Racing Ducati on the front row in second giving us a good start and positive vibes for the races ahead.
Race 1
Tommy got a good start in the race and was fighting at the front but dropped back to fifth and was holding off challenges from other riders but he struggled with the heat in the track and his tyres. He dropped back to eighth at the end of the 20-lap race.
Race 2
For race two he started from seventh position, another good start saw him up in the leading bunch. However the race was red flagged twice, firstly due to rain and secondly for a large oil spillage. The race finally got re-started and it was an eight-lap dash. Tommy was fighting hard but the leaders made a small break and he had to settle for a strong fifth.
Tommy – “Ultimately I am disappointed but also it could have been a lot worse. I’m not the biggest fan of flat out tracks I prefer more technical stuff like Cadwell and Oulton Park. To come away with an eighth and fifth for me in my position in the Championship as a team doesn’t look good.
We had a tyre problem in race one where it over heated and that was semi out of our hands. Because the second race got stopped and started so much I had to run with the harder tyre and it just doesn’t have the same grip as the zeros. I think it was obvious on the TV we didn’t have the grip to push forwards.
We have some good Championship points and we are going to circuits that I prefer much more, Cadwell and Oulton wish I love. Josh rode a great race and all credit to him and we were second Ducati. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season now.”