Tommy Bridewell finishes 3rd in the 2019 British Superbike Championship

The final round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship took place this weekend at Brands Hatch. Tommy Bridewell and the Oxford Racing Ducati team had everything to play for going into the last round and they had to ensure they worked hard to secure third place in the Championship.

With three races this weekend Tommy was eager for some good results, he secured a second, third and another second in a nail biting final race of the day.

Tommy worked hard with the team throughout the weekend to find a good set up on the Ducati but with mixed conditions again on Friday and Saturday morning they did not get as much track time as they would have liked.

They went into qualifying having only completed 11-laps and the Oxford Racing Ducati team still qualified on the second row in fourth place. Tommy got a steady start and was fourth for the opening few laps but he was soon working his way through the field up to second and was chasing down Brookes for the lead when the red flag came out.

The race was re-started over 12-laps and Tommy started from second. He made some really good progress through the race and made up over a second on Brookes but he just wasn’t able to make a solid clean pass on him for the win as they were both so strong throughout the race. Tommy gained another brilliant second place.

For race two he started from the front row in second place, he dropped to fourth after the opening lap but soon got his head down and was working his way through the pack. Once again he found himself behind Brookes in second and battling for the win. Scott Redding was making progress through the field and was soon involved in the fight for the podium, he made a pass on Tommy and the trio fought to the end of the 20-laps with Tommy finishing in third place.

Tommy set the fastest lap in race two and was sat on pole position for the final race of the 2019 season. He got another great start and was second to Brookes again; he kept the pressure on for the 20-laps but just couldn’t make the pass for the lead taking second.

However it is fantastic that Tommy and the Oxford Racing Ducati team have secured third place in the Championship standings, 18 podiums including one win. We are delighted with the overall result and how the team have performed throughout the season.

Tommy Bridewell: “I’m definitely happy. I feel proud of our achievements this year. PBM have vast experience in this Championship and to be able to match, beat and equal them this year is so good for all the Oxford Racing Ducati team. They have pushed us all season and it’s proved the bikes are very evenly matched and it’s all down to rider preference in the end.

We all come racing to win but we are all very proud of what we’ve managed to do this year. It’s been a pleasure to ride alongside Josh and Scott all year, the racing has been fun, clean and respectful which makes it what it is. I’ve genuinely enjoyed racing alongside them all year. Congratulations to Scott on winning the Championship and I wish him all the best in WSBK next year.

Thank you to Ducati Corse for providing such a great bit of kit for us to be able to do this and also my Oxford Racing Ducati team who have been phenomenal all season, I can’t thank them enough. I’m looking forward to 2020.”

Iain Hopcroft, Team Manager: “What an amazing season we have had, as a team our goal was to be within the top six at the end of the year. We never dreamed we would be fighting for a title the first year with this new bike but after the first few rounds we found ourselves leading the Championship so our strategy changed.

I am so proud of what the team has accomplished and especially Tommy riding his heart out. We are all looking forward to 2020 and going a step.”