Bridewell targets Showdown
Bridewell bags his first win of 2021 to edge closer to Showdown
‘I feel good on the bike,I have the pace again’
Tommy Bridewell made his return to the top step at Donington, becoming the fifth different winner of the 2021 BSB season.
In the tricky weather of race three, Bridewell chose the intermediate front and rear Pirellis – tyres which he hadn’t previously used – and it paid off. Bridewell led most of the race and converted his advantage into victory, the fifth of his BSB career and his first since race three of the opening round at Donington just over a year ago. The victory caps off a brilliant return to form for Bridewell and the Oxford Products Racing
Ducati team, who endured a tough 2020 campaign on the V4 R due to constant chatter. The team worked hard over the winter to rectify the issue, and they’re now getting back to their performances of 2019, when they pushed PBM’s Scott Redding and Josh Brookes all season long. “It feels mega,” Bridewell told MCN. “Although, I feel slight frustration for not forcing the issue earlier in the year. At Oulton I had the pace to win but 2020 was hard, so when we rolled out of the blocks in 2021 going ‘ah yes, we’re back, I feel good on the bike, I’m happy, and I have the pace again’, it’s nice to consolidate it with podiums, so I probably rode a bit too safe. “The good part is that we can cause chatter in a blink of an eye, but in 2020 we couldn’t quite put our finger on how to get rid of it. Now, we can dance with the devil a little bit, so to speak, because if I get chatter, I’m f**ked, basically. But we know now what causes it and we know what the bike needs to get rid of it. We just work on that basis.” The Ducati V4 R continues to be a strong bike, with seven victories and 22 podiums in 2020 being followed by three wins and 12 podiums so far in 2021. Bridewell is happy again, telling MCN that the machine is working, almost, perfectly for him at this stage.
“We’re still learning, we’ve got to make the bike a little easier to ride, a little nimbler. I think we’re back to where I know we need to be, the ball is rolling, we’ve just got to get it rolling a little faster.
“With the way I’m riding and the way the team and bike are working, I fully expect to be, and should be, fighting for race wins and podiums on a very regular basis from now on.” Bridewell now has 13 podium credits – 10 behind secondplaced Christian Iddon - and sits fifth overall in the standings.