Bridewell Increases Championship Lead At Damp Brands Hatch
BeerMonster Ducati rider Tommy Bridewell further extended his lead in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship today following a wet race at Brands Hatch despite only managing a seventh-place finish.
After scorching to pole position as the rains came for round six of the series, Bridewell was confident going into the 12-lap Bike Social Sprint race and hit the front from the start.
However, he started to slip back as he suffered a misted visor and was holding seventh place when the red flags came out due to an oil spillage and because of the extent which needed an extensive clean up operation, the race was declared as of seven laps and half points awarded.
Teammate Glenn Irwin also struggled in the wet conditions and after starting seventh on the grid for the opening race, he settled into eighth place in the early stages as the rain continued to fall. But like Bridewell, he too suffered with issues during the race with a lack of grip and when the race was stopped early, he was classified in tenth place.
Tommy Bridewell: “Today’s race was very much damage limitation as we had a few issues which held us back. In qualifying the bike was brilliant, as it was in the dry, but in the race, I was struggling as I couldn’t physically see from the second lap onwards. I couldn’t see my pit board and could only really see the red light from the bike in front of me, so it wasn’t pleasant at all. It was disappointing as I felt I could have won the race but there’s a bit of joy too as none of the riders in front of me are championship rivals and with Glenn finishing behind me, I increased my lead slightly. Tomorrow’s another day and the weather looks good so I’m confident of being in a better position in the races.”
Glenn Irwin: “Everything’s gone well in the dry and in both FP3 and FP4 I was strong and although seventh on the grid wasn’t ideal, I felt confident of moving forward in the race. However, I also felt confident Tommy could win as he looked so strong but we both struggled in the race, and it felt like I had no grip. Fortunately for me, Tommy was only a couple of places ahead of me and with the half points, I’ve only lost marginally to him in the standings. It could have been a lot worse but tomorrow’s looking dry although I’m 14th on the grid for the first race so will have to pull some big moves to make up ground.”
Johnny Mowatt, Team Co-ordinator: “All in all, it’s been a positive weekend so far and both riders have shown exceptional pace in the dry, both over one lap and over longer race runs. They worked hard again in the practice sessions but obviously the rain came along which presented a different challenge but Tommy rode well to get pole position. Glenn opted for the harder tyre initially which was the wrong way to go and lost him time but both riders were confident for the race. Conditions were worse and both experienced problems in their first race on the bike in the wet but used their heads, rode solidly, and picked up more points than their main rivals. Tomorrow looks dry so we’ll go again then.”
The result sees Bridewell extend his lead in the series to 26.5 points over Irwin who in turn increased his lead in second place to 23.5 points ahead of Kyle Ryde going into tomorrow’s two races over 20 laps each.
British Superbike Championship – BikeSocial Sprint race (7 laps)
1 Ryan Vickers (Yamaha)
2 Danny Kent (Honda)
3 Christian Iddon (Ducati)
4 Jack Kennedy (Yamaha)
5 Jason O’Halloran (Yamaha)
6 Leon Haslam (BMW)
7 Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati)
10 Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati)
Championship Positions
1 Bridewell 221.5pts
2 Irwin 195
3 Ryde 171.5
4 Brookes 169.5
5 Haslam 169
6 O’Halloran 138.5
Pictures courtesy of Double Red: Glenn Irwin (2) and Tommy Bridewell (46) at Brands Hatch
