Donington Park Podium Sends Bridewell Top of the Table

With a brand-new track surface providing the fastest ever laps around the Donington Park GP circuit and in almost perfect conditions, both riders consolidated their starting positions on the opening lap as they crossed the line in fourth and fifth with Bridewell the better placed of the two.
 
As the race progressed, it was Bridewell who had the better pace, breaking the lap record twice on successive laps, which elevated him to second place behind leader Kyle Ryde, as he fended Leon Haslam off in third.
 
However, Bridewell managed to hang on and take runner-up position for his fifth podium of the season as Ryde took the victory. Irwin, meanwhile, moved up to fourth on the fourth lap and ran on his own for much of the race but lost ground in the closing stages and he had to settle for fifth at the chequered flag. Nevertheless, the duo remains in first and second in the championship table.
 
Tommy Bridewell: “I’m happy enough with second as it was a good, solid ride. I was putting pressure on Kyle as much as I could whilst also being put under pressure by Leon all race. I made an average start and dropped back a bit and by the time I got up to second, Kyle had opened a bit of a gap which I was never able to pull back. Getting off the line is something I need to work on but fair play to Kyle, he never put a wheel wrong although I did feel I was stronger on some parts of the course than him. The bike was faultless, and the pace was good so full credit to the team although we’ll have to think about tomorrow’s races a bit more in terms of looking after the tyre but second is great and we’re consistently running at the front.”
 
Glenn Irwin: “The weekend started with a difficult FP1, but we improved steadily throughout practice and Superpole and I thought we could fight for a podium but right from the beginning of the race, there was something not quite right with the rear tyre. The grip was a little bit unpredictable but with the bike we had, it was the best I could do. It’s frustrating not to have been on the podium, at least, but at the same time, fifth is not too bad a result. It’s good points, we haven’t lost any ground to our main rivals and I’m still only a point behind Tommy so let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”
 
Johnny Mowatt, Team Co-ordinator: “We’re happy enough with today’s results as it’s been more difficult than normal finding a set-up during practice and qualifying, but both sides of the garage worked hard to put themselves in a good position for the race. Superpole offered another challenge as you need to be so precise and smooth, but the front two rows were what we wanted so fair play to the boys for achieving that. Tommy got away well in the race and had good pace which enabled him to take a good podium and although Glenn had an issue with the rear, he still scored some good, solid points. Tomorrow’s longer races normally suit our bikes, but we’ll look at the data to ensure we’re as prepared as always.”
 
Tomorrow’s races, held over the longer distance of 20 laps, are scheduled to start at 13:15 and 16:30 respectively.
 
Bennetts British Superbike Championship Race One – BikeSocial Sprint (12 laps)
1 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha)
2 Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati)
3 Leon Haslam (BMW)
4 Lee Jackson (Kawasaki)
5 Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati)
6 Josh Brookes (BMW)
 
Championship Standings
1 Bridewell 103pts
2 Irwin 102
3 Brookes 97
4 Ryde 91
5 Haslam 90
6 Jackson 49
 
Images courtesy of Double Red: Glenn Irwin (2) and Tommy Bridewell (46) in action at Donington Park.