Bridewell makes great strides in qualifying and recovers well in Race 1 at Assen

A sound first WorldSBK race for Superbike Advocates Racing rider Tommy Bridewell, who crosses the line P13 at the TT Circuit Assen.

The day began with a final practice, which allowed team and rider to carry out further checks and adjustments prior to Superpole. Tommy shaved another seven tenths off his previous best time (1’34.093) and was feeling confident heading into the all-important qualifying session.

Superpole ran in the late morning, in dry, overcast conditions. Tommy made a first exit on race rubber before switching to the qualifying tyre for the final stages of this brief 15-minute phase. His quickest time came in the final moments, with the Brit putting in a 1’33.231, a little over one second from pole. This strong reference meant that Bridewell secured a spot on the fourth row of the grid for Race 1, in eleventh place.

As the lights went out on Race 1, Bridewell made a good start but then lost significant ground through T1. Quick to react, the British rider made up several places through the opening laps, climbing to fifteenth by lap four. Once inside the points zone, Tommy continued to lap with consistently fast pace, gradually closing in on his two closest rivals. Rain started to fall with seven laps to go, but this nothing to deter the Superbike Advocates Racing rider, who powered his Ducati Panigale V4R across the line in thirteenth position. Bridewell scores another three points as a result, with the team confident that they can do more in Sunday’s races.

Tommy Bridewell (Superbike Advocates Racing #46)
“A really positive day, all in all. I think we had a good strong qualifying and I was very happy with my lap time. We’re learning as a team and combining all our different experience to make progress, which worked very well in qualifying. As for the race, I was a bit gutted because I made a good start and knew I had good pace but heading into T1, I just found myself in the wrong place, running outside of Baldassari who pushed me off track after he came into contact with another rider. That saw me drop from around P9 to almost the back of the field. I knew straight away it was going to be a difficult race, but I went straight into attack mode and managed to pass quite a few riders on the first couple of laps. From there I just chipped away, moving back up to thirteenth in the end. I’m a little disappointed with the final position, but my pace was super strong, stronger than the group ahead, which allowed me to close in on those guys. We take the positives and have strong pace, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s races.”