Bridewell hoping to enjoy the end of a good, successful season.

Oxford Products Ducati rider Tommy Bridewell was upbeat about his season in a behind the scenes interview with Eurosport’s Steve Day, who caught up with Tommy after the free practice sessions.

Oxford Products Ducati rider Tommy Bridewell – Image Courtesy of Official BSB

The man sitting in third place in the Showdown standings is fully aware of the job on hand this weekend but more than anything, Bridewell is hoping for an enjoyable finish to what has been a good, successful season for himself and Steve Moore’s team.

“A good day today. It’s fairly easy really. We know what we have to do. We just have to go out and win the races, but I think ultimately, I just want to enjoy the last round of the season to be honest. There’s been so much going on outside of racing, with losing riders and that just puts it all into perspective really. In truth we are all good mates off track, but all enemies on track. I just want to have fun and enjoy racing the bike. It’s been a pleasure working with the team and having another good, successful year together. What will be will be and I’m not going to overcomplicate it. It’s fairly obvious Brad certainly has a hand (or even a hand and half) on the trophy, but when there’s that glimmer of hope, as a racer, it’s what motivates you, it’s what drives us. If I wasn’t mathematically able to win the championship, I’d still try as hard but there’s that extra little bit of fire in your belly to really say “It isn’t over till it’s over” so we are out tomorrow to have a good, safe race and see where we end up at the end of it.”

When asked about his highlights and lowlights of 2022, amongst others being the only rider to make it into Qualifying 2 every round of the season…

“Yes, I have 100% success rate for going straight into Q2. Before they brought in the new format where the top 12 are straight through to Q2, I was terrible on a Friday. It didn’t mean that much barring a bit of testing and analyzing the bike. As soon as they brought that in, it was like you HAD to be top 12, so ever since they brought that in, I’ve been inside the top 12 so it’s great to keep that one going.”

“This season all in all has been tough. We’ve had hard times on trying to understand the dynamics of the bike. The weight distribution has been a bit tricky but this last part of the year, we have really chipped away at it and got a lot better at it. I know it’s a bit late in the game, but Donington was a really good turning point for us where I got a really good inroad with it and it felt a lot better and we can translate it here to Brands Hatch.”

Bridewell sits 67 points behind Ray in the championship. He effectively needs to win all three races this weekend and Ray to DNF the entire round to take the championship. A very unlikely situation but as Oulton Park proved, antying can happen in bike racing.

 

Glenn Irwin aiming for race wins and second place in the championship, to top off his year of achievements.

The popular British Superbike and Road Racing Superstar was interviewed by Eurosport’s Steve Day, on Friday after the free practice sessions. Asked if Glenn was satisfied with how things have come on this year, the Honda Racing UK rider responded in the typical, eloquent Glenn Irwin fashion to which he has become known for.

Honda Racing Uk – Glenn Irwin – Image Courtesy of Official BSB

Yeah, in particular the last few rounds have been really enjoyable. It’s always enjoyable when you take a step with the bike. Probably from here back to Thruxton about 5 rounds ago, I made a step in myself with some old injuries I’ve never been able to get fixed. I’ve managed to get on top of them and since then, it’s been really enjoyable.”

“A massive task to overhaul Brad this weekend and a real strange one too. There’s been a lot going on with Chrissy Rouse and Victor Steeman, so as much as we need Brad to have a ton of bad luck you also don’t want to wish that he slips off and puts himself out of the weekend. We have seen it happen with Kiyo and I’m aware it can happen, but if something like that did happen, you have to grab the bull by the horns. I think the realistic thing is to fight with Tommy [Bridewell], Lee [Jackson] and Jason [O’Halloran] for second place.”

“It’s been a year of overachievement is how I would assess it so far to put the Honda right in amongst everyone. Two wins at the NorthWest 200, fastest newcomer at the Isle of Man TT and if we can wrap up second in the British Championship, then it’s been a real step forward.”

When asked about his current fitness and how he’s feeling after a year-long struggle with injuries resulting from a mega crash in pre-season testing…

“I feel better than ever but I also feel I can be a lot more. It was a very tough start to the year but my attitude is, [after a pause] well I just have determination. That’s my quality over everyone else. I think I am an ok bike rider that puts my heart and soul into everything to do with it and now I’m in a good place physically, I’m enjoying the Honda so let’s at least try and leave with a race win this weekend, that’s the target. Let’s go for that and see what happens.”

Glenn is currently 66 points behind Brad Ray going into the weekend and, in the same case of Tommy Bridewell, can only consider race wins to keep his title hopes alive.

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