May 1st is a bank holiday in the UK, and Tommy Bridewell made the most of the extra day to post an exceptional performance at the Oulton Park weekender.
Round two of the British Superbikes Championship was another chance to see how each of the riders and their bikes were performing in the early going of the campaign.
And it was a double celebration for Bridewell, who was undoubtedly the rider of the weekend to go with team honors for his BeerMonster sponsored, Paul Bird-engineered Ducati.
The 34-year-old claimed victory in race two and posted the fastest lap in races one and three to confirm that he, and his BeerMonster Ducati vessel, are in fine shape ahead of an expected run at the title.
It’s amazing to think that a veteran like Bridewell is yet to claim the British Superbikes Championship, despite first taking his seat in the saddle back in 2010.
But finally his wait could be over – if the BSB betting odds for 2023 are anything to go by, anyway. Bridewell is the current favorite with the sportsbooks at 13/5, with FHO Racing’s Josh Brookes (3/1), ROKiT man Leon Haslam (13/2) and OMG Racing’s Kyle Ryde (13/2) considered the most likely to challenge him for the silverware.
The most pleasing aspect for the Ducati-powered team is that Bridewell’s colleague Glenn Irwin has also been involved in the business end of the action so far. He won race three at Oulton Park after taking pole, while at the opening weekend at Silverstone, Irwin won – and delivered the fastest lap – in race three.
Northern Ireland’s Glenn Irwin wins at Oulton Park to lead the British Superbike Championship
— BBC SPORT NI (@BBCSPORTNI) May 1, 2023
All is going very nicely in the camp, and Bridewell looks likely to be the chief beneficiary of such positivity.
With just two of eleven rounds gone of the 2023 British Superbikes Championship, it goes without saying that there’s plenty of racing to come – with the lead likely to change hands at the top of the standings on numerous occasions.
Just four points currently separate Bridewell, Irwin and Brookes at the summit of the table, but perhaps the key here is that in the six races thus far, the Ducati pair have finished outside of the podium places on just three occasions.
That’s testament to the bike’s reliability but also the quality of the riders, and Bridewell can finally start to dream about the ultimate glory in British motorbike racing.
He finished second in 2021, just 36 points behind Tarran MacKenzie. The Scot has since gone on to the world circuit via the Supersport promotion, but all could have been different had Bridewell not gotten off to such a sluggish start – he didn’t break his duck that season until race 15.
Third in both 2014 and 2019, Bridewell has thrived in BSB largely thanks to his point-winning consistency – he’d only ever won eight races prior to the start of the 2023 campaign.
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This is your 2023 @bennetts_bike British Superbike Championship calendar – put the dates in your diary now 朗 pic.twitter.com/IrGsE6OrlK
— Bennetts British Superbike Championship (@OfficialBSB) November 23, 2022
Five of those victories have come at Oulton Park, so some would argue that Bridewell has already played his trump card at his favorite track – the action won’t return there until September.
Whether Bridewell is still in the mix at the top of the standings then remains to be seen, but he could barely have wished for a better start to the season.