There have been five different race winners already in 2023 but Bridewell leads his rivals on the BeerMonster Ducati ahead of three races this weekend. Ryde is closing though and last year his LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha team celebrated a treble win at Snetterton on their way to title victory, however only three points separate him from Glenn Irwin in third having both scored four race wins so far in 2023.
Irwin will want nothing more than to overhaul the pair this weekend on the second BeerMonster Ducati but two former Champions are equally ready to return to the podium this weekend. Josh Brookes and Leon Haslam are equal on points in the standings and both will be vying to be the top BMW Motorrad rider.
Jason O’Halloran had a double podium finish last time out at Knockhill and the McAMS Yamaha rider is ready to get back to winning ways at the circuit where he took his first ever Bennetts BSB race win. 2014 Moto2 World Champion Tito Rabat joins him in the McAMS Yamaha team for the next two rounds.
Lee Jackson has yet to score a podium finish in 2023 and he will be looking to change that this weekend with Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki, he holds an advantage over Ryan Vickers in the standings as the second LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha rider heads for his home round after a podium finish at Knockhill.
Christian Iddon and Jack Kennedy complete the top ten ahead of this weekend’s action, which will also feature Pirelli National Superstock Championship contender Franco Bourne making his debut in the Superbike class as he deputises for the injured Andrew Irwin at Honda Racing UK.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:
- Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati) 163
- Kyle Ryde (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) 155
- Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati) 152
- Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad Team) 136
- Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad) 136
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 98
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) 97
- Ryan Vickers (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) 85
- Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 78
- Jack Kennedy (Mar-Train Yamaha) 61
Tommy Bridewell
BeerMonster Ducati
“Knockhill was a strong weekend, I think to be honest Friday was really tough and I didn’t have a good feeling with the bike and the track. I felt like it was going to be quite a tough weekend so after Friday I said to myself ‘this is where I need to be able to turn the weekend around, I can’t have a bad weekend’.
“I think between myself and the team we really put our head down and worked out really exactly where I was riding incorrect, where the bike was incorrect, and it was a good mix of 50-50. I wasn’t riding properly for the circuit, so it was obviously nice to be able to recognise that and for the team to get the bike to help me with that as well.
“I think to be able to come out of Knockhill with the results that we did, after obviously in truth, a poor qualifying which hampered us in the first race, but then also hampered us for the second race as I wasn’t able to make the strongest lap times. So to start from tenth in race one, and ninth in race two, but to still come away with two podiums was a real big bonus.
“I think Knockhill was probably one of our strongest weekends up until now really which was good. Now going into Snetterton I am just full of confidence in all honesty. I am riding with a lot of confidence and going somewhere where I know the bike thrives let’s say. The one thing we do need to keep an eye on is tyre life and just see what the conditions and temperatures are like.
“I am really looking forward to Snetterton as we are coming back into circuits now that we expect to fight for the wins. At Knockhill I didn’t know where we would fare up, but at Snetterton I expect to be fighting from the start.”
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