Tommy Bridewell (Superbike Advocates) took his best MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship result with fifth in Race 1 at MotorLand Aragon, fending off a late charge from Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) to claim a first top-five result. It continues a line of progression from the British rider, whose previous best result was set last time out in Czechia, before bettering it at the Aragon Round.
SUPERPOLE SUCCESS
Bridewell got off to a strong start on Saturday with eighth in the Tissot Superpole session after posting a 1’47.942s, but he was promoted to seventh after Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) received a back of the grid penalty. Bridewell’s time was just over a second off Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati), who claimed pole position, but a third row start gave him a strong platform for the 18-lap Race 1.
STORY OF RACE 1
In the race, Bridewell immediately jumped up to fifth from seventh on the grid, setting up behind both Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) and Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) who were in third and fourth, although the #14 got ahead of the Bimota rider on Lap 2. For about half the race, Bridewell stayed behind Alex Lowes, with the gap only over a second for the first time at the end of Lap 12.
However, Bridwell began to lose ground to Alex Lowes, and eventually had to start worrying about Baldassarri. The pair put up a great fight across the end of the race, with ‘Balda’ climbing all over the back of Bridewell’s Panigale V4R. However, the #46 had just enough in hand to hold on for fifth place – his best result in WorldSBK, which he previously set in Race 2 at the Autodrom Most last time out when he finished in P8.
“I’M LOST FOR WORDS… THIS WAS THE PIPE DREAM OF EVERYONE INVOLVED”
Reflecting on his P5, Bridewell said: “I’m lost for words to a certain degree… this was the pipe dream of probably everyone involved in some sense. The team was formed very last minute and now we’re stood here, finishing fifth in the world. The level of WorldSBK is exceptional. The pace honestly blows my mind sometimes with how fast we’re going! I’m super proud to be flying the flag for Superbike Advocates, Lee and his whole family have formed this team and put their faith in me. I think finishing fifth here at Aragon in WorldSBK, only my second time here, it’s testament to how well the whole team is doing. It just goes to show how well Ducati are working. Really proud to have such a great performance this early in our WorldSBK career.”
SUNDAY GOALS
The weekend so far has been defined by scorching conditions, and that is set to continue on Sunday for the Tissot Superpole Race and Race 2, albeit perhaps a couple of degrees cooler than it had been on Friday and Saturday. Bridewell previewed what he hopes to achieve on Sunday and how he aims to achieve it, noting that a lot of his results on Sunday will by the start of the Superpole Race.
He said: “The only question mark for me on Sunday at the moment is tyres, it’s a flip of the coin. Let’s see. The Superpole Race is quite important as it forms the grid for Race 2. I think we should be okay. We’ve got great one lap pace, great race pace, great raw pace but we need to get the start, get away and then we’ll be fine. We’ve got to enjoy these moments, enjoy this result, and then tomorrow we go again and do it all again hopefully!”
Can Bridewell improve on his P5 finish? Find out on Sunday from 09:00 Local Time (UTC+2) using the WorldSBK VideoPass – now 30% off!