Tommy Bridewell made a successful return to British Superbike action at Croft with two top ten finishes to his name.
The Tyco Honda rider was forced to miss the last round at Oulton Park after an accident in free practice left him without enough spare parts to rebuild the CBR1000RR, but the 22 year old made no such mistake this time on his way to 18th on the grid.
Steady drizzle made tyre choice difficult for the first race of the day, but Bridewell's decision to start on a wet front tyre and intermediate rear tyre paid off as he battled his way up to tenth.
Race two was run in much more stable conditions and Bridewell produced another stellar performance. Despite starting 16th, the Wiltshire man ran with the leading group for much of the race and although he finished tenth again, he was only 9.657s behind race-winner and fellow Honda rider Shane 'Shakey' Byrne.
Bridewell was relieved to get his season back on track, and is confident that the next round at Thruxton will play to the strengths of the Fireblade machine.
“We needed a good couple of finishes this weekend and the top ten was my aim at least so I’m pleased I’ve achieved that. In race one, the conditions were so difficult as it kept raining and then stopping I was just pleased to bring the bike home and in race two, once I found my rhythm, I felt confident running with the pack and was unlucky not to perhaps finish a place or two higher. I’m really looking forward to my home race at Thruxton in two weeks time, as I missed it last year through injury, and I think the Tyco Honda will be strong round there too.”
With three weekends of the season gone, Bridewell is 14th in the championship with 28 points, and will hope to make up ground on the top six when he returns to Hampshire next weekend.
