A stirring start for Bridewell in practice at home track Donington

Superbike Advocates Racing and Tommy Bridewell are at Donington Park for the UK WorldSBK round, a very important home event for the veteran British rider and his Anglo-Australian squad.

Heading into his home round with a positive outlook after a series of strong results at recent rounds, WorldSBK rookie Bridewell used FP1 to make a series of setup adjustments to his Panigale V4R. Taking a methodical approach in order to be best prepared for Saturday’s Superpole, Tommy completed seventeen laps, the best of which in 1’26.737. Placing a temporary twelfth at the end of this first phase, the Brit rider and his team were confident they could do more.

The second of three WorldSBK practices ran later in the day in very hot and humid conditions (air 32°C, track 43°C). Racing in front of many of his fans this weekend, a motivated Tommy soon shaved a good half second off his earlier time, projecting himself into sixth position. Despite a brief interruption to the session following an incident for another rider, Bridewell remained focused and made the most of the track time. His best lap of the afternoon, completed in 1’26.180, saw him round out this second session in ninth position, which translated into P10 in the day’s combined standings.

Superbike Advocates Racing will be back out tomorrow to continue its campaign at home track Donington, lining up for a final free practice before attention turns to the Superpole qualifying and the first of the weekend’s 23-lap races.

Tommy Bridewell (Superbike Advocates Racing #46)
“Today was a positive day. FP1 went okay, just a standard first session really, in that it always takes me a while to get going. After that first practice, we could see from the data that we needed to make a change to the electronics to help us with corner entry. So, we made quite a significant modification and that immediately made a big difference. I think if we can make another small change again tomorrow, and if I can improve through sector four, then I think we can be lying somewhere around the top five, which would be fantastic. We’ll keep working this evening and see if we can that extra step we need to be ready for the races.”

Local hero Tommy Bridewell a fantastic fifth in Race 1 at Donington Park

Tommy Bridewell and the Superbike Advocates Racing team continue to enjoy an extremely positive home WorldSBK round as the local rider crosses the line a fantastic fifth in the first of the weekend’s races at historic Donington Park!

To mark what is a home event for both rider and team, the Anglo-Australian squad unveiled a special Union-Jack inspired livery for its Panigale V4 R, which Tommy debuted on track in Saturday’s Race 1.

The day had begun with a final practice, which gave Bridewell the opportunity to assess the technical setup of his Ducati and make some final adjustments ahead of Superpole. In much cooler conditions with respect to Friday’s practices, the home rider was able to find another half second during this brief 20-minute session, finishing sixth in the combined practice results with a time of 1’25.615.

Feeling well prepared for Superpole, Bridewell and his team wasted no time when the short session got underway. Immediately putting in a fast 1’25.5, Tommy returned to the pits to switch to fresh tyres. Knowing he had the potential to improve on his initial time, the local rider went all out in the final minutes of this 15-minute phase. Unfortunately, as was the case for many riders on track this morning, his fastest lap time was cancelled due to a yellow flag, which denied him a second row start. Bridewell’s final valid time, an impressive 1’25.396, was nevertheless sufficient to secure him a spot on row three of the grid, in ninth position.

Race 1 ran according to schedule in warm, sunny conditions. Looking for a strong start from P9, the Superbike Advocates Racing rider made up three places off the line to position himself at the back of the leading group. Lapping a little quicker than his closest rivals, Tommy moved up into fifth in the early stages. Demonstrating very fast pace from start to finish, a resolute Bridewell remained within half a second of fellow Ducati rider Sam Lowes until the final stages. Struggling a little with chatter along the straight, Tommy continued to push to the line, closing this first race of the weekend in fifth place and matching his best result of the season so far.

With the points scored today, Bridewell moves up into fifteenth position in the championship standings. And there’s more to come, as the Brit will be back on track on Sunday, when the Superpole race and second full-length SBK race will round out this UK WorldSBK round.

Tommy Bridewell (Superbike Advocates Racing #46)
“There’s something extra special about racing at home when you’re a WorldSBK rider – it definitely spurs you on! What a race, and an unbelievable effort from the team. We actually had a slight issue from around mid-race on, in that I was struggling with some chatter along the straight. We might not necessarily have been able to do any more, but it made the situation a little more difficult to manage. But I can say I rode with my heart today, and we were able to equal our best ever result. The podium is in sight, but we need to be realistic. I’ll take it when it’s there but I’m not going to do anything stupid to make it happen. But a great weekend so far; let’s see what tomorrow brings!”

Bridewell P7 in Sunday’s Superpole Race at Donington Park

Superbike Advocates Racing rounds out this eighth WorldSBK round at Donington Park with some unfortunate luck in Race 2. Fifth in Saturday’s race 1 and a strong seventh in Sunday’s Superpole race, home rider Tommy Bridewell was sadly prevented from completing the final SBK race due to a technical problem.

Ninth on the grid for the morning’s Superpole Race, Tommy maximized the first turns and moved straight up to seventh. Lapping with times almost identical to those of his closest rivals, the Brit oscillated between sixth and eighth position with his Panigale V4 R during this short ten-lap sprint. Closing in on Vierge on the last lap, a well-timed pass assured him of P7 across the line, less than 8 seconds from the winner. This result equals his previous best Superpole race finish at Aragón and benefitted Bridewell in terms of grid position for the weekend’s final race.

P7 on the grid thanks to his earlier Superpole race result, Tommy lined up for Race 2. Immediately up into fifth when the lights went out, Bridewell chased hot on the heels of the Lowes brothers. Sixth on lap eight and looking strong, the Brit suffered an unexpected technical problem that forced him to immediately return to the pits and retire from the race. An unfortunate end to a very positive weekend. Nevertheless, with the points scored in the first of the weekend’s races, the Superbike Advocates Racing rider positions fifteenth in the classification, with a tally of 59 points.

Having dominated the first eight rounds of the 2026 championship, Ducati has banked the maximum possible points in the manufacturer’s standings – 496 to date – and currently lies 276 points clear of its nearest rival. This means that the Bolognese constructor has secured the manufacturer’s title, with four rounds of the championship yet to run.

The championship now takes a summer break, with the action set to resume on 4-6 September, when the France’s Magny-Cours circuit will stage the ninth WorldSBK round.

Tommy Bridewell (Superbike Advocates Racing #46)
“This morning’s Superpole race was okay. I was happy enough, and although we had a small issue, I was able to manage it over just ten laps. We didn’t get too punished, and I was able to bring it home in seventh. I’m gutted about Race 2 of course, for me and the team, but we’ve had a really positive weekend overall, particularly finishing P5 in Saturday’s race.

The start of this afternoon’s race was tougher, and it was so windy through sectors 1 and 2 that I had a hard time managing the lap. I again suffered with some chattering, but it was a pity I couldn’t finish because I think we were on course for another good result.

Overall though, this weekend has shown that our level continues to increase, and I think we should now expect to be regularly fighting for the kind of result we achieved in Race 1. There are things I need to improve in terms of my riding, but we now have the long summer break in which to keep working. A big thanks to the team – they’ve done an amazing job this weekend.”