Quay Garage Honda rider Tommy Bridewell caused a sensation at the opening round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch today but as it turned out luck wasn't on his side following a pair of non finishes.

Riding the ex Shakey Byrne 2007 Honda Fireblade the 21 year old from Etchilhampton in Wiltshire continued his fantastic weekend form when he made a superb start in today's opening 30-lap race from his row two starting position as he slotted into fourth place during the opening laps. Eventually Bridewell made a move into third and he chased Suzuki's Tommy Hill and Honda ace Ryuichi Kiyonari and gradually closed them down.

Bridewell was looking good for a podium but then disaster struck when he slid out at Graham Hill Bend on lap 14 luckily without injury but much to his disappointment.

Looking to make amends in race two, again Bridewell made a fantastic start and held fourth place in the opening stages as he chased the leading trio of James Ellison, Josh Brookes and Tommy Hill. However as he battled to maintain his position he clashed with Suzuki rider Michael Laverty which resulted in Bridewell crashing out at Druids Corner and out of the race as a result again.

Despite two non scores, the Quay Garage Honda team were reasonably satisfied with their performances this weekend which has placed both the team and Bridewell firmly in the BSB spotlight and they are hoping to continue their good form with a bit better luck at their local track of Thruxton in Hampshire in two weeks time.


Tommy Bridewell:

"I'm very disappointed with today as I felt that we could have been on the podium and had some good results. I knew my race pace was very strong and I could run at the front. The bike was handling absolutely amazingly today and the Quay Garage team have done an absolutely fantastic job and it's just a shame I couldn't repay them with two good results. We've made an impression on the BSB Championship that we are going to be there or thereabouts even though we didn't get much of a result this weekend. I'm looking forward to our local track at Thruxton where the bike works really well and I hope we can continue from here and get a couple of good results."

Ian Woollacott, team owner:

"Although we've not wrapped up any points this weekend I think it's fair to say that Tommy has been an absolute star and that our bike is very competitive. The fact that we are running on a fraction of what the other top teams are spending just shows how good the package is and I'd like to thank Tommy for doing a great job for us this weekend and also to John and James Buckingham who are as much responsible for this result as anyone. Roll on Thruxton and hopefully we can have another good performance and stick the bike in amongst the front runners again."

MCE British Superbike Championship Race 1 - 30 laps

Tommy Bridewell (Quay Garage Honda) 13 laps - DNF

1 Tommy Hill (Suzuki) 23m10.296s
2 Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +0.723s
3 James Ellison (Honda) +4.607s
4 Alastair Seeley (Suzuki) +4.655s
5 Josh Brookes (Honda) +8.785s
6 Stuart Easton (Honda) +10.598s
7 Michael Rutter (Ducati) +11.856s
8 Dan Linfoot (Yamaha) +20.079s
9 Chris Walker (Suzuki) +20.211s
10 John Laverty (Kawasaki) +20.585s


MCE British Superbike Championship Race 2 - 30 laps

Tommy Bridewell (Quay Garage Honda) 9 laps - DNF

1 James Ellison (Honda) 23m03.278s
2 Tommy Hill (Suzuki) +0.186s
3 Alastair Seeley (Suzuki) +4.925s
4 Michael Laverty (Suzuki) +6.711s
5 Stuart Easton (Honda) +22.050s
6 Michael Rutter (Ducati) +22.203s
7 John Laverty (Kawasaki) +27.328s
8 Simon Andrews (Kawasaki) +29.841s
9 Martin Jessopp (Ducati) +35.885s
10 Steve Brogan (BMW) +37.489s