It was the final round of the British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch this weekend. Tommy Bridewell and the Oxford Products Ducati Racing had a strong end to the season with a fourth, fifth and fourth in the three races. Tommy also secured a fantastic third place in the overall Championship standings, marking another successful season with the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team.
The weather was mixed again this weekend so track time was limited, Friday was half wet half dry, and just not worth going out there too much and risking doing damage during practice.
Tommy got through to the Superbikes qualifying two session and qualified for the opening race on the front row, in third. Come the race he had a steady start and had to make some progress through the pack, the leaders had made a break at this point and Tommy had to settle for fourth.
For race two he started from second place on the grid, but disaster struck just before the warm-up lap and a small technical problem saw him being wheeled off the grid. The team quickly found the issue and Tommy was forced to start from pit-lane, re-joining the pack many seconds off the last man. He got his head down and focussed on the job in hand, picking off rider after rider, lap after lap. His determination got him through to fifth place by the end of the race, a great achievement.
For the final race of the year, he was placed in fifth position, another steady start saw the leaders make a break. Tommy was fighting hard with Peter Hickman on the closing laps, and he gained another fourth place and third in the Championship standings.
This was the last race for Tommy and the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team after a great four and a half years together. The team would like to wish Tommy all the best for his future and thank him for his time with them. Also, a huge thank you to Oxford Products and all our other loyal sponsors. The team are looking forward to a strong 2023 with new riders.
Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati #46)
2022 Bennetts British Superbike Championship - 3rd
“It was another strong weekend; it was good to end the season with three good solid race results. I was gutted not to get any race wins, but we did have good strong race pace. My highlight was starting from pit lane and managing to get up to fifth place!
It was nice to end the season on some strong results. As most are aware it was my last race with the team, I'd like to wish the team every success in their future and a huge thank you for everything they have done for me.”
Iain Hopcroft
Team Manager, Oxford Products Racing Ducati
“It was another great way to end the season, the team have performed so well this year with a great performance in the last three races at Brands Hatch. The team can't thank Tommy enough for the last four and half years, it's been a lot of fun and podium pudding!
For 2023 we have the exciting news starting our Supersport challenge, alongside a strong Superbike rider.”