DESPITE PROBLEMS
British rider Tommy Bridewell overcame problems to score points on his debut in the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup with a battling 13th place finish in the opening round at Valencia yesterday.
Aboard the Lorenzini by Leoni Yamaha R1, the 20 year old from Devizes in Wiltshire suffered a heavy crash in testing last week which badly damaged his hand meaning Bridewell had to battle through the pain barrier throughout the weekend.
With handling problems hampering the Italian team's machine during practice, Bridewell could only manage 22nd place in the single qualifying session meaning a row five start but with some radical changes going into the race, Tom was hopeful of a good race.
Gradually making his way through the field after a mediocre start, Bridewell eventually made his way up to 13th place to score his first ever world championship points at the end of the thirteen lap race around the technical Spanish track, much to his relief after a few heart-stopping moments duing the race:
"I think I was out of the saddle more than I was in it but I'm both delighted and relieved to have scored a few points which was the aim this weekend. Like most teams, we struggled to get a good set up in the time we had available and we were still making changes on the grid which wasn't ideal. I got lucky with a few people in front falling down but now we know what we need to do to the bike, we can start to make improvements, hopefully" said Tom.
Bridewell will test the bike at Misano later this week in readiness for the opening round of the Italian Superstock Championship which he is also contesting, which takes place at the Adriatic coastal track on April 19th before the next round of the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup at Assen the week after.
Results
1 C Corti (ITA) Suzuki 21m18.839s 25pts2 X Simeon (BEL) Ducati + 4.939 20pts3 M Berger (FRA) Honda + 7.339 16pts4 J Fores (ESP) Kawasaki +11.388 13pts 5 B Burrell (GBR) Honda +15.167 11pts6 D Beretta (ITA) Ducati +16.927 10pts7 O Jezek (CZE) Honda +17.129 9pts8 M Magnoni (ITA) Yamaha +17.855 8pts9 I Ortega (ESP) Kawasaki +27.934 7pts10 A Antonelli (ITA) Yamaha +28.101 6pts11 R Mahr (AUT) Suzuki +29.031 5pts12 M Savary (SUI) Honda +29.418 4pts13 T Bridewell (GBR) Yamaha +42.639 3pts14 N Pouhair (FRA) Yamaha +43.580 2pts15 D Lammert (GER) Suzuki +48.918 1pt
