The Bolton-based Halsall Racing Kawasaki team emerged from round seven of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship with a healthy points haul after their first outing as a two-rider team at Oulton Park this weekend.
New signing Tommy Bridewell sensationally celebrated three top five finishes in his first race meeting with the team while team-mate Lee Costello took two points in the second race as he crossed the line in 14th position.
The Cheshire circuit played host to a triple-header this weekend, with the first race held on Saturday afternoon. Having qualified in sixth on the grid, Bridewell, from Devizes in Wiltshire, immediately announced his return by moving up to fifth on the second lap. Although never able to catch the leaders, he held the place all the way to the flag unchallenged, while Costello, from Bolton and who had qualified on row five of the grid, crossed the line in 19th place.
Race two got underway early this afternoon with Bridewell lining up in fifth on the grid. A poor start saw him drop to ninth and he spent the next few laps clawing back some places and he was running in sixth when James Ellison crashed out from third on lap 16. Bridewell looked set to score his second fifth position in a row when Alex Lowes crashed from third place at Lodge Corner, promoting Bridewell to fourth and giving the team its best result to date. Further back, Costello, who started from 21st on the grid, was rewarded for a solid race with 14th place to make it four rounds in a row that he has scored points.
Sadly, Sunday's third and final race ended prematurely for Costello when he suffered a technical problem on lap six which forced him into retirement. Bridewell, however, was far from finished as he circulated with the leading bunch before passing Ryuichi Kiyonari for fifth on lap seven. Tommy made a move on Ellison for fourth a few laps later before passing Lowes for third on lap 13 as he challenged for a podium. But it was to be short-lived as a slight mistake a lap later saw him run wide at Island Bend which allowed Lowes and Ellison back past meaning Bridewell had to settle for another fifth position at the flag.
Tommy Bridewell: "You could say this was the fairytale weekend. I don't really know what to say, it's been incredible. The team has worked so hard over the last two weeks to get the bike ready and their hard work has certainly paid off. Two fifths and a fourth is probably better than we'd hoped and to be battling with the likes of Shakey, Ellison, Lowes and Brookes on a bike I've been riding for three days means the rest of the season looks good. From here I hope we can find more time to work with Lee as well as he is a talented rider and I believe if we push we can both become regular top ten finishers by the end of the year."
Lee Costello: "Obviously I'm a bit disappointed as this is my home round. I've struggled to get a good set-up this weekend and then in the last race the bike just lost power and I had to pull over. But I can't sit and dwell on it, I've not been able to do a lot of fitness work since crashing at Brands Hatch so I want to get back in the gym and do some work with the bike and I think I should be back in the chase when we get to Cadwell Park in a couple of weeks."
Martin Halsall, Team Owner: "I'm absolutely delighted; this weekend has exceeded all of our expectations. Tommy got on the bike on Friday for the first time with no preparation, and then brings it home fifth twice and fourth once. He was even in the top three at one point; it's been an incredible weekend. Lee hasn't had the best of times here but I think we've now got such a strong team with two talented riders that we can really start to make progress from here. The remainder of the season looks set to be very exciting for all of us here at Halsall Racing."
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship Oulton Park Race 1:1. James Ellison (Yamaha)2. Shane Byrne (Kawasaki)3. Alex Lowes (Honda)4. Josh Brookes (Suzuki)5. Tommy Bridewell (Kawasaki)19. Lee Costello (Kawasaki)
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship Oulton Park Race 2:1. Shane Byrne (Kawasaki)2. Josh Brookes (Suzuki)3. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda)4. Tommy Bridewell (Kawasaki)14. Lee Costello (Kawasaki)
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship Oulton Park Race 3:1. Josh Brookes (Suzuki)2. Shane Byrne (Kawasaki)3. Alex Lowes (Honda)4. James Ellison (Yamaha)5. Tommy Bridewell (Kawasaki)DNF: Lee Costello (Kawasaki)
Championship positions after Round Seven:1. Shane Byrne 2972. Josh Brookes 2683. Alex Lowes 2434. James Ellison 1585. Ryuichi Kiyonari 1426. Jon Kirkham 12611. Tommy Bridewell 7723. Lee Costello 10
