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Following on from his return to the sport at Donington Park
three weeks ago, 19 year
old Wiltshire rider Tommy Bridewell rounded
off his 2007 season
with a superb points scoring ride when the final round of the Bennetts British
Superbike Championship took place at Brands Hatch in Kent yesterday.
Aboard the 1000cc Team NB Suzuki, the
Etchilhampton near Devizes rider had
a traumatic practice and qualifying session which saw
him placed on the penultimate row of the grid but
when race day arrived, Tommy came out fighting and in front of
a massive crowd, battled his way through the field from his lowly starting
position.
Lap by lap, the former
runner up in the Virgin Mobile Cup runner-up picked off the riders in front of him
and with a fantastic effort in the closing stages, managed to claim 15th place
and with it, his first championship point since the Snetterton meeting back in
May.
Race two was a
slightly different proposition and Tommy was lucky not to get tangled up when a
couple of riders crashed in front of him but he recovered to take 21st place out
of the 33 starters and in doing so, ended a difficult 2007 season in fine
style.
"After
Donington, I knew what I had to do to try to get back to my rightful place and
although we struggled in qualifying, it came good on race day. I really enjoyed
those races and I had a quiet word with Ollie beforehand and he told me what to
do and to beleive in myself which I did and he was right. The best thing
though, was the rolling burnout at the end of the second race, that's how to do
'em boys! It's been a tough old year but I'm glad I raced again and I'm really
looking forward to next year although I'm not sure what or where I'll be racing.
I'd like to thank Team NB for all of their help and support this
season so to Tony, Norris and the rest of the team, thanks for all you have
done for me. Thanks also to mum, dad, Charlotte and Ollie also for their
help, now let's go party!" said Tommy
afterwards.
Brands Hatch also saw the poignant unveiling of the
'Tribute Mini' which has been built in memory of Ollie who lost his life at
Mallory Park in July. The project was started by 21 year old Ollie and the bunch
of friends that regularly frequent the Bridewell home and their adjacent Wayside
Garage and after his accident, the family and group of friends pledged to finish
it in time to take it to Brands and they were true to their word. The 1960's
original shell was transformed and the original power unit was replaced by a
highly-tuned Yamaha R1 engine along with numerous other performance including lowered
suspension, carbon fibre interior and a roll cage, at a cost of £20,000. Tommy and
elder sister Charlotte did a demonstration lap in the Mini in front of Sunday's
record race day crowd and gained a
standing ovation in the process. The car will now be used as
a promotional vehicle for Ollie's favoured charity, Cancer Research.
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