Tommy Bridewell (Ducati): With his heart in his hands – and in the gravel

After Álvaro Bautista, Tommy Bridewell is the second-oldest rider in the 2026 Superbike World Championship. At 37, the Englishman certainly has plenty of experience, though mainly at national level. In fact, this is his first season in the World Championship and also for his team, Advocates Racing, which had actually intended to compete in the British series this year.

After a difficult start to the season, single-digit finishes have become the norm since Most. At MotorLand Aragón, the Ducati rider impressed with a fifth-place finish in the first race and repeated this strong result at Donington Park in the first race.

“A home race is something very special for a Superbike rider – it definitely spurs you on,” emphasised the veteran. “We did actually have a minor problem from about halfway through the race, as I was struggling with vibrations on the straights. We might not necessarily have been able to get any more out of it, but it made the situation a bit more difficult. But I can say that I rode with all my heart, and we managed to match our best result so far.”

Bridewell continued: “The podium is within sight, but we have to remain realistic. I’ll take it if it comes my way, but I won’t do anything foolish to force it.”

However, when the chance for his first podium arose for the local hero on Sunday, Bridewell couldn’t hold back. When he crashed on lap 8 of the second race whilst in sixth position, the 37-year-old was just 1.3 seconds behind the third-placed Ducati factory rider, Iker Lecuona.

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“It was so windy in sectors 1 and 2; I struggled a bit with that and was once again battling some chattering,” explained Bridewell. “It was a shame, of course, that I couldn’t finish the race. I really think we were well on the way to another good result.”

During the long summer break leading up to the round at Magny-Cours in early September, the Advocates rider intends to prepare for the final four events.

“Overall, the weekend at Donington showed that we’ve continued to improve – we should now expect to be regularly in contention for results like the one in Race 1,” Bridewell is convinced. “There are things I need to improve in my riding style, but we now have the long summer break to keep working on them.”