Ducati privateer Tommy Bridewell: An honest analysis of his rookie season

The first race weekends for Tommy Bridewell and Advocates Ducati in the World Championship proved to be a challenge. This was because the team had been newly formed and was actually geared up for a start in the British Superbike series. As the decision to enter the World Championship was not made until January, they missed the season opener in Australia.

On top of that, Bridewell – who had spent his entire career in the national racing series – was unaccustomed to modern rider aids; and at 38, it was questionable whether the Englishman still possessed the necessary adaptability.

After nine out of twelve rounds, all doubts have been dispelled and all the sceptics have fallen silent. Bridewell has emerged as a consistently top-10 rider. Fifth places at Aragón and Donington (Race 1 at both) are his best results.

“To be honest, I couldn’t have done any better than what I’ve shown so far,” said the Ducati privateer in a one-on-one interview with SPEEDWEEK.com editor-in-chief Ivo Schützbach. “I have to admit that the Aruba lads on their factory bikes are well ahead of us. If I assess objectively where I stand in my rookie year, I see Sam Lowes, in his third Superbike season, a small step ahead of us. Yari Montella is in his second season and he’s a whole step ahead of us – I have to be honest with myself about that. However, I don’t think we’re miles off the mark. In short, I don’t believe I could have achieved better results.”

Although Bridewell also suffered six crashes during the season and could therefore have finished significantly higher than 15th in the World Championship, team owner Lecha Khouri expressed his confidence in his rider for 2027 at an early stage. “My relationship with the team is brilliant and I hope we’ll continue to enjoy many more successful years together,” said the seasoned rider, looking forward to their continued collaboration.

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