Thomas George Bridewell III so struck a chord with the public this year, they have voted him their 2018 BSN Bennetts British Superbike Rider of the Year.

Sacked by Halsall Racing at Snetterton, Bridewell parachuted into the Moto Rapido Ducati team and immediately felt at home, eventually taking four podiums and the Riders’ Cup.

Bridewell, who stays with the team and gets a Panigale V4 next season, eventually took 25.07 per cent of the ballot (which totalled 2783 votes altogether) to beat 2018 Bennetts British Superbike Champion Leon Haslam into second place.

Jake Dixon, who took series runner-up spot, finished this race in third place on 18.49 per cent with season late charger Tarran Mackenzie in fourth on 9.17 per cent. Tyco BMW’s Christian Iddon, who put in some heroic rides with a broken collarbone, was fifth on 8.78 per cent.