PBM Ducati has this morning confirmed its poaching of Tommy Bridewell from Moto Rapido for the 2023 British Superbike season.

Bridewell has been hotly-rumoured to have done a deal with Paul Bird after spending four years with Steve Moore’s Hampshire team and it was made official today.

“PBM have a long history of winning and I believe can easily still finish on the podium week-in, week-out,” Bridewell told bikesportnews.com while trying to control his sheeps.

“I approached PBM at the Thruxton round to see if they would be interested in having a conversation for next year. That was that, I didn’t know whether they were interested or not but then I had a call from Paul, so I jumped in the van and went up country for a meeting.

“We had a chat, I had a look around his place and we got a plan for 2023 with a handshake. That, so far as I was concerned, was deal done and then we had to do all the contracts and the official signing later on.”

Bird and his Penrith-based team have struggled this year - scoring only two wins and no other podiums - but this doesn’t phase Bridewell, who is looking at the pedigree rather than the results.

“The reasons for me are a change of scenery. I feel like PBM with its pedigree of championships, know what it has to do and I needed a team to help guide me to become British Champion. I feel it is a pretty logical step.

“My only interest was to stay on Ducati and that is why I have made the decision to join PBM. I feel like I beat them this year because I was so determined to be top Ducati and they had the same bike that last year Christian Iddon was on and he beat me on a number of occasions.

“Yes, we beat him in the championship but he was still fourth and in the fight until the last round whereas Josh and Tom have been nowhere near this year.”