After excelling at Oulton Park, where he took 13 points out of Bradley Ray’s lead, Tommy Bridewell’s hopes of lifting this year’s Bennetts British Superbike Championship took a step back at Donington Park where fourth place was the best he could manage across the three races.

The results saw him slip back to third place in the championship standings and sit some 67 points adrift of champion-elect Ray. Like several riders, the Oxford Products Ducati rider suffered with the lack of track time on Friday and a lack of grip was the main cause of his troubles.

“It was a tough weekend, for definite,” he said. “But it is what it is, and you have to take the positives away from the weekend. I expected to be stronger and higher up the results, for sure, but we were dealt the cards we got and made the best of them.

“I just struggled to find grip all weekend and the lack of dry track time hindered us; it took us longer to get into the ballpark than we would have liked. We made progress all weekend, as could be seen in the results, going from eighth to sixth and then fourth, but we weren’t strong enough and need Brad to hit trouble at Brands if we’re to have any chance of the championship now.”

The results un-did the hard work from Oulton Park but the Wiltshire rider’s mindset remains the same ahead of the final round.

“Donington was a tough one to take but, in a way, the pressure’s off now, and I’m just focusing on three wins at Brands. I’ll keep my head up, keep positive and keep riding at my best, maximising the potential in both myself and the bike.”