Tommy Bridewell finished fourth in the opening race at Thruxton as the Bennetts Suzuki team enjoyed a positive weekend and made big progress with its GSX-R1000s at the sixth round of the MCE British Superbike Championship.

After qualifying on the front row, Bridewell opted for the harder rear tyre for both of the weekend’s races, knowing that the abrasive Thruxton asphalt and tyre life would come into play. In the opening race he rode with his head, keeping in touch with the podium battle while knowing that the race would come to him in the later stages.

Despite a red flag at the halfway stage, Bridewell still held the advantage of the harder rear tyre, with riders having to make the restart on the same tyres they started the race with. In the closing stages the local rider’s lap-times were consistently faster than the riders in front, and he cut through the field to take fourth place at the chequered flag.

His team-mate, Ryuichi Kiyonari also benefitted from his tyre choice, and despite a mistake early on that dropped him to the back of the field, he was able to make his way forward, crossing the line in seventh place and narrowly missing out on fifth.

Both Bridewell and Kiyonari again opted for the harder tyre for race two when a delayed start because of the threatening rain saw the race distance cut to 18 laps. With a shortened race, both were unable to benefit in the same way as race one and finished in eighth and 11th respectively. ,