Tommy Bridewell Clinches Thrilling Victory in Five-Rider Battle at Brands Hatch BSB
In a nail-biting conclusion to the weekend’s Bennetts British Superbike Championship action at Brands Hatch, Tommy Bridewell emerged victorious in a fierce five-rider race-long battle. The showdown went down to the final lap, with Bridewell facing off against his BeerMonster Ducati teammate Glenn Irwin and Ryan Vickers.
As the race commenced, Josh Brookes encountered trouble within the pack and unfortunately crashed out at Paddock Hill Bend, luckily escaping injury. At the front of the pack, Danny Kent surged into the lead ahead of Bridewell, Christian Iddon, and Kyle Ryde, who later retired from the race while riding the LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha.
Iddon seized the lead on the second lap and managed to hold onto the advantage until lap 12, when Bridewell executed a brilliant move at Hawthorns to edge ahead. The leading group formed a tightly-knit five-rider freight train, with Bridewell maintaining the upper hand over Iddon, Irwin, Vickers, and Kent.
On lap 15, Irwin made a decisive move, snatching second place at Surtees and pushing Iddon back to third. Soon after, Iddon found himself under attack from Vickers, who made a daring move at Stirlings.
As the final lap approached, both Irwin and Vickers launched a relentless pursuit of Bridewell, but their efforts fell just short. Bridewell held firm to secure a sensational double victory, with a mere 0.237s separating the podium finishers as they crossed the chequered flag.
Iddon managed to fend off Kent’s challenges, securing a commendable fourth place, while Jason O’Halloran finished strong, taking fifth place for McAMS Yamaha. In the closing stages, Lee Jackson skillfully maneuvered ahead of Leon Haslam on the ROKiT BMW Motorrad, while rookies Charlie Nesbitt and Max Cook completed the top ten with impressive performances.
