Thruxton BSB: Bridewell tops free practice

Local boy Tommy Bridewell has topped the time sheets on the opening day of action at Thruxton, taking the Milwaukee Yamaha to the top spot, but only 0.039 faster than Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne in second.

“There’s really not much to report on that session; we worked on a setting before we got here, and it’s working absolutely perfectly – we haven’t changed a click on the bike since. It feels really strong and fast here, and to be honest I’m just enjoying riding my motorbike.”

Fresh from a top ten finish in his first ever endurance race at the prestigious Suzuka 8hr, the Wiltshire rider admitted that the extra bike time has helped him out, and that he’s in a much more relaxed place on the bike.

“We can’t get ahead of ourselves, and it’s going to be a long weekend, so we have to keep working hard, push on, and get the job done. It’s nice to be fastest, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

Byrne, who topped FP1, was only 0.054 ahead of Michael Rutter, returning form Brands Hatch injury with a good time, while Jakub Smrz, Ryuichi Kiyonari and Dan Linfoot filled out the second row. Indicative of BSB’s usual close racing, less than a second separated John Hopkins back in 16th from Bridewell’s provisional pole lap.