Tyco BMW’s Tommy Bridewell has come away from the four day Pro-test in Cartagena one happy rider and feels that for the first time during a test he has been solely focused on developing the bike and not chasing lap times.
The Devizes lad is keen to start the MCE British Superbike Championship in a winning fashion and to do one better than he did last year, where he ended the season third overall. His crew have changed the BMW so much, and as it is a brand new machine they have been trying out lots of different options.
But even with all the set-up changes Bridewell has earmarked his bike with having great ‘potential’ and is excited for the first round at Donington. The former Yamaha man found himself holding back from trying to get some quick lap times down in Spain, and had to remind himself that he was at Cartagena to try out new things on his machine, rather than break lap records.
“It is going very well and the sun is shining and it’s nice to start the season off with some pre-season testing. This is the first time I have come testing where I am not chasing lap times. The development programme we have is quite extensive. We have changed the bike so much, it has been a productive test, but we have a lot of work still to do,” said Bridewell, speaking to bikesportnews.com.
“It is nice to be back on a very strong package and the potential’s sky high. The team are still trying to understand the changes and how the bike will react. I have to hold myself back a bit and not get caught up on times and we are in and out of the pits - but that is why we call it testing.
”Our goal is the British Championship and we are keeping our heads down, and are not getting caught up in rumours. Sometimes we make good inroads and then we hit a brick wall, but bit by bit we should be on top of it by Donington. I have not doubt in my mind that I can win the championship this year, especially with this bike and package, we have got to concentrate, and the championship is not won in pre-season testing, and I just want to do my best.”
