Milwaukee Yamaha’s Tommy Bridewell reckons he has a strong enough package to challenge for top honours at the MCE British Superbike opener at Brands Hatch on Monday and is comfortable with his pace ahead of qualifying.

The Devizes rider ended the day in 11th place but only 0.6s slower than team-mate and fastest man Josh Brookes, with one second covering the top 20 riders.

“It’s been quite a good day and I am happy with how it all went. We’ve worked really hard on improving the bike instead of the tyre testing like some of them seem to have been doing and worrying about times,” said Bridwell.

“I feel good on the bike, we’ve been getting some real good feedback and we’ve got it where we want to be and I feel comfortable for the race and have a strong package. I was a bit disappointed in the last session when I got a bit held up and didn’t get a clean lap but with a little bit more work we should be ready for qualifying.”