British Superbike Championship leader Tommy Bridewell says he is heading into the remainder of the season with a more positive outlook on the strength of his strong recovery last time out at Knockhill.

The BeerMonster Ducati rider was left on the back foot in Scotland after encountering issues during Friday practice and qualifying down in tenth position. 

Nevertheless, he rebounded come the races, taking away 4th-2nd-2nd results and with it an extended lead at the head of the overall standings. 

The outcome of knuckling down and working well with his Paul Bird Motorsport squad to turn things around rather than let his head get down, Bridewell says it is a key development in his armoury this season as he bids for a first BSB title.

“Knockhill was a strong weekend, I think to be honest Friday was really tough and I didn’t have a good feeling with the bike and the track,” he told the BSB website. “I felt like it was going to be quite a tough weekend so after Friday I said to myself ‘this is where I need to be able to turn the weekend around, I can’t have a bad weekend’.

“I think between myself and the team we really put our head down and worked out really exactly where I was riding incorrect, where the bike was incorrect, and it was a good mix of 50-50. I wasn’t riding properly for the circuit, so it was obviously nice to be able to recognise that and for the team to get the bike to help me with that as well.

“I think to be able to come out of Knockhill with the results that we did, after obviously in truth, a poor qualifying which hampered us in the first race, but then also hampered us for the second race as I wasn’t able to make the strongest lap times. 

>>> 2023 BSB Championship Standings <<<

“So to start from tenth in race one, and ninth in race two, but to still come away with two podiums was a real big bonus. I think Knockhill was probably one of our strongest weekends up until now really which was good.”

Now armed with an eight point lead over Kyle Ryde, Bridewell now turns his attention to Round 5 at Snetterton this weekend where he is confident the strength in power of his Ducati Panigale V4 R will put him in good stead to build on his advantage.

“Now going into Snetterton I am just full of confidence in all honesty. I am riding with a lot of confidence and going somewhere where I know the bike thrives let’s say. The one thing we do need to keep an eye on is tyre life and just see what the conditions and temperatures are like. 

“I am really looking forward to Snetterton as we are coming back into circuits now that we expect to fight for the wins. At Knockhill I didn’t know where we would fare up, but at Snetterton I expect to be fighting from the start.”