Tommy Bridewell: "I don't feel great" in BSB testing, "shocked we are strong"

Honda's Tommy Bridewell explains difficulty in BSB testing

Updated: 08 Apr 2025

Tommy Bridewell has admitted his shock at the feeling provided by his Honda in the first British Superbike Championship test of the year.

The two-day BSB pre-season test at the Navarra circuit in Spain ended with Ducati’s Glenn Irwin on top.

But 2023 BSB champion Bridewell finished third on combined times with a best lap of 1:44.992.

“Testing has been good but challenging for sure,” Bridewell said.

“We had a few days at Monteblanco before coming here and when we were there honestly the bike was working incredibly well but when we came here to Navarra, it has been quite tough to get the same feeling that I want with the bike.

“Honestly though, I’m a bit shocked that we are as strong as we are because I don’t feel great when on the bike but I am still riding strong.

“It’s probably a big positive to be honest because we are achieving the lap time with this feeling and I know that when we get a bit more comfortable we will be in an even stronger position.

“So there are no negatives really, the team is working hard and we head back to England now to get through a bit more testing and then we can come out swinging at round one to get that number one plate back.”

Teammate Andrew Irwin was sixth on the timesheets with a best lap of 1:45.581.

“I’ve treated this off-season differently to previous seasons and really invested in myself,” he said.

“I’ve been out here in Spain for almost three months, focussing on my training and riding my practice bike as much as I can.

“And it’s all so I can hit the ground running and start the season off strongly. It’s early days at the moment but this first test has been super positive, I feel like I’m riding really well and we are working as a team in a good way to make progress step by step.

“We’ve focussed a lot on electronics and some minor chassis changes for this first test and I feel like we have made some decent steps.

“I’m looking forward to heading to Donington Park to continue preparing for the season ahead.”

The next test at Donington is April 18-19.