Tommy Bridewell set for “strange, strange” BSB start after shedding “bad habits”

Tommy Bridewell is unable to enter the first British Superbike Championship round of 2025 with significant confidence.

Bridewell won the title in 2023 before being ousted at the final round last year by Kyle Ryde.

He was just one point away from becoming the first rider to win consecutive BSB titles with different manufacturers.

But Honda Racing UK have had a tricky pre-season leaving Bridewell unsure of his competitiveness before racing at Oulton Park this weekend.

“It’s been a tough winter test period,” he admitted.

“In Monteblanco I had an amazing feeling with the bike and it was working absolutely unbelievable, and we tried to keep the dynamic of the bike, or the setup of the bike very similar at Navarra, Donington and Oulton, but it didn't work in that area.

“We persevered with it through the test but we ended up going back to what I ran last year and immediately I felt a lot more comfortable with the bike, and felt a lot happier.

“I just got into a few bad habits trying to ride the bike how it was set up previously, so I need a little bit of time to readjust and the time off since the Oulton Park test has probably done me good to just hit the reset.

“I’m happy; we’ve done loads of laps, we have loads of information and I’m looking forward to round one.

“It’s a mixed feeling if I’m honest, I couldn’t tell you whether I feel confident that I’m going to go there and fight for podiums, or whether I’m going to go there and struggle.

“It’s a strange, strange opening round for me as Oulton Park is notoriously very strong for me but it was one of our harder rounds last year.

“On paper you’d be going, I’m coming into the season on form from obviously finishing the season how I did last year, but just because of having an up and down winter test, there’s quite a big question mark over where I feel we’ll be.

“I’m looking forward to it but I’m also intrigued to see how we stack up against our competitors.”