BSB 2024: Consistent Bridewell leads the way

The British Superbike Championship (BSB) passed its mid-way point at Brands Hatch at the weekend and with the top two spots in the standings occupied by last year’s leading protagonists, reigning champion Tommy Bridewell and runner-up Glenn Irwin, there’s a ring of familiarity to how the season’s shaping up

Title defence on track

On the one hand we shouldn’t be surprised to see Bridewell leading the way halfway through the season – his current lead stands at 19 points – but on the other hand we are.

After five and a half years on Ducati, many ‘in the know’ didn’t expect Bridewell to be so strong so soon on the Honda Fireblade and thought his best period would come in the second half of the year.

But he’s been fast from the outset to further prove, not that it was needed, what a class act he really is. On the podium at round two, he only had to wait until round four to take his win and although that remains his only victory, it’s his consistency that is currently making him the standout performer.

Tommy Bridewell BSB Image Credit Double Red

Eleven podiums have come his way in the last 14 races, a run un-matched by any of his rivals and his only mistake of the season came at round five at Snetterton, at the beginning of July, when he crashed on the opening lap of the first race, a race where he wasn’t alone in either making a mistake or struggling.

It’s that consistency that has perhaps surprised people with both Bridewell and the Honda showing they’re going to be on the pace whatever the circuit and whatever the conditions.

The challenge now, of course, is to maintain that consistency and win more races. He’s already demanding more of his team to ensure they make the most of the position they’re in and rightly so, that’s what champions do.

The next round comes at Thruxton, a circuit where he’s never finished on the podium before, so if he can right that wrong this year, that will only strengthen his title defence.

Ups and downs for Irwin

With six wins, Irwin is the most victorious of the season so far but it’s his other results that are keeping him behind Bridewell and not the other way round.

Whereas the Honda man has shown relentless consistency, Irwin and his Hager PBM Ducati have been lacking in that department and if he hasn’t won, he hasn’t finished on the podium.

That’s the area where he’ll be aiming for improvement at the remaining five rounds as although he’s been regularly in the mix with three fourths and two fifths, he needs to start turning those kind of results into seconds and thirds.

Glenn Irwin Image Credit Double Red

Scoring good points at each round is obviously a must but to become a champion, if you can’t win, seconds and thirds need to be racked up.

There’s nothing in particular that’s preventing Irwin from finishing on the podium more regularly and as he rightly pointed out after Brands, he’s in a better position now compared to the same point twelve months ago when the deficit to Bridwell was almost double at 34 points. And one race is all it takes for everything to click.

The Ulsterman proved at Brands that he has the stomach for the fight, climbing off a stretcher after a heavy race two crash – when his weekend and perhaps even title challenge looked over – to come from 23rd on the grid to claim seventh and nine hard-fought points.

Given last year’s championship was determined by just half a point, that seventh place could prove to be crucial.

Back in the mix

One rider who has been quietly going about his business but has been sneaking up on the rails is Christian Iddon and with eight podiums now to his name this season, he’s just five points back of Irwin and without doubt firmly in the championship mix.

Third overall in 2020 and fourth the following year, it’s taken the Oxford Products Ducati rider a while to get back to those heights after two challenging years, particularly 2022 when injury and a less-than-competitive Suzuki kept him down in an unfamiliar 15th come season’s end.

Christian Iddon Image Credit Ducati Racing

A move back to Ducati and the Oxford Products team should have seen him back at the front last year but we only saw glimpses; it took longer than expected for the partnership to gel and it’s only now we’re seeing Iddon reap the rewards.

But the smile is firmly back on his face and he’s pushing for the wins week in, week out so he’ll want to keep the momentum going and make the most of the position he finds himself in.

One to watch

One place behind Iddon in the table is Kyle Ryde, the Nottinghamshire rider 32 points behind the pace-setting Bridewell, but it’s perhaps OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing team-mate Ryan Vickers who may pose the greater threat.

The 25 year old has almost 150 BSB races under his belt and started the season with a bang when he took a double victory at the opening round at Navarra in Spain. His form dipped slightly at round two, although he still took a podium, but round three was an unmitigated disaster when, after taking pole position, he crashed out of the first two races breaking his collarbone in the second.