Tommy Bridewell insists “all the pressure is on Kyle Ryde”

Tommy Bridewell has warned that Kyle Ryde must deal with expectation at the British Superbike Championship finale.

The last round of the 2024 season is at Brands Hatch on October 11-13.

Ryde will enter with a four-point advantage at the top, after overtaking reigning champion Bridewell at last weekend’s Donington Park round.

Honda’s Bridewell finished second in the first two races at Donington, then fifth.

“It's still not easy I must be honest,” Bridewell reflected on keeping pace with Ryde.

“When I am riding on my own without coming under attack I can do the lap time and I know that my pace is good.

“There is just a couple of areas that we need to work on so that I can be competitive where I need to be competitive.

“I am happy, the team are doing a great job we just need to be clever and to be aggressive when we need to be and ride as hard as I can.

“In [Race 2], we gained some points on Kyle but lost some points to Glenn. I'll take it at the moment.

“Then in race three we just didn't have the pace to go with the Yamahas. It's frustrating for sure but it could have been much worse.

“We've lost the championship lead but now all the pressure is on Kyle. We go to Brands with it all to play for.”

Teammate Andrew Irwin finished fourth, then sixth in each of the last two races.

“I think it was a solid weekend after a difficult couple of rounds with a fourth and two sixth place finishes,” Irwin said.

“We used Oulton as a building weekend after missing Cadwell, and here at Donington we have shown some of that progress.

“I always enjoy coming to Donington, I know we shouldn't look forward to certain tracks, but it is a circuit that I always love racing at and I knew that I could kick into gear heading towards the end of the season.

“It's nice to get three strong rides and not be too far away from the win, we are working really well as a team and the momentum is building as we head to Brands. We were on the podium there earlier in the year and there is no reason why we can't be there once more.”

Kennedy leads Supersport

Jack Kennedy extended his lead at the top of the Supersport class after finishing second in Race 2.

“It was a really good race today, I knew I really had to push the Honda to stay on the pace of Stapleford and Currie, particularly as we were losing time in places and having to push even harder in other areas to make up the time again,” Kennedy said.

“We managed to do it though and managed to be in a position to try and push for the win towards the end. The second to last lap was my quickest lap which I am really happy with.

“Luke defended really well into the Melbourne Loop in the final lap which made it impossible to have a go for the win because he is so much stronger out of the final corner and the run to the line.

“I knew that I had to take second and take points out of Ben in the championship which we achieved.

“I don't think the weekend could have gone any better, we leave the weekend twenty one points clear and I am very happy with the job that Honda and myself are doing. I can't wait for the last round, even though I don't want the season to be over!”

Teammate Dean Harrison was eighth in Race 2.

“In today's race it was a similar story to the races of late in all honesty,” Harrison said.

“When we are running in clear air we have the pace of the leaders but if you get caught up in any of the early race shenanigans you just lose time and then passing in the race is super difficult.

“We tried to be a bit more aggressive this weekend and to get the elbows out early on but when you can't run your own lines in the fight it is difficult to run your pace. We're inside the top ten and working hard to keep improving.”