Bridewell struggling to adapt to Milwaukee Yamaha

Tommy Bridewell is struggling to adopt to his new Milwaukee Yamaha, after his switch from his Halsall Kawasaki bike this week, with a crash in free practice one making his task even more difficult.

He finished today’s two sessions in 10th place, over 1.2 seconds off the pace of the leaders in both.

The Wiltshire rider told MCN that he still has a lot of things to improve on the bike to get it to a level where he can be competitive, but that the highly experienced SMR team know what direction they need to work in.

“It’s been an interesting day, and we could have done without this morning’s crash, but sometimes that’s the way racing goes. I’m just trying to find my feet with the Yamaha, as it reacts a lot different to other bikes.”

Bridewell crashed in FP1 while pushing the bike hard, badly grazing what remains of his little finger (after a smash in 2010 at Thruxton), and leaving him with discomfort for the second session of the day.

“It’s not too bad, and I’ve had a lot lot worse. It’s not affecting me too badly at the minute; it’s just a bit of a hindrance when I’m on the bike.”