TOMMY Bridewell had long cast admiring glances in the direction of TAS Racing and is accordingly thrilled to be riding for the Northern Ireland-based outfit in the 2015 British Superbike Championship.

TAS, who had been known as TYCO Suzuki since 2012, have been rebranded TYCO BMW for the upcoming campaign after becoming the German manufacturer’s official factory team.

Etchilhampton’s Bridewell was announced as part of their line-up for the new year, the 26-year-old having had his best-ever season to date in the championship in 2014, securing a third-placed finish with Milwaukee Yamaha.

Bridewell revealed talks to take him to the new-look TYCO BMW team, who are managed by Philip Neill, reached a positive conclusion before the previous season had even finished.

“I started talking about going there before the end of last season and I’d already done a deal with the team, but it was just about waiting to see if they’d be with Suzuki or BMW,” he said.

“To be honest, I’ve thought that riding for them would be something that I’d like to do for a long time.

“I’ve always had a look in their garage when I’ve walked past and thought that it was the kind of atmosphere that I’d like to be involved in.

“It’s really exciting and I’m looking forward to getting started. BMW are going to really get behind the team and it’s an amazing opportunity for me.

“I rode a BMW in 2012 with Supersonic and the bike should be phenomenal. I think we’ll go out for testing in the middle of February and we should be starting a lot earlier than other teams.”

Bridewell is set to be partnered by 33-year-old Ulsterman Michael Laverty at TYCO BMW next season.