TOMMY Bridewell salvaged a points-scoring finish on the opening weekend of the British Superbike Championship season at Donington Park.

Etchilhampton racer Bridewell got off to a strong start for his Movuno.com Halsall Racing team but a crash in qualifying before he’d had a chance to set a fast lap meant he was forced to start from the back of the grid for the opening race on Easter Sunday.

It meant the Wiltshire rider needed to fight his way through the pack, and he’d been looking good as he made up a handful of places in the first two laps. But it all went wrong when he crashed out on the third lap, meaning it would be Easter Monday’s second race before he could make amends.

Starting from 20th on the grid, he got his head down and battled his way through the order to arrive at the chequered flag in 14th position.

Bridwell said: “I’ve got mixed emotions because I know what the potential could’ve been, and we just had a lot of bad luck,” he said. “The weather was the same for everyone, but for us it’s still very early days in the development of the bike and I think this made our job a lot harder.

“I am happy with the second result but I am conscious that the championship can be very short and we have a little catching up to do. I have every faith in the team that in week and a half we’ll arrive at Brands with the changes we need done, and we can go out and start challenging up towards the front.”