Bridewell eager for home challenge at Donington Park

British rider Tommy gears up for the next WorldSBK races at a track he knows well

Donington Park in the UK is next up for Superbike Advocates Racing, as the team prepares for round eight of the 2026 Superbike World Championship.

This British round is a home event for both rider Tommy Bridewell and his Anglo-Australian squad, who will be able to count on the support of their many British fans as the action gets underway on Friday. And to mark the occasion, Tommy’s Panigale V4R will flaunt a special home round livery that celebrates the team’s Anglo-Australian identity. The bespoke Union Jack-inspired design symbolises the team’s British roots while maintaining the unmistakable Ducati racing DNA that runs through the organisation.

The rookie Superbike Advocates Racing team only took to the WorldSBK tracks for the first time in March, at Portimão, but has come a long way since then. The performance of both rider and team has continued to grow, race by race, as has their understanding of the production-derived championship and its tracks. Having had little to no prior knowledge of circuits he has competed at recently, Tommy is very much looking forward to racing on home turf in front of friends and family.

A points scorer in eight of the last nine races, with a best result to date of fifth place, at Motorland Aragón, Bridewell is highly motivated and eager to build on the very positive work being done inside the Superbike Advocates Racing garage.

As for the track, Donington Park was originally inaugurated in 1931 but closed during the second world war before resuming its race activity decades later, in 1977. An historic WorldSBK venue, the Leicestershire circuit actually staged the very first production-derived races back in 1988. A series of upgrades have been made to the facility since then, not least a full resurfacing of the asphalt in 2023. The track currently measures 4.023 km and incorporates a 550 m start/finish straight, seven right-hand turns and five left-handers.

Tommy Bridewell #46

“Donington should be a bit easier for us. It’s a circuit I know well of course, while the last four rounds have been at tracks I’d either never seen before or where I only had limited experience. So, it’ll be nice to roll out at Donington knowing exactly where I’m going – that will definitely make things easier when we get down to work on Friday. I’m also looking forward to a home round; I’ll have a lot of people there so hopefully they’ll be a lot of flags out! With any luck, the weather will be nice too and we can have a good weekend.”

Track Information

Country: UK

Name: Donington Park

Length: 4.023 km

Pole position: left

Race distance: 23 laps/92.529 km

SBK Records

Best lap – Razgatlioglu (BMW) 1'25.597 (2024)

Superpole – Razgatlioglu (BMW) 1'24.629 (2024)

2025 Results

Race 1 – 1. Razgatlioglu (BMW); 2. Bulega (Ducati); 3. Petrucci (Ducati)

Superpole race – 1. Razgatlioglu (BMW); 2. Bulega (Ducati); 3. S. Lowes (Ducati)

Race 2 – 1. Razgatlioglu (BMW); 2. Bulega (Ducati); 3. Bautista (Ducati)

Weekend schedule (CET -1)

Friday

10.20 – 11.05 – SBK Free Practice 1

15.00 – 15.45 – SBK Free Practice 2

Saturday

9.40 – 10.00 – SBK Free Practice 3

11.15 – 11.30 – Superpole qualifying

15.30 – SBK Race 1

Sunday

9.20 – 9.30 – SBK Warm-up

11.10 – Superpole race

15.30 – SBK Race 2