Tommy Bridewell gave the Bolton-based Halsall Racing Kawasaki team their second podium of the year after finishing third in today's second MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship race at Donington Park.

The Devizes rider was unfortunately denied a place in the Showdown after a technical fault forced him to retire from the opening race, but he more than made up for it when he took a solid third in the second. Team-mate Lee Costello also enjoyed his strongest weekend of the season to date, and believes he has now turned a corner with his Halsall Racing Kawasaki.

Bridewell had qualified sixth for the first race, while Bolton's Costello lined-up 21st. As the lights changed, Bridewell got a good start and held his position, moving up to fifth on the second lap. He remained there until lap 13 when his machine developed an engine problem, forcing him into retirement. Costello made a flying start, picking up three places in the opening lap and slowly crept up the order further to finally end the race 16th.

For race two Bridewell once again lined-up sixth, while Costello started from 17th. Again Bridewell got a solid start, holding position for the opening six laps before diving past Josh Brookes for fifth on lap seven. A lap later he passed both Shane 'Shakey' Byrne and James Westmoreland in one move into third, and despite moving into second for a few laps, he was powerless to stop Shakey taking the spot back and crossed the line third to take his second piece of silverware for the team to add to his Cadwell Park second place last time out. Costello had a tougher race after making a few changes to his machine and eventually finished 18th.

Tommy Bridewell:

"The weekend has been fantastic all in all. We just had some bad luck in race one with the engine and had we not had the trouble I'm sure we could've been on the podium. The team worked really hard between races to get the bike ready and to get the third was great. Alex and Shakey were just a little bit stronger at the end but they had a race on me so had a bit more knowledge. Obviously it is a massive shame that we couldn't make it into the Showdown but from here I want to make my own mark on the end of the season by battling for the podium as much as I can in the final three rounds."

Lee Costello:

"This weekend has definitely been better. To make it easier for myself and the Italian crew we decided I'd start off with the bike set up the same as Tommy's and I made it my own from there. I was getting faster in each session and in the first race I went faster again. For the second we tried making a few changes and unfortunately it just went the wrong way and it was very hard to ride. But, we have to try these things. It's been a good round, we've been two seconds faster here and it looks much more positive now for the remainder of the season."

Martin Halsall, Team Owner:

"It's been another fantastic end to the weekend for Tommy. Obviously he was disappointed in race one but he did the right thing pulling in when he did. As soon as he got off the bike after race two his first words were will you let me off for the first one now! and yes, he certainly made up for it. He was battling up there at the front which was great to see and the most important thing now is to look to next year and hope we can move forward with Tommy for what could be a very good season.

"Lee has also had a better weekend. In the first race he was doing well and we made some adjustments for the second race this afternoon but it just didn't work in our favour. However, we've taken a big step forward with Lee and the Italian crew and now it's mainly just a case of working together to get the bike working just the way he needs it to. He's definitely had a better weekend and we all leave here feeling a lot happier."


MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship Donington Park Race 1:

1. Alex Lowes (Honda)
2. Shane Byrne (Kawasaki)
3. James Ellison (Yamaha)
4. Josh Brookes (Suzuki)
5. James Westmoreland (BMW)
6. Jon Kirkham (BMW)
16. Lee Costello (Halsall Racing Kawasaki)
DNF Tommy Bridewell (Halsall Racing Kawasaki)


MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship Donington Park Race 2:

1. Alex Lowes (Honda)
2. Shane Byrne (Kawasaki)
3. Tommy Bridewell (Halsall Racing Kawasaki)
4. James Westmoreland (BMW)
5. Josh Brookes (Suzuki)
6. James Ellison (Yamaha)
18. Lee Costello (Halsall Racing Kawasaki)


Championship positions after Round 9:

1. Shane Byrne 539
2. Alex Lowes 533
3. Josh Brookes 522
4. James Ellison 513
5. Ryuichi Kiyonari 504
6. James Westmoreland 500
8. Tommy Bridewell 126
23. Lee Costello 10

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