The opening round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship Showdown at Assen produced a mixed raceday for Milwaukee Yamaha, but the team were still able to celebrate two podium finishes from both sides of the garage with Tommy Bridewell and James Ellison.
In the opening race Ellison had been fighting in the lead pack for the race victory until he lost oil pressure which disappointingly forced him out of contention. Bridewell though had fought his way up the order to move third on his debut with the Milwaukee Yamaha team.
Race two was as dramatic as the first and Ellison and Bridewell were both in the hunt for a podium finish in the early stages of the race, however on the fourth lap Bridewell slid out of the race ending his hopes of another strong finish. Ellison continued to battle on and he held the lead until the closing stages when Alex Lowes made a move and despite trying to fight back he finished second on the track. Lowes was later excluded from the race for an incident with Shane Byrne which promoted Ellison to the win.
Ellison said: “That second race was all a bit of a blur to be honest with you! It was a good race in the second one, especially as we were so disappointed to not have finished the first one as we were fighting at the front. I certainly believe we would have been on for a podium, especially now in the Showdown when it matters and that was a shame. We had a new engine in for the second race and I can’t thank the team enough as the bike didn’t miss a beat and we were able to go all out. I thought maybe we had the chance of the win, but at the start I had tried really hard to get by Haga and a few others and it meant I had less tyre left for the end of the race. Alex started chipping away and then he came by and I tried to stay with him but I had nothing left. We are now looking forward to Silverstone, especially as we have been there recently for the support race at MotoGP”
Bridewell said: “It was a fantastic first race for me and for sure we managed to get it done. I am obviously disappointed for James (Ellison) as he was running well, but I saw on my board I had a gap behind me but at the end I just couldn’t close the leading two. I had fallen asleep on the opening two laps and unfortunately I got caught up with Nori who was a bit excited so to speak. In the second race it was turning into a good fight and then I had a crash and took out Nori at the same time which was disappointing but I am looking forward now to Silverstone. Thanks to the Milwaukee Yamaha team for all their hard work.”
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