The warm up laps gave the Motorpoint team a morale boost managing the fifth and seventh fastest laps. Over the weekend the bikes had been tweaked and adjusted to make sure that they were tailored to each riders style.

In race one both Bridewell and Lowes suffered from poor starts. Lowes fell all the way back to 17th spot before rocketing up the standings to sixth position. He was pulling out all the stops to gather ground on the top riders and produced the seventh fastest lap of the race in the process. His team mate Tommy Bridewell finished in 10th place after some solid racing.

Lowes wasn’t the only one to give an impressive display on the bike, as race two rolled around Bridewell was able to get a full grasp of the Silverstone track. After the first race he was starting in 11th position on the grid, from that position he was able to push up to eighth place. He remained in eighth for most of the race until Michael Rutter used all of his experience to ghost past the 23-year-old on the final lap. Lowes was not as fortunate, an arm pump problem forced the 21-year-old to slow down his attack on the top six. This resulted in him finishing in 12th place.

Says Tommy Bridewell; “I was really chuffed with my performance in race two. I’ve been to Silverstone many times before, but I’ve never enjoyed the track. The Yamaha has changed that, I was taking on the corners and the team have made some brilliant changes to the engine. I was right behind Michael Rutter for most of the race and you could see how his experience really matters. He takes turns so well and I feel I can learn a lot from being so close to him here. I’m always learning and I can’t wait for Brands Hatch – it’s given us all such a confidence boost!”

Says Alex Lowes: “Really pleased with race one. It’s only my second race weekend on the bike and so I’m pleased to shoot up so many places. I had a bit of a bad start, so I slipped down into 17th. The bike feels good and I was getting a lot of speed out of it for some good laps which got me into sixth place – I only dropped into seventh right near the end. Can’t wait for Brands now.”

Alex Lowes was enjoying his weekend of racing for the team and Tommy Bridewell was settling in after last week’s first trip out at Cadwell. Now that the showdown has been selected the team are focussing on next year and getting a few good results in before the end of the season.

In the first race, both Bridewell and Lowes started down on the grid after struggling to get used to their bikes in the qualifiers. From 19th and 21st the pair eventually climbed to 14th and 16th which marked a good solid performance while they are still getting used to the bikes.

Race two posed another challenge for the youngsters. Bridewell had started well by jumping up to 10th place after the first two laps and holding his own at that level. After slipping down the places to 23rd Lowes was lapping quickly and pulled himself up to 16th on lap seven.
Unfortunately, by lap nine Lowes had to pull out due to a technical fault in the bike – this should be sorted out for the next race at Silverstone but it was a very encouraging performance from Lowes.

Bridewell was still performing well on the track and was whipping around the difficult Donington corners at a consistently quick pace of 1:31 a lap. By lap 14 he had moved up to ninth with some good riding to get up the field. It was looking that he would be able to claim an impressive top 10 finish until the experienced Shane Byrne overtook him on the 17th lap.

This left Bridewell to reflect on a positive race and for the team to make some adjustments to his bike for Silverstone.
Says Tommy Bridewell: “The bikes got a lot of potential, so has the team and I have as well. We’ve just got to try and make that next step now. Endurance seems to be where we’re lacking but the bike overall is great. I felt like I was trying to salvage a result at the end, but if we can improve that endurance we can still be going strong towards the end of the race. I think if we get that right then we’ll be standing in better stead for the last two rounds.”

Rob Mac: “Tommy got a chance of a strong finish there but we’ve been so far away through Friday and Saturday qualifying days that we had to gamble on a set up. We actually got the set up well in the end but we still had to develop it a bit. Both the guys brought their bikes home and Alex was absolutely flying but he got caught in the early race melee with Shane Byrne and Michael Laverty so he was coming through from 20th, he did some very fast lap times – it was very encouraging. Eventually there were some problems with the engine so he had to come off. All in all, it’s been a really tough weekend, but we’ve got some positive feedback for the next race.”

Says Alex Lowes: “It’s been a difficult weekend as it is my first weekend on the bike. Otherwise, I’ve really enjoyed it. We had a little problem in that last race but that was the best times I’d done on the bike. I can start looking forward to the next one now with something solid to build on.”

Alex Lowes has been gathering as much information on the Yamaha bike as he can and took the opportunity to have a quick test on the bike this Wednesday.

Alex Lowes Motorpoint Yamaha
“I am so looking forward to the weekend, I managed a few laps at Mallory in the week, the bike feels pretty different to what I have ridden before but I love it! I will have to work hard on my riding technique to get the best from the bike.
I was in Germany at the weekend and managed to quiz Eugene Laverty about the Yamaha and he gave me some very useful pointers, I am on my way to Ron Haslam’s today to get a quick refresher chat on Donington! We will be ready come Sunday”

Tommy Bridewell Motorpoint Yamaha
“It seems ages since Cadwell and I need to get back on the bike now! It is great we have a two man team again and Alex will definitely be going for it! I know what I need to do to move up to the next step. Since Cadwell I have downloaded all the info and with what I have learned I am very positive for the remainder of the year”

Rob Mac team manager
“Alex and Tommy have given a change to the team, both want to try 100% and do the very best they can, we have to look after them and try and keep them calm! They have injected a much needed motivational boost to my team and sponsors and we are all fired up to do the best we can at the last three rounds”

The talented young rider was most recently racing for MSS Colchester Kawasaki, after having proved himself to be a talented rider in the Evo class. Lowes had shocked everyone when he managed to grab pole position for one of the races at Thruxton while on an Evo bike.

His success did not go unnoticed as he was soon snapped up by the MSS Colchester Kawasaki team after he parted from the Evo class. At only 21 years of age, Lowes has many years of riding ahead of him to improve and enjoy, if his current storming progress in British Superbikes is anything to go by, he will be a great rider for many years to come – his first race for Motorpoint Yamaha will come at Donington Park, September 9-11.

Says Alex Lowes: “This is an amazing opportunity for me, 2011 has been a roller coaster season with some very steep learning curves. Everyone I have worked with over the year has been great and I thank them for giving me the break. The circumstances have given me a chance to get on one of the best bikes in the championship and I really want to pay Rob and the Motorpoint team back for their belief in me”

Says Rob Mac: “Both Tommy and Alex are the future and are in the early stages of their careers, both very fast and committed, these are two ‘old school’ riders here for race day and a challenge! It will be our job to try and keep them calm and help them develop their skills. My team have worked with some of the best young riders in their early years including Championship leader Tommy Hill, I would like to think our experience has helped them all. We can see in both Tommy and Alex as potential stars of the future and hope they can deliver us a great end to the season”

Bridewell, 23, started on the grid in 17th for race one. This was going to make it difficult to break the top 10 in his first race for Rob Mac’s team.

He started well by taking on the field and getting himself into 13th spot. Unfortunately, he could not complete his impressive debut as the Motorpoint rider flew off his bike and ruled himself out of the rest of the race. Bridewell came out unscathed, but his bike needed some repairs to the engine before he could go out in the next race.

The mechanics worked their magic on the Motorpoint Yamaha bike, and prepared it well in time for race two. They should be commended for their quality of work in the time given.

When race two came around, Bridewell dusted himself down and went out onto the grid for the final race of the day in which he was able to claim 11th. This leaves Bridewell in a good position for Donington in two weeks time where he can build on his start and push for a top ten finish.

In a sad note on the day, young and talented rider, Ben Gautrey, lost his life at Cadwell. Our thoughts are with Ben’s family at this difficult time. His presence will be sorely missed.

With just four rounds remaining, the Rob McElnea team needs to push for the best possible end to the year in order to recognise the massive support from fans and partners of the team alike.

With Loris Baz being forced out of the rest of the season due to his personal financial difficulties and fellow team member, James Westmoreland struggling to find top ten form throughout the year, Rob has taken the difficult decision to look elsewhere to inject new spark into the team.

For the remaining four rounds, James Westmoreland will be replaced by Tommy Bridewell, who recently enjoyed a great testing session for the team. It is Rob’s intention to have the team back to a full two rider line up as soon as possible, meaning a second replacement rider will hopefully be announced in due course.

Rob Mac said; “Another very frustrating season with so much potential not able to be fulfilled. With the current climate, most of the teams are running very tight budgets and all are keen to give a good return for their backers and fans.

“I thought we had a very strong line up, young hungry riders full of determination, but with financial issues ruining Loris’s year and Westy on his own and unable to find his form, the team was struggling for results.

“I have to try and put a show on for everyone and feel a new injection of enthusiasm and motivation will help the team achieve the best results I know it is capable of, and with Tommy we have exactly that. We want to get back to finishing the year with a two man team and are working on finding him a partner.

“I am sorry for James, he has the potential no question but with all our scenarios we have run out of time and need to try something new”

Westy chats before the race

Motorpoint Yamaha’s James Westmoreland started 16th on the grid for the first race of the day.
He was in good fighting spirit before the race and upbeat thanks to Saturday’s sixth place finish. Unfortunately, with a third of the race left, Westmoreland’s tyres were slipping and he had to come to the garage and try switching to softer compound tyres.

After rejoining the race Westmoreland was only able to finish 25th.
However, the gamble of changing tyres paid off. By producing the ninth fastest lap of the race he secured ninth on the grid for race two.

An hour before the second race, British summer rain took everyone by surprise.
It stopped well within time but left teams wondering about tyre choice.

This time Westmoreland had a flying start, riding his way through to seventh place.
Once again, a grip issue prevented him from progressing, and the Motorpoint rider gradually slipped back to 14th where he remained for the last 10 laps.

James said: “It’s not the finish that we wanted for the weekend, really.
We had a good setting yesterday. I did everything I could.
I had a good start, up to seventh, but I couldn’t go with the group in front of me, they just ran away from me. I didn’t have the grip in the rear to go forward.

“I am disappointed but I am a racer! We will work out what went wrong and come back stronger. I look forward to the next race at Cadwell Park.”

Armed with optimism and determination, James Westmoreland is already in the mood to show what he is capable of at the next British Superbike round.

Do not miss the races at Cadwell Park on Bank Holiday Monday (29th of August).

Gaelle Henderson (www.motoracereports.com / @motoracefeed on Twitter)