Tommy Bridewell has this week signed a deal with the Lorenzini by Leoni Yamaha Italia Team which will see him contest both the FIM 1000cc Superstock Championship as well as the Italian Superstock Championship. Following a season racing in the Italian Superbike Championship for Team Naturally Best on a Suzuki GSX-R1000K6, and the Suzuki GSX-R750 European Cup, the 20-year-old from Devizes in Wiltshire contested the final round of the World Superbike Championship at Portimao in Portugal where he finished in a battling 25th place on the ageing bike. Spotting his prowess, team owner Vanni Lorenzini offered Tommy a test on the team’s 2008 Yamaha R1 Superstock machine, normally ridden by Michele Magnoni, at the Portuguese track the following week whereby he lapped quicker than the Italian had in the race to end up fastest in the Superstock class. With Bridewell attracting the attentions of a number of other teams in both the UK and abroad, Lorenzini went about putting a deal together for Bridewell which will see him race for the team in 2009, with an option to continue in 2010. After concluding the deal at Cartagena, where the team were testing earlier this week, Bridewell commented: “This is the ride I’ve been after and I know that the team is capable of winning the championship so it’s up to me. They are a great bunch of guys who have moved Heaven and Earth to get me on one of their bikes and their pedigree is proven. There’s lots of work to do and it won’t be easy but I’ll simply knuckle down to the task, learn what I need and then give it my best shot. I really can’t thank everyone enough who has been involved in putting this together. After racing in Europe last year, I know virtually all the tracks so that’s not a problem and I’m really looking forward to going racing.” FIM Superstock 1000 Championship April 5 – Spain, Valencia April 26 – Netherlands, Assen May 10 – Italy, Monza June 21 – San Marino, Misano June 28 – Great Britain, Donington Park July 26 – Czech Republic, Brno September 6 – Germany, Nürburgring September 27 – Italy, Imola October 4 – France, Magny-Cours October 25 – Portugal, Portimão