Top Six For Brookes At Brands
MCE Ducati’s Josh Brookes enjoyed one of his strongest rides of the season in the opening race of round five of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship season at Brands Hatch this afternoon, coming home in sixth place and just 5.5 seconds behind race winner Jason O’Halloran.
After three solid free practice sessions which saw Brookes and teammate Tom Sykes sit in eighth and 14th respectively, both riders were able to improve their lap times and positions in this qualifying session, with Josh moving up to a fine sixth which was good enough for a second row start and Tom up to 12th.
The 15-lap race got underway in perfect conditions at the Kent venue and Josh maintained his sixth place on the opening lap around the undulating 2.4-mile circuit although Tom slipped back two places from his starting position.
Josh was overhauled two laps later by Kawasaki’s Rory Skinner and the duo found themselves locked in battle until two thirds race distance when former double BSB champion Brookes worked his way by on the factory supported and MCE Insurance-backed PBM Ducati. He was able to keep the young Scot at bay and duly took a strong sixth place which enabled him to move up to eighth in the championship standings and into one of the Showdown positions.
Further back, 2013 World Superbike Champion Sykes got pushed back to 15th on lap four. But gained a place back when Ryan Vickers crashed out at half race distance. With two laps to go, he overhauled Andrew Irwin to move up to 13th, a position he held until the chequered flag.
Josh Brookes: “Starting from the second row was a bit more like it but just before the start, the bike temperature went up to 120 degrees. I thought it was from the heat of the day and although it dropped, it only went to 110 rather than the 90 it usually runs at. It distracted me in the early laps and allowed the front five riders to get away but when I realised it wasn’t going to get any worse, I concentrated on getting into a decent rhythm. It was a bit frustrating as we’re so close to the front group now but we’re making progress all the time and to now be in the top eight is something. We’ll hope to make another step tomorrow.”
Tom Sykes: “It didn’t take me too long to get into the 1:25’s on Friday, which is a very respectable time around the Brands GP circuit, and I hoped to progress from there, but I haven’t been able to do what I’d like with the bike. Corner entry is fine but, in the middle and on the exit, it’s not doing what I’d expect and I’m losing a lot of time which is really disappointing. We’ll keep working and will hopefully find something for tomorrow.”
Johnny Mowatt, Team Co-Ordinator: “The progress we’ve been making with Josh in the last couple of rounds has continued here at Brands Hatch and to only be 3.5 seconds off the podium is something we could only dream of at the beginning of the season. There hasn’t been a miracle fix but we’ve kept chipping away and with a good grid position putting us in the mix, he was able to convert it into a strong result. Tom’s still struggling and with him not having the experience on the bike like Josh, it’s taking longer to get to where he wants to be but, again, we’ll keep chipping away.”
Bennetts British Superbike Championship Sprint race (15 laps)
1 Jason O’Halloran (Yamaha)
2 Tarran Mackenzie (Yamaha)
3 Tommy Bridewell (Ducati)
4 Bradley Ray (Yamaha)
5 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha)
6 Josh Brookes (MCE Ducati)
13 Tom Sykes (MCE Ducati)
Championship Standings
1 Ray 229pts
2 O’Halloran 225
3 Jackson 181
4 Skinner 157
5 Ryde 152
6 Irwin 134
8 Brookes 87
15 Sykes 50
Images courtesy of Double Red: Josh Brookes (25) and Tom Sykes (66)
