News 20 Oct 2013

Brookes wins BSB opener at Brands Hatch as Waters scores season-best finish

Australia's Josh Brookes mastered changing conditions to record his third British Superbike Championship (BSB) race win of the 2013 season in the first leg of the Brands Hatch triple-header.

Josh Brookes celebrates a hard-fought win with his Tyco Suzuki crew.

Josh Brookes celebrates a hard-fought win with his Tyco Suzuki crew.

Australia’s Josh Brookes mastered changing conditions to record his third British Superbike Championship (BSB) race win of the 2013 season in the first leg of the Brands Hatch triple-header.

Qualifying his Tyco Suzuki on pole ahead of Shane Byrne and Alex Lowes, Brookes made a solid start to the first race and was able to re-take the lead from fast starter Byrne on the opening lap.

Once in front the Aussie began to stretch his legs, building an advantage of over four seconds to his closest challengers.

As the track began to dry he went in search of the remaining damp patches to conserve tyre life, and was able to hold off the advances of Samsung Honda’s Lowes who came on strong in the closing laps to finish just 0.968s in arrears, with Byrne a distant third.

Australian Josh Waters put in an exemplary performance, qualifying his Halsall Racing Kawasaki in fourth and running as high as third early in the piece before consolidating for fourth at the end of the 18-lap race.

The result is far and away the 2012 Australian Superbike Champion’s best of the season as he looks towards a second season in BSB in 2014.

US rider PJ Jacobsen rounded out the top five finishers, with six of the 26-strong field classified as DNFs.

In the damp Supersport sprint race the win went the way of Oxford TAG Triumph rider Richard Cooper, with Alastair Seeley second and Luke Jones in third.

Technical problems for points leader Stuart Easton see Seeley close within four points of the 600cc class title with just a feature race to run tomorrow.

Australian riders were again a force, with the Smiths Triumph machines of Billy McConnnell and Glen Richards bookending the Samsung Honda of Jason O’Halloran in positions four, five and six respectively.

Though not in title contention, the consistent McConnell can lock down third place in the championship with a points finish tomorrow.

Nearly 100 riders vied for a grid spot in the packed Superstock 1000 field, with Jones-Dorling Racing’s Ashley Beech leading fellow Kawasaki riders Danny Johnson and Adam Jenkinson in the top three.

Positions one through 17 were separated by less than a second, illustrating the competitive nature of the class.

A similar influx of entrants battled it out for the Superstock 600 class qualifying honours, with Yamaha rider Callan Cooper comfortably on pole by 0.944s from Kawasaki riders Luke Hedger and Tim Hastings.

Aussie Levi Day held his own for 11th on the Moto-Breakers Kawasaki, with Seton Tuning Yamaha’s James Mutton a strong 19th and Mark Wilkinson rounding out the Aussie representation in 22nd on his Gearlink Kawasaki.

2013 British Superbike Championship
Round 12 – Brands Hatch

Superbike race one:
1. Josh BROOKES
2. Alex LOWES +0.968
3. Shane BYRNE +5.709
4. Josh WATERS +16.821
5. PJ JACOBSEN +22.890
6. Tommy BRIDEWELL +24.345
7. Chris WALKER +25.538
8. James WESTMORELAND +27.731
9. Lee COSTELLO +29.917
10. Michael RUTTER +30.394

Supersport sprint race:
1. Richard COOPER
2. Alastair SEELEY +3.707
3. Luke JONES +5.663
4. Billy McCONNELL +6.069
5. Jason O’HALLORAN +6.114
6. Glen RICHARDS +6.994
7. Glenn IRWIN +15.053
8. Graeme GOWLAND +15.187
9. Taylor MACKENZIE +15.450
10. Danny BUCHAN +15.790

Click here for detailed results

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