Source: BSB.

Josh Brookes has his sights set on victory ahead of the weekend’s third round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park on 2-4 May, topping the official test at the venue late last week.

Milwaukee Yamaha’s Brookes dipped beneath the lap record with a 1m34.850s riding the 2015 YZF-R1 to lead defending champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne by 0.041s.

“It is a positive and negative at the moment because when you go fast straight away its harder to find more speed – the closer you get to the limit, the harder it is to make improvements,” Brookes said.

“But the good thing is we have come from pre-season testing, then to Donington and Brands Hatch and now to here, and the bike has worked consistently at all three which are really different tracks.

“Oulton Park is like a rollercoaster because it has ups and downs and undulations, off and on camber corners, so to stay consistent is the first of many good signs, so from there we are steadily adjusting spring and pre-load to see how that felt.

“We have done a really typical day at work and we are leading the times which is a good sign and it will be hard to improve without sacrificing something else, but we are confident we can tailor some more areas, but it is up to me to put in a smooth, fast lap, so it is down to me now.”

Byrne had been closing the gap throughout the sessions, but it wasn’t enough to displace fierce rival Brookes from the top of the times. The pair had improved during the afternoon to push themselves ahead of James Ellison who had set the pace in the opening test session during the morning.