Pole position and new lap record display pace of former champion.
Anvil Hire Yamaha’s Josh Brookes was left frustrated at the close of Brands Hatch’s round of the British Superbike Championship on Sunday after crashing out of contention in the opening race.
Brookes claimed pole position on Saturday – TAG Racing’s first in the premier class – but was plagued by a tyre issue in race one, where he went on to finish fifth. Later, he claimed a lap record in race two, only to crash on lap nine.
“There aren’t words to describe how I feel at the moment,” Brookes recalled. “Call it a bitter pill or whatever you want, it’s not the weekend I set out to do. We had a bad tyre in race one, it happens from time to time you get a tyre that doesn’t perform like the rest. They are a mass-produced item and every so often there is one that doesn’t perform like you’d expect.
“But then race two everyone saw the tyre worked perfectly, I was able to run the pace and set a new lap record and I was the only one really on the track with Shakey, but it just wasn’t enough this weekend. It will take a few hours for me to calm down after the emotions – I’m going from being angry to nervous then upset, but in a couple of hours it will all clear off, I’ll gather my thoughts then I’ll have a clearer opinion of the weekend.
“The team are trying as hard as they can, they’ve come a long way from last year to what we’re achieving this year to be able to fight each weekend in a winning direction is a huge step for the team, I’m pleased with how things are going, but at this moment it’s difficult to process.”
Brookes now sits fifth in the 2017 BSB championship standings on 129 points, only 32 points behind second place Luke Mossey, with nine podium credits recorded to date this season. He will now turn his attention to this weekend’s Suzuka 8 Hours, returning with Yoshimura Suzuki to the Japanese classic.