Source: Supplied.

Australian Josh Brookes says his double-victory at the weekend’s sixth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship (BSB) was a perfect gift for his McAms Yamaha outfit, who were celebrating the 20th anniversary of the YZF-R1 at Brands Hatch with a special one-off livery.

Brookes claimed two stunning victories by the narrowest of margins, capturing the opening outing by just 0.227s, while race two saw him cross the line a mere 0.090s ahead of Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati).

Brands Hatch marked an significantly positive round for Brookes, who had been experiencing a difficult campaign since transitioning the factory Yamaha squad in 2018.

“It’s a fantastic time to get the double for Yamaha on the 20th Anniversary of the R1,” Brookes explained. “It’s a perfect gift for them and it was their birthday a couple of weeks ago so I’m sure this will go down well!

“Those opening laps were quite fun for me in race one. This year has been quite frustrating on the track for me not able to reach my potential and the opening lap but today I felt good and we were making passes so I thought ‘why not, we’ll show our hand and see what we can do’.

“We were pushing fast lap times all the way through the race. When you are doing that something’s got to be getting worn, either you or the tyre or both, so last two even maybe three laps I was like ‘oh I’m in trouble here’.

“I didn’t have the drive I needed to continue that pace. But fortunately having that tiny gap that I had was enough to keep it right. I came into the last turn and I could hear the thump of the Ducati right behind me but I wasn’t ready to give it up after leading the whole way.”

Brookes has promoted himself to fourth in the standings after previously holding down seventh. The British Superbike Championship now heads to 3-5 August at Thruxton.