Josh Brookes was on the pace at Snetterton and secured two podium finishes from two starts.

Tyco Suzuki frontrunner Josh Brookes came close but ultimately missed out on his first British Superbike Championship win of the season as safety cars in both premier class races at Snetterton played havoc with his plans of attack.

The ever-consistent Aussie came into the round five clash in second place, and had hoped the Norfolk circuit would provide the opportunity to stand atop the podium.

Brookes qualified in third place and made the best possible start to the opening race, leading the pack away from the line. His run would last only a lap, with a safety car deployment compressing the field which he felt cost him a shot at establishing a gap.

“I did feel I was able to have a go at the wins in both races, but the safety car coming out seems to upset my rhythm at times and in the second race I made a bit of a mistake when the win was possibly within my grasp,” explained Brookes.

The Australian rider had been shadowing leader Shane Byrne in race two but was forced to run across the grass to avoid contact as the pair muscled for track position. He secured third place to sit alongside an earlier second.

Brookes’ immediate focus is climbing aboard the Yoshimura Suzuki mount for a shakedown of the team’s WEC-spec GSX-R but he said he was already planning his strategy for the next BSB encounter.

“I’m now looking forward to testing at Suzuka this week before the 8-Hour at the end of the month, but as soon as I get back my focus will be back to Brands Hatch – where we need to get as many podium credits as possible and close the gap on Shakey (Shane Byrne) and Alex (Lowes).”

Brookes sits third on the BSB ladder after five rounds of competition.