Milwaukee Yamaha’s Josh Brookes has taken his first double win of the season after dominating proceedings at the latest round of the British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch on July 19.
The Australian was in peerless form around the classic Brands Hatch GP circuit, taking the race one victory after it was twice interrupted by the Safety Car following huge crashes for PBM Kawasaki teammates Shane Byrne and Stuart Easton, both coming off at close to 150mph, in separate incidents at Hawthorns.
Both riders were unhurt, yet nothing would deny Brookes as he stormed to his first win of the season by 0.5sec over podium first-timer, Kawasaki’s Richard Cooper with James Ellison on the JG Speedfit Kawasaki coming home third.
Race two saw a bruised and battered Shane Byrne shoot to the lead off the pole, a position he held until the eighth lap when Brookes made his move at Druids, pulling away to take a 3.4sec victory over Byrne with Cooper claiming his first double podium in third.
“We’ve gone this far into the season and haven’t been able to win and then we get two in the one day, it’s pretty awesome feeling,” Brookes said. “To come from a double-win and go to a track I like, it’s given us confidence for Thruxton too, so hopefully things work well for us there again.”
American John Hopkins made a welcome return to the BSB paddock in place of fellow ex-MotoGP rider Jakub Smrz on the Moto Rapido Ducati Panigale R. 2011 BSB title runner-up Hopkins went on to take the team’s best ever BSB result in sixth for race one yet failed to finish in race two.
The Superbike title standings have now closed right up with Byrne leading Brookes 221 to 216, with Ellison in third on 147.
In the British Supersport Championship, American Luke Rispoli has continued his good form by taking fourth place on his Team Traction Control Yamaha YZF-R6 behind Triump-mounted winner Luke Stapleford, who took the victory at a canter from Yamaha’s Kyle Ryde and Rispoli’s teammate Andy Reid in third.
The result sees Rispoli in fifth in the standings behind leader Stapleford, 100 points to 219.
