PHOTO COURTESY OF BSB
Milwaukee Yamaha’s Josh Brookes set the pace on day one of the British Superbike Championship round at Thruxton in another pair of incredibly close sessions where the 17 riders were separated by just .931 of a second.
The Australian had the edge over his rivals in both sessions as he looks to build on his double win at the previous round at Brands Hatch which moved him to within five points of the series-leader, four-time champion Shane Byrne on the PBM Kawasaki.
“It didn’t start out immediately that okay—we like to have the bike close to the same as the previous track, but Thruxton is so unique that you have to come with a whole different attitude,” Brookes said. “We started on a set-up that didn’t work that well, but we were able to improve all day and a fresh tire left me at the top of the sheets.”
American John Hopkins closed the gap on Brookes in the second session, the former MotoGP ace brought the Lloyds British Moto Rapido Ducati to within .161 of a second of his Australian rival.
Meanwhile Byrne was twelfth in the second session, but despite holding eighth place on the combined times, the four-time champion was unfazed and believes he has more pace over race distance.
Richard Cooper maintained his form from Brands Hatch by posting the third fastest time ahead of James Westmoreland on the JG Speedfit Kawasaki and rookie Luke Mossey completed the top five.
2015 Thruxton British Superbike
Combined Free Practice Times:
1: Josh Brookes (Yamaha) 1:15.364s
2: John Hopkins (Ducati) +0.161s
3: Richard Cooper (Kawasaki) +0.167s
4: James Westmoreland (Kawasaki) +0.217s
5: Luke Mossey (Kawasaki) +0.351s
