Broc Parkes is full of confidence this evening after putting in his strongest qualifying performance of the season so far at Brands Hatch to put his Milwaukee Yamaha seventh on the grid.
The Australian came into the weekend with a slight injury concern after having arm pump surgery last week, but it seems that all of his issues are long gone after today’s performance.
A delighted Parkes explained: “It went pretty good today to be honest. I’m quite happy with the feeling on the bike – I can go back to Tuesday this week and I went to see the doctor after I had arm pump surgery and I was a little bit concerned about this weekend.
“Friday morning it was a bit restricted on movement but I felt quite good on the bike, the most positive thing is that I haven’t got the arm pump at all and I feel really good over more laps I can pull the brake really hard and that’s been my problem so far this year during races.”
Parkes finds himself towards the front of the grid on a track he has not only rode on before, but has also enjoyed podium success on in the MCE British Superbike Championship.
The 33-year-old finished on the podium in all three races on the GP layout back in 2009, whilst making a wildcard appearance for PBM Kawasaki. Parkes also has World Supersport victories to his name at the Kent track.
Todays results have put the former MotoGP rider in a positive mood ahead of tomorrow’s races and he believes that he can compete with the front runners.
He said: “I got my best qualifying of the year here – P7 on the grid, third row – normally I make a good start and get away so hopefully I can fight at the front. I think the two – Shakey and Josh – have got a little bit better pace than everybody else, but it’s been quite warm here, great conditions so far.
“I like it like that, and I like this track, so hopefully tomorrow we can get some good points and show again that I can run at the front. I’m probably feeling the most confident and comfortable on the bike that I’ve felt all year – looking forward to the race tomorrow!”
Race one at Brands Hatch is scheduled to begin at 13:30 tomorrow, with the second race of the day due to get underway at 16:30.
