Josh Brookes qualified in the second row for just the second time this year, and was unconcerned by an accident at the end of the session.
The Relentless Suzuki rider has struggled in qualifying so far this year, having been knocked out in Q2 in three of the first four events, but revelled in the slippery conditions at Knockhill to take sixth on the grid for race one.
Brookes reckoned that the crash in Q3 cost him a shot at the front row, but the Australian's best performances this year have come on race day and he is hoping that proves the case again today.
“Crashes aside, it’s a fairly-improved weekend with my best qualifying of the year, which was my plan this weekend. Qualifying this year has been one of my weak areas for whatever reason and it may have been even better today if I hadn’t crashed, but you’ve got to keep trying. We’ll just have to see what tomorrow brings. If it’s dry, it’s going to be a really strange situation as we’ve ridden all weekend so far in the wet. It could be fun out there tomorrow.”
Team manager Philip Neill admits the mechanics have their work cut out to repair the GSX-R1000 for the first race but believes Brookes has the pace to challenge for a podium finish, wet or dry.
“Josh made progress today and showed his determination by fighting his way into the Q3 session and at one stage looked a good bet for a top-three spot. Unfortunately he got caught out right at the end, not only slipping back to P6, but also crashing quite heavily. He’s not injured, thankfully, but frustratingly the boys have been left with quite a bit of work to do to get the bike ready for tomorrow. Hopefully we can be fighting for podium honours; I certainly think we deserve it.”
