Josh Brookes admitted that the Relentless Suzuki team had gone in the wrong direction with their set-up at Oulton Park, explaining part of the reason for qualifying in tenth place.
The Australian who currently holds the last of the six places in the Championship Showdown, was fifth fastest in Friday practice and was forced to return to the set-up that gave him that pace in order to secure a place in Q3. With the weather looking unsettled for tomorrow though, Brookes maybe handed a reprieve in his attempt to make up ground.
“I have to be honest and say I’m not happy with the times and my position in qualifying but we’ve got to deal with it tomorrow and do the best we can. We made some changes that didn’t work for me, so we reverted back to yesterday’s settings and we’ve another few things that we can try in morning warm-up.”
“In saying that it all depends on the weather and if it’s going to be wet as expected, all the dry settings are out the window and we start again. I’ve just got to get a good start in race one and see if we can push our way through and be further up the grid for the second race.”
Team Manager Philip Neill accepted that it had been a far from perfect day, but is sure that Brookes' fighting spirit will shine through on race day.
“It’s been another one of those frustrating days. Josh just couldn’t get himself comfortable enough during the three sessions to really trouble the front three, but 10th on the grid is not the end of the world. We all know he’s a good racer and doesn’t struggle to come through the pack, so a strong start and finish to race one should push him up the grid for race two.”
