Josh Brookes - Photo Credit: Tyco Suzuki
Josh Brookes was delighted to take his first victory of the 2012 British Superbike Championship at Thruxton after a tremendous ride through the field. The Australian came through from 13th at the end of lap one to beat Tommy Hill, backing up his third place finish in race one, and the Australian admitted he was braced for a long hard race after his poor start.
“That was a satisfying win. I knew from race one I could do it, but I also knew after race one I needed a good start. I messed the start up and thought immediately, 'this is going to be tough' especially after one lap, as I could see the leaders were so far away. The team did a great job for me today and I had so much confidence in the new GSX-R that I could pass almost anywhere. Once I had a clear track I set out to make smooth fast laps with not a single mistake, because that was my only chance to catch the leaders. Once I caught them… I knew I'd win.”
Tyco Suzuki teammate Alastair Seeley was unable to follow up his podium finish at Brands Hatch after scoring just a single point on Sunday and the Northern Irishman is keen to forget a disappointing weekend.
“It's been a character building weekend to say the least. In the wet we have already proven how fast and competitive our package is, but I struggled to replicate that in the dry and I'm very disappointed what we achieved today. I'll take a day or two to reflect then it's re-load and go again at Oulton.”
Team Manager Philip Neill believes the race two performance was the best of Brookes' BSB career and hopes he can translate it into a championship challenge.
“After a great start to the championship last week with Alastair, it's especially satifying to have a one hundred percent podium record and also to hold second place in the championship at this point. Josh was obviously at his very best today and we all know how good he is when he's in that kind of form. However, I must say I do believe that second race was the best I've ever seen him ride.
I'd like to give a special mention to Josh's crew today as together with Josh and the K-Tech Suspension engineers they have worked superbly all weekend. They stayed fully focused, concentrating on achieveing the best possible race set-up and it paid off. Obviously there is a long way to go in the championship, but hopefully we have given our new title sponsor Tyco and of course Suzuki the best possible start.
Alastair struggled this weekend in dry conditions but was at his brilliant best in the wet. Unfortunately at Thruxton if you are a bit off with set-up it is hugely magnified. It just wasn't his weekend but I'm confident he'll be back stronger at the upcoming rounds.”
