British Superbike

BSB Thruxton: Brookes Bounces Back With Dominant Double

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Josh Brookes put his recent disappointments behind him with a magnificent double victory at Thruxton on Sunday. The Australian had gone six races without a win and five without as much as a podium but ended his drought by leading home Shane Byrne and Ryuichi Kiyonari in both races.

After easing past early leader Dan Linfoot, Brookes asserted his authority in race one as the Quattro Plant Kawasaki rider fought to hang on to what would’ve been a maiden BSB podium. Byrne relegated him to third after pushing past at the Complex on lap nine before a fast-finishing Kiyonari dived up the inside at the Club chicane to deny him the last place on the rostrum just two laps from home.

The second race was halted after six laps with Milwaukee Yamaha once again at the centre of the action with Tommy Bridewell’s machine encountering mechanical problems, spilling fluids on the run-up to Club. A shortened fifteen lap sprint was guaranteed to provide a close finish but Brookes had an answer to everything Byrne and Kiyonari threw at him, claiming victory with the podium finishers covered by less than half a second on the line.

Brookes admitted he was relieved to have returned to winning ways and will now look forward to Oulton Park next weekend with renewed confidence.

“I am certainly pleased with the double win and it is a great result for Milwaukee Yamaha. I am really enjoying this moment of being back on the top step of the podium after some rounds where we haven’t been, but I think sometimes you have to remember that racing Superbikes isn’t easy. I kept pushing as hard as I could where I was strong and riding through the areas I didn’t feel as good. I maintained good lap times in the first race and the gap just grew and grew. It has been exciting for me to win and I want to see if we can do the same at Oulton Park now.”

Linfoot impressed again to take a fine fourth, matching his race one result, and with Chris Walker following him home in fifth, the pair have pushed the unfortunate Bridewell out of the showdown positions by four points, despite Tommy taking fifth himself in the opening race. Jon Kirkham saw off Stuart Easton for a superb sixth in race two but Jakub Smrz’s weekend went only one way following his surprise pole position. The Ducati rider made an appalling start to race one which prevented him from doing any better than sixth while a difficult second race left him with just three points for thirteenth.

 

2014 MCE INSURANCE BRITISH SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP – RACE FOR THE SHOWDOWN
Shane Byrne (Photo Credit: Jon Jessop Photography) Josh Brookes mini Kiyonari mini
1 SHANE BYRNE 261 2 JOSH BROOKES 179 3 RYUICHI KIYONARI 139
James Ellison - Photo Credit: GBmoto Chris Walker (Photo Credit: GBmoto) Dan Linfoot mini
4 JAMES ELLISON 124 5 CHRIS WALKER 116 6 DAN LINFOOT 116
TOP SIX AFTER DONINGTON PARK WILL QUALIFY FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP SHOWDOWN
7 TOMMY BRIDEWELL YAMAHA MILWAUKEE YAMAHA 112
8 STUART EASTON KAWASAKI RAPID SOLICITORS KAWASAKI 91
9 JOHN HOPKINS SUZUKI TYCO SUZUKI 80
10 RICHARD COOPER KAWASAKI ANVIL HIRE TAG RACING 69
11 JAKUB SMRZ DUCATI MILLSPORT DUCATI 56
12 JOSH WATERS SUZUKI TYCO SUZUKI 50
13 JON KIRKHAM KAWASAKI HALSALL BIKE GEAR 41
14 JAMES WESTMORELAND BMW BUILDBASE BMW MOTORRAD 39
15 MICHAEL RUTTER BMW BATHAMS PRIZE WINNING ALES 31
16 PATRIC MUFF BMW BATHAMS PRIZE WINNING ALES 27
17 KEITH FARMER KAWASAKI PR RACING KAWASAKI 23
18 BARRY BURRELL KAWASAKI TEAM WD40 23
19 BEN WILSON KAWASAKI GEARLINK KAWASAKI 22
20 PETER HICKMAN HONDA RAF RESERVES HONDA 22
21 MARTIN JESSOPP BMW RIDERSMOTORCYCLES.COM BMW 13
22 HOWIE MAINWARING KAWASAKI QUATTRO PLANT KAWASAKI 12
23 JULIEN DA COSTA HONDA HONDA RACING 11
24 IAN HUTCHINSON YAMAHA FFX YAMAHA 8
25 GARY MASON KAWASAKI ANVIL HIRE TAG RACING KAWASAKI 5
26 HARRY HARTLEY KAWASAKI HALSALL BIKE GEAR 4
27 JOHN INGRAM KAWSAKI MORELLO RACING 3
28 AARON ZANOTTI SUZUKI GGH/STEL SUZUKI 2
29 LEE JACKSON BMW BUILDBASE BMW MOTORRAD 1

(Photos courtesy of Jon Jessop Photography, BSB Media and Milwaukee Yamaha)

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