Josh Brookes struggled to get to grips with the Knockhill circuit this weekend, picking up a fifth in race two after crashing out of the opening race.
Brookes started race one from the outside of row two, in sixth spot, and made a positive start to proceedings. The good start wouldn’t last though and the Australian soon found himself back down in eighth place.
The Anvil Hire Yamaha man regrouped and made his way back into sixth, setting his sights on the the leading group before unfortunately crashing out at the ‘Hairpin’ on lap 12.
Speaking about the race meeting Brookes said: ” I knew coming into this round it was going to be a difficult event, I don’t know if it’s the Yamaha, myself or my riding style but I had a difficult weekend here in 2015 so I anticipated this weekend was going to be tough again, and I knew I’d need all the help I could get.
“Every session I went out in I did the best I could but I just didn’t find my rhythm and we’re still missing something. To get away from the weekend without injury and to salvage the points that we did is not satisfactory but we’ll have to accept it.”
Brookes started from sixth once again in race two, following the team’s excellent efforts to rebuild his Yamaha machine.
He got off the line well but got boxed in at the first corner, dropping him back down to seventh. Brookes soon had Jason O’Halloran in his sights and was able to make his move on lap 12.
Next up was O’Halloran’s Honda teammate Dan Linfoot, who already had his eyes set firmly on the leading pack. Brookes put in some quick laps and was able to catch and pass Linfoot on the penultimate lap, before crossing the line in fifth spot.
Brookes added: “We’re still working on things with the bike and we’re working on the setup and we’ve made a step forward this weekend, but I’m expecting to see the value of everything next time out.”
His crash in the opening race means that Brookes has dropped down to sixth in the championship, on 78 points, and the team know that they need to start picking up some podium credits if they are to keep their title hopes alive.
Team boss Rob Winfield explained: “Josh still sits in the all-important top six, but we’ve got to start picking up podium credits. We’ll continue to support him fully, everyone has worked very hard this weekend and sometimes it just doesn’t happen, and that is what has happened here.
“We’re going to go home, sit down and regroup ahead of Snetterton, because we know we have the bike, the right team and the correct rider to win races.”
Brookes and the team now have a two-week break before heading down to Norfolk, for round five of the championship at Snetterton.
