For the third time in his career, Josh Brookes leaves the Brands Hatch GP having won the double to tie former BeWiser Ducati rider Shakey Byrne’s tally.
Brookes started the race from second place as he did in race one, but with clear skies above and a dry track for race two, the Australian was on the pace from the outset.
As the lights went out, Brookes immediately took the lead from teammate Scott Redding, and started setting a blistering pace. Redding was able to stay with his teammate initially, but the pace was unrelenting and it was the new championship leader Tommy Bridewell who latched onto the leader.
Bridewell moved past Redding into second, when the former MotoGP star ran wide at Paddock Hill Bend. As the front two pulled away from Redding who was in a comfortable third place, it was important for the Brit to finish on the podium after the strategy mistake in race one.
Redding will have gained valuable knowledge from his first appearance at Brands Hatch, and after a damage limitation first race, he leaves the weekend with a fourteen point deficit to Bridewell.
The Oxford Racing Ducati rider is still hunting for his first victory of 2019, and was doing everything he could to unsettle Brookes. But the experience of the former series champion showed, as he closed out the last few laps without any mistakes to deliver a second clean sweep, and third for the team this year.
It was another superb showing for Danny Buchan, who secured his second fourth place finish of the day, to build momentum heading into the next few rounds.
Fifth was Dan Linfoot, who couldn’t replicate his wet weather pace in the dry. However, another top five and top Yamaha in both races will be a positive step heading forward for Linfoot.
Sixth was the ever consistent Christian Iddon, who finished just ahead of Peter Hickman and teammate Keith Farmer. Ninth was Jason O’Halloran who is surprisingly still in search of his first podium this season.
It’s incredible to think that over the course of the season, the McAMS Yamaha rider has shown the most consistent speed of any rider, but the results have been tough to come by for the Australian. Closing out the top ten was Glenn Irwin, who was unable to capitalise on his first front row start of the season.
The only crash of the race came in the form of Bradley Ray. After a hugely positive qualifying on Saturday, momentum seemed to be back with the Buildbase Suzuki rider, but another non scoring outing, will be tough to accept for the supremely talented youngster.
