Josh Brookes charged from zero to hero as he topped the free practice sessions for the triple-header seventh round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park.
It was a remarkable change of fortune for the Australian who had crashed out spectacularly in the morning session at Druids, leaving his Milwaukee Yamaha badly damaged, but Brookes repaid the hard work of his team to repair his bike.
“I made a mistake passing a rider and got impatient. I was left with less room on the entry to Druids so as a result I was on the side of the tyre, on the wet grass and that doesn’t mix. I was really annoyed to have a crash for no reason and it could have been avoided,” said Brookes.
“We put it behind us, built the bike back up and then concentrated on going quicker. I am happy with where we are though. We have the setting and are tailoring it, so I am ready for tomorrow now,” said Brookes.
Brookes’ final run of laps put him ahead of the two former triple MCE BSB champions Ryuichi Kiyonari on the Buildbase BMW and Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki’s series-leader Shane Byrne.
Dan Linfoot continued his impressive form of the previous round, running his Quattro Plant Kawasaki in the the top five, as did Lloyds British GBmoto Kawasaki rider Chris Walker. Former MotoGP rider John Hopkins making the top six on his Tyco Suzuki.
Now they all have one final practice session on Saturday morning to fine tune their bikes ahead of the lunchtime Datatag Extreme Qualifying session which determines the grid for the afternoon’s opening race. A further two races will be decided over 18 laps on Sunday.
Free practice one:
1: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Buildbase BMW) 1m:35.886s
2: Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +0.520s
3: Chris Walker (Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Kawasaki) +0.869s
4: Tommy Bridewell (Milwaukee Yamaha) +0.869s
5: John Hopkins (Tyco Suzuki) +0.872s
6: Jon Kirkham (Halsall Biker Gear Kawasaki) +1.005s
Free practice two:
1: Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha) 1m:35.878s
2: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Buildbase BMW) +0.220s
3: Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +0.248s
4: Dan Linfoot (Quattro Plant Kawasaki) +0.876s
5: Chris Walker (Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Kawasaki) +0.945s
6: John Hopkins (Tyco Suzuki) +0.984s
