Milwaukee Yamaha’s Josh Brookes took the second MCE British Superbike race win in style at Thruxton, to cement his fourth win on the bounce in the series.
Brookes held on and crossed the finishing line with a five second advantage over title rival, PBM Kawasaki’s Shane Byrne and now leads the championship by twelve points.
But not only that Brookes also broke the lap record that has stood at the Hampshire track for nine years with a 1’14.884, going 0.01 seconds under the record that belonged to Gregorio Lavilla.
It was a career first podium for Quattro Plant Kawasaki’s Luke Mossey, who was locked in a fight with Byrne for second, and was narrowly pipped to the post on the final corner, but held on to take third.
Initially it was Brookes who got the hole-shot, from Hopkins, Byrne and Linfoot. But the pale Honda man out braked Byrne on lap three of twenty to go into third. But with only four laps remaining Moto Rapido Ducati’s John Hopkins was on course for a potential podium finish but crashed at the Club Chicane, while dicing with Brookes for the lead. He was fortunately unhurt.
With Hopkins out of contention it pulled Byrne up to second, with Mossey and Linfoot in tow. But on the penultimate lap Mossey got the better of the reigning champ going into Club and into second.
When the chequered flag came down in the twenty-lapper Tyco BMW’s Tommy Bridewell snatched fourth from Honda Racing’s Dan Linfoot and team-mate Michael Laverty.
Local lad Martin Jessopp held on to take a respectable eighth just behind Mainwaring. Buildbase BMW’s Lee Jackson and Bennetts Suzuki’s Josh Waters completed the top ten.
Multiple TT winner, Ian Hutchinson is standing in for the injured Stuart Easton and finished eleventh. Milwaukee Yamaha’s substitute rider Adam Jenkinson, who’s racing in the place of the crocked Broc Parkes, ended race two in thirteenth.
Team WD-40’s Jack Kennedy was riding high in sixth on lap twelve, but came crashing down at Campbell, and the safety car came out. On the same rotation Be Wiser Kawasaki’s Danny Buchan ended his race weekend in the garage after problems with his ZX-10R. Race one podium winner, James Westmoreland retired with a bike issue.
RAF Reserves BMW’s Peter Hickman had a technical problem and retreated to the pits after only a handful of laps. Anvil Hire TAG Racing’s Richard Cooper experienced another bike issue and came to a stop at Seagrave, and was unable to salvage any points this weekend.
