Josh Brookes ended his 2017 Isle of Man TT races campaign in the best possible fashion when he took sixth place in Friday's Senior race. And the Australian recorded two laps in excess of 130mph, with a new personal best lap of 130.883mph which he says should silence the doubters.
The 2015 MCE British Superbike Champion came into the race having been affected by the tragic death of Alan Bonner during Wednesday's practice session, having spent some time with the Southern Irishman during the course of the fortnight, but he gradually got dialled back in to the race, getting quicker and quicker with each lap.
"I've been quite fortunate not to have had a rider close to me pass away and I've got my own way of dealing with things when they do, sadly, happen. I'd spent quite a bit of time with Alan since being here though and his passing really shook me up,” Brookes told bikesportnews.com.
“He was riding within his ability and at his own pace and didn't do anything wrong but didn't come back so it was tough to deal with. The bike was faultless again and there's no doubt in my mind that if Michael Dunlop had been riding the Norton today, he could have won on it but today was difficult and it took me a while to get going."
Despite a steady start, Brookes still lapped in excess of 129mph on the opening lap and broke the magical 130mph barrier second time around with a lap of 130.551mph. That moved him up to seventh and for the remainder of the race, he was locked in battle with team-mate and fellow Australian David Johnson.
There was nothing between the two over the final two laps and although Johnson's fourth lap was 130.798mph, Brookes' was quicker at 130.883mph to take sixth by 2.7s and give Norton their fastest ever TT lap.
"I was too tense before the stoppage and was holding onto the bars too tight so in between races, the down time gave me chance to relax and regroup, which made the four-lap race a lot better.
“I really enjoyed the race and didn't know it was Davo I was battling with as I was just riding my own race. It didn't matter if the gap was one second or ten, I was just concentrating on doing what I was doing and whatever position I ended up, would the position I finished in.
"I got into a good rhythm and to finish the week in sixth and with a near 130mph lap is great. I've enjoyed the TT this year, riding different bikes for different teams and, as you know, anything can happen here, so we've proven our reliability. I also think we've proved a few people wrong with our Norton performances this year.
“There's been a few doubters out there but the team have been superb and with both bikes finishing both races in the top ten, I'm proud to have been part of it so, hopefully, there's more chapters to come."
