After a disappointing eighth place in the opening Bennetts British Superbike Championship race at Oulton Park, it’s fair to say there was a lot of head scratching taking place on Josh Brookes’ side of the VisionTrack Ducati garage.
With wins at the Cheshire venue in 2019, and many before, more of the same was expected this time around so the lowly finish in race one gave the Australian plenty of food for thought.
But, as all champions do, he turned it round on Sunday with a win in the final race re-igniting his title challenge as he closed the gap to series leader Glenn Irwin to just ten points.
“Up until the final race, it had been a very difficult weekend and I hadn’t been able to push very hard or do much overtaking; Saturday’s race being especially tough,” said the Australian.
“But the team gave me loads of support and never stopped working; the bike they gave me for the last race was brilliant.”
I had really good pace earlier in the day but I wasn’t able to sustain it all the way to the end which was why I dropped back to fourth in the closing stages so we got our heads together and made some more changes for the final race.”
The changes worked as Brookes, starting from pole position, was more like himself as he grabbed the holeshot and proceeded to lead from start to finish, controlling things from the front as we’ve seen him do so many times before.
Withstanding all the pressure he was under, it enabled him to take his 51st career BSB victory which he admitted was one of his most enjoyable.
And the win was made more enjoyable by the fact the 25 points put him back up to third overall in the title standings and, more importantly, just 10 points behind Irwin, the closest he’s been all season.
“The changes we made for the last race meant that I wasn’t able to lap as quickly as the race earlier in the day but I could lap more consistently and keep the pace all the way to the end.
“I’ve won a fair few BSB races before but I’m pleased to get a win again today and this one was particularly enjoyable.”
