The Milwaukee Yamaha team head to mainland Europe this weekend (18/19/20 September) for the opening round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship Showdown leading the chasing pack.

Josh Brookes holds a narrow two point advantage ahead of the tenth round of the season and the Australian is feeling confident of adding to his winning tally at the Dutch circuit.

Alongside Brookes, Czech contender Jakub Smrz lines up on the second Milwaukee Yamaha as the team prepare to come out fighting for the Showdown.

Brookes said

“I don’t feel any more pressure because it is the Showdown; I want to win races no matter what point it is in the season and I have put Oulton Park behind me now. I didn’t get the results I wanted for various reasons and it was a bit of a mess up compared to where we had been before that weekend.

“I try to apply a method to my racing and I want to be logical and calculated so I am thinking positively for Assen. I did the recent round of IDM there and it might be a different bike and different technical rules, but there must be some knowledge that I can take from there too. This should be a strong circuit for the Yamaha and if everything comes together then we have high expectations for this weekend.”

Smrz said:

“I'm really happy to have this opportunity and it's all completely new for me. I don't have much time to get used to the R1 but Milwaukee Yamaha is very professional team with a lot of experience.

“I feel though that I can benefit a bit from my Assen track knowledge. In the past I've always been very fast at Assen and it's one of my favourite tracks where I have many good memories and good results. I didn't race there last year and after an unlucky start to the season I'm very motivated to get back to Assen! I haven’t ridden a race bike since Snetterton but I have kept myself fit by training hard and I'm sure I will get back into race shape quickly.”