Josh Brookes put on an imperious display at the seventh round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Thruxton to celebrate his second consecutive double victory, smashing the lap record to move to the top of the overall standings.
Brookes had set a blistering pace all weekend and in the races continued his domination by hitting the front of the pack in both races and maintained his position to score the maximum podium points and confirm his position in the Showdown.
Adam Jenkinson continued to improve his pace throughout the races as he deputised for Broc Parkes, scoring points in both races with a solid 12th and 13th place finishes.
Team Manager Mick Shanley said: “We got everything we could, pole position, lap record, two race wins, he has been faultless and rode fantastic all weekend and hopefully we can just keep this momentum going. I think that Adam did a great job as well standing in at such short notice, he had the pace for some real good results and I think he is happy to have ridden it just to get a bit of a different idea."
Josh Brookes
"We have always had confidence and believe that we can do it but you have to actually do it and we have done this weekend. After Brands Hatch everyone was definitely carrying some confidence and a good mood in the team and that spilled onto this weekend. It has been a good circuit for me, I had my first race win here in 2010 and I have had a double last year, so it has just been a good circuit for me in general. To come from a double win at Brands Hatch and have another double here is what we were searching for but to finally achieve it means we can shout about it and I am really pleased.
"In the second race particularly when the safety car came out I was a little bit annoyed shall I say as I had worked really hard to try and make a buffer where then I could ride more comfortably and then when I saw the Safety Car flag I thought 'oh no this isn't how I planned it'. As soon as the safety car was in I just put my head down and rode the fastest, smoothest lap I could. Unfortunately for Hopper, but fortunately for me his crash created a gap and I could control the rest of the race as I had a buffer that gave me that confidence.
"Obviously I need to thank the Milwaukee Yamaha team as they have put a superb bike under me this weekend and it actually felt better again in the second race, it’s surprising how you can keep stepping it up and improve again.
"It wasn't until after the race I realised I'd achieved the lap record because on the dash it can sometimes differ to the real time and I didn't have the record in my mind. For me it was about doing the best job possible to win the races. I'm really happy and it's the cherry on top of a great weekend, especially as it's stood for so many years.
"It's a big achievement because in 2006 it was a big tyre war and Michelin and Dunlop were bringing special tyres to the races to try and have the advantage. So to get lap records on a tyre that is available to everyone means we have to give big respect to Pirelli and it shows how good the tyre is in BSB.
"To end the day with a crash doing a burn out celebrating was typical my style - if someone is going to do it, it is going to be me so congratulations to me for that!"
Adam Jenkinson
“I think riding both races was a challenge but I have loved every moment of the experience. We continued to improve our pace throughout the races and towards the end of race two my pace was as good as the guys in the top five. It is a great result for me and the team and I want to thank them for this opportunity.”
race I
1 Joshua Brookes Yamaha AUS 19'03.878
2 Dan Linfoot Honda GBR 0'04.479
3 James Westmoreland Kawasaki GBR 0'09.802
4 Shane Byrne Kawasaki GBR 0'14.134
5 Howie Mainwaring Smart Kawasaki GBR 0'14.347
6 Luke Mossey Kawasaki GBR 0'14.778
7 Jack Kennedy Kawasaki IRL 0'14.936
8 Billy Mcconnell BMW AUS 0'15.223
9 Michael Laverty Aprilia GBR 0'16.146
10 Martin Jessopp BMW GBR 0'16.356
11 Filip Backlund Kawasaki SWE 0'16.553
12 Adam Jenkinson Yamaha GBR 0'16.984
13 Ian Hutchinson Kawasaki GBR 0'17.125
14 Josh Waters Suzuki AUS 0'17.226
15 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 0'25.082
17 Aaron Zanotti Yamaha GBR 0'40.361
race II
1 Joshua Brookes Yamaha AUS 25'59.029
2 Shane Byrne Kawasaki GBR 0'05.580
3 Luke Mossey Kawasaki GBR 0'05.766
4 Thomas Bridewell BMW GBR 0'07.821
5 Dan Linfoot Honda GBR 0'08.558
6 Michael Laverty Aprilia GBR 0'09.020
7 Howie Mainwaring Smart Kawasaki GBR 0'09.323
8 Martin Jessopp BMW GBR 0'09.405
9 Lee Jackson BMW GBR 0'09.621
10 Josh Waters Suzuki AUS 0'09.699
11 Ian Hutchinson Kawasaki GBR 0'10.116
12 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 0'10.841
13 Adam Jenkinson Yamaha GBR 0'10.961
14 Filip Backlund Kawasaki SWE 0'12.238
15 Billy Mcconnell BMW AUS 0'16.341
19 Aaron Zanotti Yamaha GBR 0'26.895
BSB World Standing - Rider Standings After Race 7 of 12
1. Joshua Brookes Yamaha AUS 266
2. Shane Byrne Kawasaki GBR 254
3. James Ellison Kawasaki GBR 147
4. Stuart Easton Kawasaki GBR 139
5. Michael Laverty Aprilia GBR 115
6. Thomas Bridewell BMW GBR 112
7. Jason O'Halloran Honda AUS 103
8. Dan Linfoot Honda GBR 93
9. Richard Cooper Kawasaki GBR 76
10. Luke Mossey Kawasaki GBR 70
11. Howie Mainwaring Smart Kawasaki GBR 65
12. Billy Mcconnell BMW AUS 62
13. Ryuichi Kiyonari BMW JPN 52
14. Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 50
15. Christian Iddon Suzuki GBR 49
16. James Westmorland Kawasaki GBR 48
19. Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 38
27. A Jenkinson Yamaha GBR 7
31. Aaron Zanotti Yamaha GBR 0