Brookes takes first win for R1 with dominant double

Author: Oli Rushby Posted: 19 Jul 2015

Josh Brookes broke his 2015 win duck today at Brands Hatch, storming to a dominant double victory at the Kent circuit to reduce Shane Byrne’s championship lead to just five points.  

Byrne took the holeshot in race one to take the lead but Brookes wasted no time in fighting his way past to take the top spot.

There were a number of casualties at Druids on the first lap, with Jason O’Halloran clipping Ryuichi Kiyonari’s back end, taking out Pete Hickman and Danny Buchan in the process.

Stuart Easton crashed out heavily at Hawthorns on the fourth lap bringing out the safety car for a short period.

The race resumed with Byrne in pursuit of Brookes but the challenge didn’t last long with Byrne soon joining teammate Easton in the gravel at 150mph.

Another safety car bunched it up at the front, much to the dismay of leaders Brookes, Cooper and Ellison.

Tommy Bridewell latched on to the trio as the Nissan GTR headed back to the pits but the West Countryman was unable to make a move on the top three as Brookes crossed the line to take the 2015 R1’s first ever British Superbike victory.

Cooper took a career-best second ahead of Ellison, who returns to the podium for the first time since his heavy crash at Snetterton.

Laverty took fifth ahead of a jubilant John Hopkins on the MotoRapido Ducati in sixth.

Nobody took up the offer of a chance to fight for £50,000 in the second race, with Byrne, Brookes and Cooper all opting to take up their front row grid spots. Byrne once again got the holeshot

Stalking Byrne for the first eight laps, Brookes eventually made his move and immediately began to gap the chasing pack.

Keen not to lose any more positions, Byrne worked hard to pull time on Cooper and Bridewell in third and fourth respectively.

Brookes’ had stretched his lead to 3.434 seconds to take his second win of the day ahead of Byrne with Cooper once again on the podium in third.  

James Ellison benefitted from a late crash for Tyco BMW’s Tommy Bridewell to take fourth ahead of Michael Laverty with Billy McConnell completing the top six.

Brookes’ victory sees him close in on Byrne’s championship lead, with the pair now separated by just five points at the top of the table. Cooper moves within reach of the top six in eighth.

Race 1 Result

1. Josh Brookes – Milwaukee Yamaha
2. Richard Cooper – Anvil Hire TAG Kawasaki +0.507
3. James Ellison – JG Speedfit Kawasaki +0.693
4. Tommy Bridewell – Tyco BMW +0.758
5. Michael Laverty – Tyco BMW +4.542
6. John Hopkins – Lloyds British MotoRapido Ducati +4.626
7. Luke Mossey – Teccare Quattro Plant Kawasaki +5.758
8. Dan Linfoot – Honda Racing +6.401
9. James Westmoreland – JG Speedfit Kawasaki +7.128
10. Billy McConnell – Smiths BMW +7.187

Race 2 Result

1. Josh Brookes – Milwaukee Yamaha
2. Shane Byrne – PBM Kawasaki +3.434
3. Richard Cooper – Anvil Hire TAG Kawasaki +4.616
4. James Ellison – JG Speedfit Kawasaki +6.887
5. Michael Laverty – Tyco BMW +8.284
6. Billy McConnell – Smiths BMW +14.141
7. Luke Mossey – Teccare Quattro Plant Kawasaki +14.930
8. Christian Iddon – Bennetts Suzuki – +15.296
9. Jason O’Halloran – Honda Racing +16.647
10. Broc Parkes – Milwaukee Yamaha +18.077 

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