As British Superbikes approaches its launch off this weekend at Donington Park, Josh Brookes returns hungrier than ever before, declaring that victory is a must for him and the Anvil Yamaha Racing Team. The Australian returns to the series after a difficult year with Milwaukee BMW, who like Josh, made a switch to WSBK from BSB after their 201t title success with Yamaha.
“The last five days I’ve ridden on a bike, four of them have been in the wet so rain seems to be the consistent factor as of late, said Brookes who is determined to get some dry weather rides in this weekend at Donington Park.
“I’m happy with the bike in the conditions I have ridden it in, but it’s no way to gauge the performance of me or the bike as it’s just been bad conditions. It’s certainly no yardstick, so we’ll just have to wait for better weather. Josh didn’t win at Donington Park when he visited the track in his championship year. In fact, he hasn’t won at the track since doing the double for TAS Suzuki back in 2012.
“I don’t feel frustrated about it, that’s just the facts. Logic states that better weather would have been more suitable to our preparation and we just haven’t had it. It’s the same for everyone, everyone wants to get out and start riding properly. We have to win, the plan is to win, that is our goal and that is what everyone wants to start the season of on a high.”
Whilst Josh returns to the championship, the Milwaukee team he was in have stayed in WSBK. Brookes does return though to a Factory supported Anvil Yamaha team and on a bike which is virtually identical to the one he rode to victory 13 times in 2015.
Whether Josh will win instantly is yet to be discovered, seeing as he has never won any of the first three races of a season he competed in. Having said that, he hast been on the podium 12 times from 28 attempts in the first two rounds of a year since 2009, highlighting that consistency may be key for those all-important podium points, which contribute to the amount of points added on to the standard ‘500’, should he reach the showdown placings.
Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko