Brookes takes maiden R1 win as Byrne crashes out

Josh Brookes has taken his maiden MCE British Superbike win on the new Milwaukee Yamaha R1, taking the victory from Richard Cooper and James Ellison after title leader Shane Byrne was only one of many to crash out.

With riders complaining of a lack of grip since yesterday’s qualifying session, it was Brookes who was able to make a break at the front, pushing ahead of Byrne to lead when a huge high-speed crash at Hawthorn for Stuart Easton brought out the safety car.

On the restart, it was again Brookes who was able to take the advantage, but before long the safety car was deployed for a second time, as Byrne joined his teammate in a second high speed crash.

That left the Australian clear at the front, with an impressive ride from Richard Cooper on the Anvil TAG Racing Kawasaki able to keep James Ellison behind him to the flag. The Tyco BMW duo of Tommy Bridewell and Michael Laverty were fourth and fifth, while another impressive ride from John Hopkins saw him round out the top six

Easton, who will sit out the second race of the day thanks to a suspected broken ankle, was joined by Jason O’Halloran, Danny Buchan and Peter Hickman, all victims of a first lap pile-up, Michael Rutter, Martin Jessopp and Howie Mainwaring among the crashers.