MCN’s top ten BSB riders: 9th

With all the dust settled on yet another highly competitive year in the MCE British Superbike championship, MCN have taken the opportunity to look back on the season and examine our top ten riders – based on more than just race results!

9th: Josh Brookes

• Championship position: 4th
• Wins: 4
• Podiums: 11

Ninth place on the list for Josh Brookes after taking four wins and riding to fourth overall in the championship might seem harsh, but the Australian himself would be quick to admit that his 2014 season was far from what he wanted it to be, leaving him bitterly disappointed with his result.

Struggling all year on an underpowered and out of date Yamaha R1, he was simply unable to find an answer to make the machine competitive. And to add insult to injury, teammate Tommy Bridewell, initially seen by many as the second rider in the team, managed to just overhaul Brookes at the flag for third in the series.

Making it even worse was the inevitable consequence of pushing too hard on an outclassed machine; crashing. Brookes suffered a string of falls mid-season as he tried too hard on the Milwaukee Yamaha, even suffering the ignominy of falling twice on warm-up laps.

However, with a brand new Yamaha machine in the garage for 2015, Brookes looks set to revitalise himself. Already looking like the machine everyone wants to be on, he’ll be keenly aware that a strong result on the new R1 could be his ticket back to the World Superbike paddock.