Brookes to make German championship wildcard

Milwaukee Yamaha rider Josh Brookes will gain a significant advantage over his MCE British Superbike championship rivals when the series makes its annual trip abroad for the Dutch round of the series in September.

Brookes is set to gain experience of the Assen track on Yamaha’s new R1, after agreeing to a wildcard performance in the German IDM series to replace MGM Yamaha’s injured Max Neukirchner.

Brookes is one of three wildcard appearances for the team in the coming weeks, with European Superstock 1000 racer Kev Coghlan and MotoAmerica race winner Cameron Beaubier also set to appear for the team to replace Neukirchner and Damien Cudlin at Schleizer Dreieck the week prior.

Andrea Dosoli, Yamaha Motor Europe’s Road Racing Project Manager and the man believed to be in line to spearhead the manufacturer’s World Superbike return in 2016, says that the news brings mixed blessings for the team.

“Whilst it’s disappointing to have both Yamaha MGM riders out of action with injuries we are happy that they will both make a full recovery and be back on form soon. In the meantime we are fortunate to have three exceptionally talented Yamaha riders available to step in and fill the gaps. Kev, Josh and Cameron have shown great form so far this season in their classes on the new YZF-R1 so I have total confidence that they will hit the ground running in the IDM Championship and continue to show the true potential of the all-new YZF-R1.”