Business as usual for Brookes

Despite being on the cusp of completing a seven-year project to win the MCE British Superbike title, Milwaukee Yamaha’s Josh Brookes says that he’s keen to make sure that he approaches the final weekend of the series as normally as possible.

“Everything is pretty much the same as usual – and that’s intentional. What we’re doing has worked since the start of the season, so there’s no point in changing it around now!

“In the races, though, I may have to consider what’s necessary to seal the deal. I would rather just ride as I normally do too, though, and it’s going to be a case of playing it by the moment instead of premeditating anything. I have to just approach each moment on track, remain aware what I need to do, and see what happens.”

And, with the season finale typically producing heroic performances from a few – normally those still to secure a ride for next season – there may well be a time when Brookes needs to control his desire to win.

With catastrophe striking the likes of Shane Byrne and Alex Lowes in recent years – crashing out when their title rivals had already failed to score points – Brookes must be aware to go into the weekend avoiding as much as possible drama through the field.

“When it comes to the end of the year, people seem to be able to find a little more mojo in their riding – it happens in every championship! Hopefully that doesn’t come into play, but there could certainly be a mix of people at the front.

“The ideal situation for me is to do my practice as normal, try to be as close to the top as possible, go into qualifying and ride as hard as I can to secure pole, and hopefully that puts me in a good position to start the races and ride them the way I think I should be able to – and that should be enough to do the job!”