BSB: Brookes: 'If we continue like this we cannot win the title'

Josh Brookes has said he fears he won’t be able to win this year’s Bennetts British Superbike Championship if the McAMS Yamaha squad can’t find improvements with the YZF-R1 ahead of the Showdown kicking off at Oulton Park this weekend. 

While the 2015 champ was able to fight at the front in all three of this weekend’s races, he missed out on the rostrum in the first and third outings while his second place in race one was gifted to him when Jake Dixon and Tarran Mackenzie crashed out on an oil slick on the final lap. 

It was a tough weekend all round for the Aussie, who suffered from two engine failures in FP2 and qualifying, and after losing 12 podium points to rival Haslam – which would equate to 32 normal points should he have a similar weekend in the Showdown – he openly admitted doubts about his title chances.

“If we continue like this we cannot win the championship,” confessed Brookes, who now sits 49 points from series leader Haslam.

“I believe I’m riding the best I ever have, but at the minute I cannot win with the tools I’ve got. We need to up our game with the performance of the bike. I cannot generate more talent between now and next weekend, I’ll do everything I can – eat brain food or something and channel any extra brain cells I can go to how we can improve – but the physical attributes of the bike need to come on a bit further.”