MILWAUKEE YAMAHA’S BROOKES GUNNING FOR GLORY AT SEASON FINALE
The Milwaukee Yamaha team arrive at Brands Hatch this weekend for the final round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship with Josh Brookes holding a 47 point advantage in the standings ahead of the final three races.
Brookes has shown imperious form to win 11 of the last 13 races as he targets his first championship victory in MCE BSB and the first with the new Yamaha YZF-R1.Earlier in the season the Australian claimed a double win on the Grand Prix circuit and has hopes of a repeat performance in a bid to end the season in winning style.
Czech contender Jakub Smrz is also in a confident mood ahead of the final three races of the season; he has been building momentum since joining the team at Assen and is bidding for a hat trick of top ten finishes at the season finale.
Brookes said: “I think that I am looking at this weekend as I have in any other year of coming into the final round. I feel pretty much the same, the only difference is in previous years I have gone into the event with the belief that I can win the title and then I have had the acceptance stage of not winning and thinking about how I could the next time. I am still in that same mental space right now; it is just that on paper I am in a more favourable position this year.
“The last visit to Brands Hatch before was where it all came to the stage we are at now with the Milwaukee Yamaha and since then it has been fine tuning because the ideas we had worked with had come to fruition. I am just focusing on the racing this weekend. In my head I could try and work out the maths and the different scenarios but to hell with it! I just want to win all three races!”
Smrz said: “Silverstone was difficult on race day as not everything went perfectly but I had a very good pace, it just didn´t turn in to better results. There were many positives and improvements through the weekend and I can´t wait to sit on Milwaukee Yamaha R1 again this weekend. Brands Hatch is track I like and I’m sure we can move ahead again and be closer to top.
“It’s a shame that it’s the last meeting of 2015 and only the third for me on the Milwaukee Yamaha but that makes me more motivated to have a great weekend and give something back to Shaun Muir and all of the Milwaukee Yamaha crew for giving me this opportunity. The most important thing for everybody in the team is that everything goes well for Josh and I wish him good luck in the title fight!”