CRASH AND BYRNE BACK ON TOP AS BROOKES UPHOLDS AUSSIE SPORTING HONOUR Race one: 1: Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) 2: Alex Lowes (Samsung Honda) +0.243s 3: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Samsung Honda) +8.268s 4: James Westmoreland (Buildbase BMW) +13.964s 5: PJ Jacobsen (Tyco Suzuki) +18.343s 6: Jon Kirkham (Buildbase BMW) +20.469s Race two: 1: Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 2: James Ellison (Milwaukee Yamaha) +0.191s 3: Alex Lowes (Samsung Honda) +0.289s 4: Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) +2.815s 5: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Samsung Honda) +7.010s 6: James Westmoreland (Buildbase BMW) +8.044s Championship standings: 1: Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 232 2: Alex Lowes (Samsung Honda) 211 3: Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) 210 4: James Ellison (Milwaukee Yamaha) 120 5: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Samsung Honda) 110 6: Jon Kirkham (Buildbase BMW) 100 Report The Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit hosted a dramatic sixth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship today as Josh Brookes claimed his first victory of the season to uphold Australian sporting honour. His win came as home hero and standings leader Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne dramatically crashed out of the first race after taking the lead from Brookes. The Aussie was unable to complete the double though as local hero Byrne avenged his earlier crash by leading throughout the second race, taking his eighth victory of the season aboard the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki. Byrne had earlier paid the penalty for a daring move to snatch the lead at Hawthorns at two thirds distance when he dived through on the inside of Brookes, only to lose the front end of his bike and crash out of contention at high-speed. Brookes watched the drama unfold: “Shakey was suddenly going up the inside and faster than I was on a tighter line which is harder to achieve. I thought perhaps his bike was performing better than mine and the next minute whoosh, he was off. I was lucky not to get caught up and looked over my shoulder in disbelief. “As for the win, it feels good but I feel like I have been trying hard all season and it is a great surprise to finally get the win,” added Brookes who led the two Samsung Honda’s of Alex Lowes and three times title winner Ryuichi Kiyonari over the line. Byrne’s team worked frantically to rebuild his smashed bike for the second race and he repaid their efforts with a faultless ride, leading throughout from Milwaukee Yamaha’s James Ellison, also avenging a first race crash, with Lowes third from Brookes and Kiyonari. Byrne said: “I feel much better now I have won, earlier I felt really disappointed for my team. I got the lead in the first race and thought brilliant, but before I knew it I was exiting straight out the side door! This victory is for the team for getting the bike out there for me.” For Byrne, it was the 49th MCE BSB victory of his career and leaves him 21 points clear of Lowes in the standings, who regained second place by only a single point from Brookes. The top six in the standings features five different manufacturers with Jon Kirkham locking out the current top six for Buildbase BMW. For more information please visit www.britishsuperbike.com More, from a press release issued Team Suzuki News Service: Tyco Suzuki’s Josh Brookes raced his GSX-R1000 to victory in the opening British Superbike Championship race earlier today at Brands Hatch in Kent. The Australian, who now heads to Japan to compete in the Suzuka 8-Hour race next weekend, made his intentions clear from the opening laps, and when championship leader Shane Byrne crashed-out after attempting a pass on him, it was a matter of holding off Alex Lowes until the chequered flag. Brookes’ Tyco Suzuki team-mate PJ Jacobsen also rode a storming opening British Superbike race at Brands GP circuit on his GSX-R1000; the young American finishing fifth, which is his best-ever British Superbike race result. In race two Brookes suffered a lack of grip and had to settle for fourth place, with Jacobsen taking eighth, but posted consistent lap-times which augers well for the next round at Oulton Park in three weeks’ time. In British Supersport, Taylor Mackenzie demonstrated his brand of middleweight talent, running top-six in the early laps of the opening encounter. Unfortunately the youngster crashed-out on lap three but produced a top-10 result in race two from 12th place on the grid; and like Jacobsen is now looking to push forward to the next level at Oulton Park. Josh Brookes: “Winning the first race felt really good; that goes without saying, although I do feel I’ve been riding as hard as the guys who have been winning all season. I try hard in every race, but more than anything I’m really proud of the team. At each round we keep making progress and I’ve also been trying to improve my riding. I was struggling for grip at the end of the race and had some big slides but we held on for the win. In the second race we never changed a thing on the bike, but I just had no grip; so what can I say.” PJ Jacobsen: “Race one went really, really good. I know a couple of people dropped out but you have to finish the race to score points. The second race also started really well and when the safety car came out and I knew if I could get away with Kiyonari, I could run the front pace, but I’d kind of just wrecked my tyre as I’d been going so hard on it and I had to settle for eighth. That was my best weekend results in BSB so far so I’m looking forward to Oulton now, but a big thanks to the team.” Taylor Mackenzie: “We got a good start in race one and were well on the pace but I just tucked the front and could do nothing about it. Thankfully the bike wasn’t too badly damaged. In race two it was a case of; if you don’t get away with the leading group, it’s difficult to make up places. I got caught behind another rider and by the time I got by, the gap was too big to recover. But we’ve made more progress this round and that’s important.” Philip Neill – Team Manager: “As we said before coming here, it wasn’t just about winning at all costs. In saying that, Brands is a key circuit and we come back here for the final part of Showdown in the championship, so it is an important factor showing that we can win around here. It was good to see Josh taking that first race to Shakey, and going on to take the win. The second race wasn’t so easy for us and we haven’t determined yet whether it was increased track temperature, but Josh certainly didn’t have the same level of grip to race one. “PJ had an excellent day with fifth and eighth places, which is great progress for him at a track he still doesn’t know terribly well. With Taylor, he was unfortunate to slip off in the first Supersport race, but recovered well with a solid result in race two, so a good weekend overall for us as a team.” British Superbike Championship- Race One Result: 1. Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) 2. Alex Lowes (Honda) +0.243s 3. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +8.268s 4. James Westmoreland (BMW) +13.964s 5. PJ Jacobsen (Tyco Suzuki) +18.343s 6. Jon Kirkham (BMW) +20.469s 7. Dan Linfoot (Honda) +24.515s 8. Keith Farmer (Kawasaki) +25.427 9. Howie Mainwaring (Kawasaki) +25.528s 10. Michael Rutter (Honda) +26.176s British Superbike Championship- Race Two Result: 1. Shane Byrne (Kawasaki) 2. James Ellison (Yamaha) +0.191s 3. Alex Lowes (Honda) +0.289s 4. Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) +2.815s 5. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +7.010s 6. James Westmoreland (BMW) +8.044s 7. Jon Kirkham (BMW) +10.201s 8. PJ Jacobsen (Tyco Suzuki) +11.134s 9. Dan Linfoot (Honda) +14.902s 10. Keith Farmer (Kawasaki) +15.513s More, from a press release issued by Milwaukee Yamaha: MILWAUKEE YAMAHA BACK ON THE PODIUM AT BRANDS HATCH Milwaukee Yamaha returned to the podium at the sixth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch today as James Ellison scored a second place in race two after bouncing back from a race one crash. Ellison had narrowly missed out on a front row start and dropped down the order at the start of the race and was carving his way through the order when he crashed out unhurt at Graham Hill Bend. His fastest lap in the opening race put him on pole for race two and after a better start he was tucked in behind championship leader Shane Byrne. Ellison was pushing hard but took second position and some valuable podium credits. Josh Waters had a tough weekend claiming a fourteenth and twelfth place. Ellison said: “I am happy that we were able to get back on the podium today for Milwaukee Yamaha. In the second race I was behind Shakey and I was hoping that he might make a mistake but he never did. Our bike is strong in some places going into the corners and Shakey was stronger out of the corners and then in other places we were identical so it was hard to make a move without taking us both out! I was riding hard and on the limit but it was comfortable and the Milwaukee Yamaha team have worked hard all weekend. I needed to make amends for the crash in race one so it felt good to be back up on the podium.” Waters said: “The positive we can take from this weekend is that we were in the points and I tried to change my style a bit to see if that made a difference. It hasn’t come together this weekend so we need to find something as I feel like we should have been closer in the races.” Team owner Shaun Muir concluded: “It has been a day of two halves for the Milwaukee Yamaha team. The first race was disappointing for James to crash because it then made it more difficult for him in race two with the lack of laps in the first one. He did have a push in the second race though and scored two podium credits which are important for the Showdown. He also showed the pace that the team are capable of in the race and that will be important here at the final round of the season.” For more information visit www.milwaukeeyamaha.com More, from a press release issued by Paul Bird Motorsport: Byrne Bounces Back To Victory At Brands Hatch Reigning MCE British Superbike Champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne bounced back from a high speed race one crash to take victory in race two to maintain his championship challenge in round six of the series at his local Brands Hatch circuit today. Aboard the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki ZX-10R, the Sittingbourne rider qualified on pole position and was looking to maintain his winning streak having won the previous seven successive races around the 2.4 mile Grand Prix track in his native Kent. The triple MCE BSB champion was looking good to add to his tally in the opening 18-lap race as he battled for the victory but as he made a move on lap 13 at Hawthorns Corner, he crashed out at high speed, luckily without injury but the Minxflix supported Paul Bird Motorsport Kawasaki ZX-10R was severely damaged as a result. Hard work by the Penrith-based team saw the machine repaired and Byrne took his place on the grid for race two in front of another packed house in the sunshine and this time, there was to be no denying the 36-year-old. Byrne hit the front from the start and despite coming under extreme pressure from James Ellison and Alex Lowes, he was able to fend off his rivals to take his eighth victory of the season and maintain his lead at the top of the table. It was Byrne’s 49th career MCE BSB victory and took his winning tally to 13 in his career around the Brands Hatch GP circuit. Team-mate Keith Farmer was making his return to racing after suffering leg injuries last time out at Snetterton and although he was still in considerable pain, the Clogher, Northern Ireland rider dug deep and was rewarded with a pair of top ten finishes to maintain his top ten standing in the championship. The reigning Pirelli National Superstock 1000 champion followed up an eighth place in the opening race with tenth in race two to maintain his hopes of securing a coveted Showdown place over the next few rounds. Shane Byrne: “I feel much better now than what I did after the first race, that’s for sure. I had a plan for the first race and it was all coming to fruition but no sooner had I got the lead from Josh Brookes than I was down. The team worked really hard in between races to get the bike ready and to bounce back with a win is brilliant. I made a good start and realised the importance of the win so a big thanks to the team, that victory’s for them.” Keith Farmer: “This weekend has been a tough one as I wasn’t sure I could ride so to come away with a pair of top ten results is a huge bonus. I just dug deep and did the best I could and hopefully, the three week break will give my leg more time to heal and I can come back stronger at Oulton Park.” Paul Bird, Team Owner: “Shakey’s crash was just one of those things and I expected nothing other than for him to bounce back with a win in race two. The team had to totally rebuild the bike as there was around £15k of damage so he won race two for them like the proper champion he is. He’s well on course for the Showdown and to win eight out of the twelve races so far isn’t too shoddy. Keith toughed it out this weekend and fair play to him for grinding out a pair of top ten results so hopefully he’ll be much fitter and stronger at Oulton Park. I’m proud of my riders and my team tonight.” MCE British Superbike Championship Race 1 – 18 laps 1 Josh Brookes (Suzuki) 2 Alex Lowes (Honda) 3 Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 4 James Westmoreland (BMW) 5 PJ Jacobsen (Suzuki) 6 Jon Kirkham (BMW) 8 Keith Farmer (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) DNF Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki MCE British Superbike Championship Race 2 – 18 laps 1 Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 2 James Ellison (Yamaha) 3 Alex Lowes (Honda) 4 Josh Brookes (Suzuki) 5 Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 6 James Westmoreland (BMW) 10 Keith Farmer (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) Championship Standings (after six rounds) 1 Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 232pts 2 Lowes 211 3 Brookes 210 4 Ellison 120 5 Kiyonari 110 6 Kirkham 100 10 Farmer (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 64 More information including bike, team and rider profiles, race calendar etc can be found at the teams website www.pbmuk.net. The official website of the 2013 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship is at www.britishsuperbike.com.