Brookes hits the jackpot to become 2020 Bennetts British Superbike champion
Josh Brookes has celebrated becoming the Bennetts British Superbike Championship for a second time, following a sensational title-deciding triple-header on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit.
Brookes was last crowned champion in 2015, and his performance this weekend in the final three rounds gave him a final 21-point advantage over closest rival Jason O’Halloran to seal the crown.
The title victory for VisionTrack Ducati means that the PBM team successfully defended their title, to score an incredible eighth Bennetts BSB Championship victory.
The championship momentum swung back in favour of the VisionTrack Ducati team following the penultimate event at Donington Park, and Brookes came into the final round with a 16-point advantage over teammate Christian Iddon.
The season started with a podium at the opening round at Donington Park, before disaster struck following a collision with Andrew Irwin, which left a zero point score finish to the opening weekend.
However Brookes rebounded at Snetterton to claim victory in the opening race, which he followed up with a podium finish, before another podium following a testing weekend at Silverstone.
Oulton Park was another tough start to the racing action, but claiming the victory in the final race in Cheshire, put Brookes back on the winning course and confident ahead of the return to Donington Park.
Two third places and a victory, as championship leader Glenn Irwin crashed out of the opening race, gave the Australian the edge coming into the title-decider.
Brookes had his lead reduced in the standings in the opening race to seven-points, but then on the final day of the season he claimed a commanding Round 17 victory before sealing the final win of 2020 to lift the title.
Jason O’Halloran had done everything he could to try and bag his first title; winning the dramatic opening race on Saturday and with teammate Tarran Mackenzie, they pushed the Australian all the way to the finish in the last race of the year.
O’Halloran’s third place in Round 18 gave him second in the standings, with Christian Iddon completing the 2020 top three for VisionTrack Ducati as the pair celebrated their strongest career result.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch GP, Round 17 result:
- Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati)
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +1.085s
- Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) +10.880s
- Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing) +16.097s
- Lee Jackson (Rapid Fulfillment FS-3 Kawasaki) +16.246s
- Luke Mossey (Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW) +16.523s
- Danny Buchan (Rapid Fulfillment FS-3 Kawasaki) +16.590s
- Peter Hickman (Global Robots BMW) +17.889s
- Gino Rea (Buildbase Suzuki) +17.964s
- Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +19.935s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch GP, Round 18 result:
- Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati)
- Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) +0.578s
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +1.339s
- Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) +8.816s
- Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing) +8.882s
- Danny Buchan (Rapid Fulfillment FS-3 Kawasaki) +9.042s
- Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +17.660s
- Peter Hickman (Global Robots BMW) +17.827s
- Lee Jackson (Rapid Fulfillment FS-3 Kawasaki) +17.891s
- Gino Rea (Buildbase Suzuki) +18.028s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:
- Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati) 288
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 267
- Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) 258
- Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing) 226
- Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) 215
For more information on the Bennetts British Superbike Championship visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati)
2020 Bennetts BSB champion
“It feels awesome to win the title and a lot of my talking was done out on the track today.
“When I’m under pressure, I seem to be able to find that little bit more and get the results when I need to, which is exactly what I’ve done today. I had to ride aggressively in both races and although I only needed to finish third in the final race to clinch the championship, I didn’t want to win the title with a third, I wanted to win.
“It’s been a hard fought year and I was pushed hard all weekend but the bike worked really well and it felt natural to go out there and win so a big thank you to everyone at the PBM team.”
