BSB: Brookes Puts a Hand on the Trophy with Brands Hatch Race 2 Win

Josh Brookes controlled the second race at Brands Hatch from the front to add 25 points to his tally.

The Australian held off a late charge from his countryman Jason O’Halloran to move a step closer to the 2020 title. Christian Iddon rounded out the podium in a lonely third place.

Three riders are left in contention for the championship crown. Brookes leads the table 12 points ahead of O’Halloran while Iddon has an 18 points disadvantage.

Tarran Mackenzie led a McAMS Yamaha duo into Paddock Hill Bend at the lights ahead of his teammate Jason O’Halloran. Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati) swiftly stole the lead through the opening sector and immediately pulled the pin.

Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) passed O’Halloran on Lap 1 and with the pair engaging in a feisty battle, Mackenzie was able to break away from them. The duo soon also had Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing) and Danny Buchan (Rapid Fulfillment FS-3 Kawasaki) to deal with.

The top 6 were running at roundabout the same pace, but big gaps had already formed by Lap 5. Brookes was untouchable at the front while Mackenzie held a comfortable advantage over a group of four, led by O’Halloran from Iddon, Irwin and Buchan.

The Scotsman had found good rhythm with the first few laps gone and gradually began to reel Brookes back in. However, his race found a premature end on Lap 8 when he went down at Druids and was out of contention.

Brookes was left in a lonely lead, three seconds ahead of O’Halloran who had broken away from Iddon. The #21 was running in a comfortable third, out of touch to the front but himself out of reach for the rest of the field.

Further behind, Irwin and Buchan had been joined by Lee Jackson (Rapid Fulfillment FS-3 Kawasaki) and Luke Mossey (Rich Energy OMG Racing). The positions kept swapping and changing between the four riders and all looked keen to secure fourth.

Out front, O’Halloran was running a strong pace and continuously brought the gap down over the final laps. Brookes’ advantage was big enough for him to see the race out though and he crossed the line with a second on his side. Iddon rounded out the podium in an unchallenged third place.

The battle for fourth raved on until the final lap. Irwin held off Jackson and Mossey while Buchan crossed the line in seventh – the four riders separated by half a second. Peter Hickman (Global Robots BMW) finished eighth ahead of Gino Rea (Buildbase Suzuki) and Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing) who completed the top 10.