BSB: Dominant Brookes holds off Irwin for Brands Hatch double

Josh Brookes powered to British Superbike dominance at the Brands Hatch GP meeting on Sunday, beating Glenn Irwin and Leon Haslam in both 20 lap encounters to cement himself firmly in the Showdown. The popular and charismatic Australian took joy in leading every lap of the 2nd race whilst only briefly losing the lead in the first outing.

Further down the order in race one, Jake Dixon was 4th, whilst Christian Iddon had a strong performance in 5th, both riders doing no damage at all to their Showdown challenge. Peter Hickman took his Smith’s Racing BMW to 6th position whilst Richard Cooper was the sole Suzuki inside the top ten. Danny Buchan continued his sensational run in the top ten with 8th, whilst rookie Andrew Irwin and Tyco BMW’s Michael Laverty completed the top ten.

Outside the top ten, Chrissy Rouse did a grand job on the Halsall Suzuki to give the Bolton-based team their best result since appointing Colin Wright at team manager, whilst former employee Tommy Bridewell came from the rear of the grid to finish just behind his replacement, in 12th. Bradley Ray’s challenging weekend saw him take his only points with a 13th, whereas Jason O’Halloran and Mason Law completed the points.

During race two, whilst the leading quartet may have remained the same, there were some big movers and shakers down the order. 5th place was Tarran Mackenzie, who achieved his best result in BSB – having crashed out of 3rd in race one with just a lap and a half to go. Christian Iddon’s solid weekend continued with 6th, whilst Tommy Bridewell nipped ahead of rival Danny Buchan with a lap to go for 7th and 8th respectively – Buchan consolidating his Showdown position further. James Ellison was 9th after not scoring in race one, with Peter Hickman 10th.

Michael Laverty was 11th for Tyco BMW as he loses touch on the Showdown placings, whilst Andrew Irwin was a hearty 12th. Luke Mossey’s difficult run continued with a 13th place, with Chrissy Rouse beating Jason O’Halloran; the pair taking the final two point-scoring positions. Donington Park double winner, Brad Ray, was 16th and finished a race outside the points for the first time ever in the British Superbike class (not including previous DNFs).

The Showdown six still sees Leon Haslam on top with an 80 point advantage over Jake Dixon, whilst Glenn Irwin is 3rd and takes points out of Haslam’s podium points lead. Josh Brookes’ two wins elevate him into fourth, whilst Brad Ray slips to fifth and Danny Buchan in 6th.

Outside the Showdown, Shane Byrne is 13 points away but will continue to drop away, with Christian Iddon just 23 points off the crucial top six. Michael Laverty is 33 points back in 9th, whilst Peter Hickman is 43 back in 10th.