Brookes tops opening day of Snett test

Milwaukee Yamaha rider Josh Brookes has topped the opening day of the two-day MCE British Superbike test at Snetterton, going under the lap record at the Norfolk circuit as the first major upgrade parts for the new R1 arrived for him.

Using a new fuel tank designed to lower the centre of gravity of the bike, he was able to finish the day with a new unofficial lap record of 1:47.176, 0.4 ahead of second-placed Shane Byrne, who had a small off in the morning before continuing in the afternoon.

“It all has been really positive and we have had a really good day at the office. We had a new tank to test here – at the start of the races it has been difficult and we can’t afford to give anything away or give the other guys a breather at the beginning of the race. If you take that into consideration you think it should only be the start of the race that is affected, but as it turns out the bike is better in every way anyway just by putting the fuel tank on. It felt more stable and I had good results from it.

“It took me by surprise to have such an improvement – it really changed the bike and it was nice to feel the difference. Every lap you are always pushing so I don’t want to say that I wasn’t pushing, but having said that, the bike tends to like being ridden in a more reserved fashion. I was pushing to make the lap but I was riding in a relaxed and calm way to do it too, so I am happy with that and we can look forward to tomorrow now.”

Wednesday concludes the test, with the BSB championship then going into hibernation before returning for the fourth round of the series next month, after the Isle of Man TT.

1. Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha) 1m:47.176s

2. Shane Byrne (PBM Kawasaki) +0.441s

3. Jakub Smrz (Moto Rapido Ducati) +0.781s

4. Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) +1.660s

5. Broc Parkes (Milwaukee Yamaha) +1.880s

6. James Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +1.935s