BSB: Brookes: 'The best first day we've had'

Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha’s Josh Brookes is confident of pushing old nemesis Shane Byrne for the win at Brands Hatch this weekend after a strong opening day at the Kent circuit.

Brookes placed second in this afternoon’s FP2, just 0.4seconds off Byrne, but with his bike feeling good over distance, his confidence has been boosted for Sunday after Snetterton’s two runner-up spots.

The Aussie was the only rider other than Byrne to be able to consistently lap in the low 1’25 bracket on Friday, and although he admits there’s still some work to do with the YZF-R1 he says it’s one of the best opening days he’s had this year.

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“It’s probably the best first day we’ve had at an event this year,” Brookes said. “I’m starting to think I can fight for the win this weekend. Shakey went over a second quicker than me at Snetterton in qualifying and I raced with him in both races. I think if I’m this close on Friday morning, there’s every possibility we could be in for a good challenge for the race win on Sunday

“In the first session I could do a run of 1’25s which is race pace. In the second session we tried a few things and didn’t really improve a lot. We’ve got some time to think about that overnight to try and pull the pieces together, but there’s not a lot to find to be honest. The bike is working quite well; I feel confident on the bike. I’ve had a few front end tucks so I’m considering switching to the SC2 front if the weather stays good.” 

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