BSB: Brookes: 'We have to win'

Josh Brookes has said bad weather conditions interrupting his testing schedule with the Anvil Hire Yamaha team hasn’t hampered his confidence ahead of this weekend’s opening round at Donington Park.

Brookes only got one dry day as he made his debut with the Swadlincote team at Jerez earlier this month and with last week’s official Donington Park test also wet, he has had extremely limited dry track time on his new YZF-R1.

However, despite the less than ideal preparation, Brookes has his sights on victory this weekend as he returns to the British series after a challenging year in World Superbikes.  

“The last five days I’ve ridden on the bike, four of them have been in the wet so rain seems to be the consistent factor as of late,” Brookes said. 

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“I’m happy with the bike in the conditions I have ridden it in, but it’s no way to gauge the performance of me or the bike it’s just been bad conditions, it’s certainly no yardstick, so we’ll just have to wait for better weather.

“I don’t feel frustrated about it, that’s just the facts. Logic states that better weather would have been more suitable to our preparation and we just haven’t had it. It’s the same for everyone, everyone wants to get out and start riding properly. We have to win, the plan is to win, that is our goal and that is what everyone wants to start the season of on a high.”

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