BSB: Brookes: 'There's no room for error in the Showdown'

Josh Brookes has said the 2017 MCE British Superbike Championship could be won by the rider who makes the fewest mistakes.

The top four are split by just 14 points heading into this weekend’s Showdown opener at Oulton Park, the closest gap between the leading quartet in BSB Showdown history.

As Brookes and rivals Byrne and Haslam have learned this year, mistakes lose vital points and while there may have been room for that in earlier rounds, dropping points in the next seven races can severely hamper a rider’s title chase.

“With things so close this year you can’t afford to lose the points,” Brookes explains. “Without my crashes at Brands and Thruxton I’d be leading the championship. We need to be mindful of that moving forwards as when it is this close a title can easily be decided by who makes the fewest mistakes.

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“The bike has moved in a different direction since we were there the last time, hopefully when we return we’ll have a nice setup that will give me confidence and I can push straight away, but that will be seen when we arrive on Friday.

“I expected to be here at this point. You never can guarantee it but throughout the year I expected to be able to sit in this position. I don’t know how to gauge confidence but you have to look at the facts, when I’m riding well and the bike is doing what I need it to do we are in a position to win. Hopefully we can manage the situation so we can stay in that range.”

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