WSB: Brookes launches Go Fund Me campaign for Phillip Island wildcard

Josh Brookes has put out a request to his fans to help raise vital funds for his wildcard appearance at the opening round of the 2017 World Superbike Championship at Phillip Island. 

Determined to show his 2016 performances were not reflective of his true potential on the world stage, 2015 MCE British Superbike Champion Brookes set about building himself a WSB-spec machine to enter at Phillip Island later this month. 

Acquiring his 2015 BSB winning Yamaha R1 from Tommy Hill, Brookes shipped the bike all the way to Australia before completely stripping it and re-building to a specification similar to that with which he won the British Championship two years ago. 

Having already spent $100,000 on the project, they’re now $30,000 short of putting what Brookes believes will be a competitive bike on the grid later this month and have set up a ‘Go Fund Me’ page to see if his fans are willing to contribute.

Admitting asking his fans is a last resort, Brookes said: “This is not something I ever anticipated doing. However, without any financial support from the various organisations who you would expect to benefit from having an Australian on the grid at the Australian round, I have had no choice if I want to make this project a success.

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“The simple truth is, on top of building a race bike from scratch, sourcing all the parts, preparing the bike, Australia being the furthest and most difficult place to import the bike to has meant freight has been a major factor that has overshot the budget. 

“I have invested as much as I can into this and I’m super lucky to have some sponsorship from some amazing companies, but we’ve already spent our budget of $100,000 and still have a shortfall of $30,000 to raise before the event. 

“I know I have some amazing supporters out there, and with 65,000 people following me on Twitter I’m hoping if just half of those could give $1 to this project and we can cover the overflow.” 

You can help Brookes get on the grid by donating here. 

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