WSB: Brookes to be reunited with BSB-winning R1 for Phillip Island wildcard

Josh Brookes will be reunited with his 2015 MCE British Superbike-winning YZF-R1 as he makes a one-off wildcard appearance in the opening round of the Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island.

Determined to prove a point after a difficult year on the world stage with Shaun Muir’s Milwaukee BMW team, Brookes alongside long-time friend Deon Coote has acquired his 2015 BSB machine from Tommy Hill to compete in the event next month.

Brookes has had the bike flown over to Australia, as well as hand-selected a number of parts in order to make it feel as close to the bike he dominated on in Britain as physically possible. 

“This idea is particularly interesting to me because I’m as intrigued as the rest of the world to know what I can do on a Yamaha in WorldSBK. We know the engine will be below the factory spec because it doesn’t matterbecause the point is to find out where the BSB bike would finish,” Brookes explained.

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“This will be a true gauge of my riding level compared to the guys I will line up with, as I do not believe last year’s results were a true reflection of my speed.” 

Despite their British Superbike success, Brookes and the Milwaukee team were snubbed by Yamaha for the 2016 season as the Japanese factory’s European arm opted to work with the Crescent Racing squad and riders Alex Lowes and Sylvain Guintoli upon making their return to the World Superbike class.

Brookes will return to Britain for his full-time racing duties in March as he joins the Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha team in BSB while also riding for Norton at the Isle of Man TT. 

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