BROOKES CHECKS IN AFTER NW200 WEEKEND

Milwaukee Yamaha’s Josh Brookes heads to the 2014 Isle of Man TT Races as the new outright lap record holder at the Vauxhall International North West 200, following a stunning performance in the feature race at Saturday’s event in Northern Ireland.

The Australian had looked to be heading to his first International North West 200 victory in the shortened five-lap feature race, having lead for long periods in the opening four laps. But after slightly out-braking himself into the tight and blind Mather’s Cross chicane on the penultimate lap, the Bringelly man had to fight back from third place to eventually stand on the second rung of the podium.

His last lap effort of 4mins 22.627sec afforded the 31-year-old Australian an average lap speed of 122.958mph, making him the fastest rider ever around the current configuration of the ultra-fast 8.9-mile North West 200 circuit in Northern Ireland.

Despite a slight intermittent electrical problem, Brookes took a fine fourth place in the Milwaukee sponsored Supersport race on-board his Milwaukee Yamaha R6. Josh then took eighth place in the Eventserv Superbike race, having encounter grip problems throughout the wet race. But his NW200 Superbike podium and new lap record were the highlight of the weekend.

Josh recounted: “Overall I think it was a good North West for me. The podium on Thursday night in the Supersport race was a decent way to start the event and it showed me that I could be at the sharp end on Saturday. I also learnt a lot in that race, especially about the slipstreaming effect on the circuit, which is like nowhere else with those very long straights.

“On Saturday we had a stronger engine in for the Supersport race and I really thought we had a great chance. I gambled on dry tyres and when we set off it looked like it would possibly be just myself and Michael Rutter, who chose the same tyre set-up.

“But once it started raining I knew our chance had gone. The warm up laps were perfect but once we started racing I was struggling with what a felt like an intermittent electrical problem, probably caused by the rain, so fourth place was a decent enough result.

"In the first Superbike race I just couldn’t find any grip to get the drive we need and that was quite frustrating, so I just rode my own race and brought the Milwaukee Yamaha home to a finish. I was really up for the last race and I think we proved, that both myself and the Milwaukee Yamaha Superbike were good enough for the win. It was annoying to just out-brake myself into the Mather’s chicane, which is so blind on the entry.

"I probably just approached my braking marker that ten or fifteen mph faster after getting out of the roundabout much stronger, and with only about two feet of tarmac to make the entry well enough to get back around the left in the chicane – I had to pick the bike up and run over the grass.

"The last lap taking the lap record showed that we had the speed, the bike and the set-up for the win, but that little error cost us a top step. But overall we have to be satisfied. I didn’t get that much track time last year, so I suppose it was like coming back as a rookie. I really enjoyed it and the Milwaukee Yamaha guys did a great job, so thanks to them for the effort. I’m off to the TT now on Wednesday to get prepared for the opening practice sessions and I can’t wait to get started. My thoughts are with Simon Andrews who crashed in the Superstock race. Let’s hope he makes a full recovery."

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