MILWAUKEE YAMAHA RETURN TO THE PODIUM AT SILVERSTONE

The Milwaukee Yamaha team fought to overcome the challenges of Silverstone for the penultimate round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, with Josh Brookes claiming a hard-fought third place in the opening race of the day.

In race one Brookes got off to a flying start to break the pack with Shane Byrne and Ryuichi Kiyonari. The trio were embroiled in a fierce contest for the podium places with Brookes pushing to second on several occasions before holding third at the finish. Tommy Bridewell ended race one in tenth position.

In the second race Brookes again was fighting with the leading pair, but a crash on lap six at Brooklands saw his hopes of a double podium shattered. Bridewell was fighting for the third place but was eventually pushed to fourth over the closing laps.

Brookes and Bridewell hold third and fourth places in the standings ahead of the triple-header final round at Brands Hatch in two weeks time.

Brookes said: “I knew we had a chance of the podium but as usual we pushed on hard and made changes right up until the first race. We found something that meant I could be a part of that amazing race and it was pleasing to be back on the podium rather than parc ferme after the race. I wished I had a little bit more to put into it and have a chance for the win, but pushing for second was a great improvement.  Being back on the podium and in the fight felt as good as a win to me and I would have paid for a ticket to watch that one!

“In the second race I really wanted to stay with Shakey and Kiyo again and try and push to try and go better than we did in race one. Unfortunately what happened was pretty simple – I braked too late and I crashed out. I was trying even harder on the brakes as that was where I was able to make some time up on them as that area was where I had been stronger. Physics mean you can only brake so late and that lap was just too late and I was out.”

Bridewell said: “Today has been far from what we expected. We have not had an ideal weekend as the setting was out in Race 1 when I had no pace and was stuck with a group of riders. We made drastic changes for Race 2 and they made a lot of difference. It is a shame because we were a race behind. We are in a bit of a see-saw at the moment – we have one good race and one bad race. I could have got ahead of Josh here and now it looks like I will have to try again at Brands Hatch.”