Josh Brookes is back on the roads
Josh Brookes, who turns 39 tomorrow, April 28, will return to where he made his pure road racing debut nine years ago, around the streets around Coleraine as part of the NorthWest Road Race 200 legends.
Josh Brookes first raced ‘road’ in 2013 at the North West driving for Tyco Suzuki and the following year he finished second behind Michael Dunlop in the North West with a Milwaukee Yamaha.
In 2014, Josh Brookes also became the fastest driver ever at the North West 200 with an average lap speed of 122,958 mph. That record was narrowly beaten by Michael Dunlop in a BMW in 2016 but Brookes is still second in the all-time fastest lap rankings at the North West 200. So even though he may not be. must be ‘pure road racer’ to say, he has some serious runs across the board…
Brookes also competed on the Isle of Man TT with Suzuki in 2013 and Yamaha in 2014, before taking a hiatus for a few years. He returned in 2017 for Norton, where he finished a brilliant sixth in the Senior TT and supported that for Norton with a fifth the following year.
Josh has also competed in the Classic TT, including a 2017 victory in the Senior Classic TT on Paton but he has been absent from the ‘road’ since 2018, mainly due to contract restrictions on the type motorcycle on which he is allowed to ride.
Brookes has been keen to get back on the roads but the planets have not aligned before for the two-time British Superbike champion.
“Before the season started, roads weren’t an option for me, not because I didn’t want to but because of finances.“The Australian explained as he prepared to follow the track of Glenn Irwin, who has done three of his last four Superbike race victories on a PBM Ducati. “I’ve been there before and got very close to victory. ‘ Brookes said. “I think I’m absolutely a championship contender for the Superbike race at the North West 200. The bike has the caliber to win and we have an equal chance as anyone else on the grid.. ”
Michael Dunlop rode for the same team managed by Paul Bird that Brookes competed in the British Superbike Championship with, as Dunlop represented the team at the North West 200 and the Isle of Man TT. Dunlop is notoriously difficult to manage despite announcing this week that he will not be racing for the team, and that has allowed Brookes to step into that framework and fulfill his desire to race the Ducati V4 RR on roads.
Brookes has little time to prepare for the Northwest challenge as race week is less than two weeks away, with formalities starting May 8 through May 14.
NW200 race boss Mervyn Whyte was delighted to have reached the PBM Ducati deal in the 11th hour.”I’ve been trying to bring Josh back to the Northwest for a few years now and the great news is that he and the PBM Ducati team will be on the grid this year.“Whyte said. “I also spoke with Michael Dunlop yesterday and he assured me that he will also be out in two weeks’ time. That’s great news for every road racing fan who wants to see the best road racers on the best bikes battle it out on the north coast.. ”
The Isle of Man TT will be conducted two weeks later, from May 28 to June 11. The BSB is scheduled to have a race at Oulton Park over the weekend of May 2 and another at Donington on the weekend of May 22, so it’s totally doable. However, at this stage, Brookes’ name is only associated with the NW200 and there is no mention of him making his first appearance at the Isle of Man TT.
As for Dunlop, he is rumored to be resuming his relationship with BMW for the road racing season but earlier this week said NewsLetter he doesn’t have a Superbike for the North West 200.
“It turned into a nightmare,” Dunlop said. “Things haven’t come yet, testing has failed and a lot of my sponsors have been a bit disappointed. We should have tested it last week and it didn’t happen, so I thought, ‘you know what, I’m too old to do this’. Racing with full-time pro boys cycling day in and day out, and they wanted me to explode at the first race and that was the first time I sat on it – it just wasn’t realistic.”
