Tag Archives: Josh Brookes

Josh Brookes tops FP at Oulton Park | O’Halloran P7

2019 BSB

Round Two – Oulton Park – Free Practice

Images by David Yeomans Photography

Josh Brookes topped free practice at Oulton Park, with the 2015 champion claiming the fastest times at each of the opening two Bennetts British Superbike Championship free practice sessions at the Cheshire circuit, upping his pace in the afternoon to end the day with the edge over Danny Buchan by 0.723.

BSB Rnd Oulton Park FP Josh Brookes AROA
Josh Brookes – Oulton Park BSB 2019

The opening session had been interrupted with red flags, but Brookes was unfazed and continued to improve his pace, despite Danny Buchan moving ahead several times during the opening free practice before the FS-3 Racing Kawasaki rider ended the session third fastest.

BSB Rnd Oulton Park FP Danny Buchan AROA
Danny Buchan – Oulton Park BSB 2019

The 45 minute afternoon session saw all the positions change in the closing minutes with Brookes heading back to the top, positing a time on his final one that would cement his position at the top as he became the only rider to lap in the 1m:34s barrier, 0.723s ahead of Buchan.

Josh Brookes – P1

“It has been a good day. I am not surprised with the lap time because I’ve been there before, or close to that. The fastest I’ve been here before was actually in a race and I did 34.4, which is a lap record, so to do 34.3 is a PB, which is great. But Jake Dixon did 33.7 last year so there’s still areas to gain and still room to improve. Without Jake being here on his bike from last year and showing what the gauge is, I don’t know if that’s even achievable. Maybe a 33.8 is possible, a 33.7 isn’t, I don’t know. At the moment I know that the bike’s not perfect, there’s definitely more edge grip to be found because I had it in this morning but we’ve gained a load of drive grip so I’ve got to decide which way is better – to go in search of more edge grip or ride with the bike as it is and work on other little details and see if that helps, so that’s where we’re at.”

BSB Rnd Oulton Park FP Josh Brookes AROA
Josh Brookes – Oulton Park BSB 2019

It has been a strong session for the FS-3 Racing Kawasaki team with Buchan building on his experience at the recent test to maintain his position inside the top five with Peter Hickman again repeating his impressive performance on the Smiths Racing BMW to hold third place, having also had a stint at the top of the times in the earlier stages of the session.

Luke Mossey was again the fastest of the OMG Racing Suzuki riders, holding off Tommy Bridewell and Christian Iddon in the closing stages as he improved his pace on the final run of the second free practice session.

BSB Rnd Oulton Park FP Peter Hickman AROA
Peter Hickman – Oulton Park BSB 2019

Earlier in the day Jason O’Halloran bounced back from his crash at last week’s test to finish fourth fastest in the opening session for McAMS Yamaha, holding off Tommy Bridewell who continued to move up the order for the Oxford Racing Ducati team.

Jason O’Halloran had to settle for seventh fastest in FP2 however, as the leading McAMS Yamaha as he bids to make amends this weekend after a double non-points score last time out at Silverstone, while Ryan Vickers continued to build momentum in his rookie campaign with the RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki team in eighth place.

Jason O’Halloran – P7

“It was nice to get back on the bike after the test last week. I feel good and my body is good. We’re just working through chassis settings and trying different things with the bike as I’m still learning about the Yamaha and looking to find the sweet spot around here. We learned a lot today and I expect to make a step forward in the morning, so I’m not too stressed.”

BSB Rnd Oulton Park FP Jason OHalloran AROA
Jason O’Halloran – Oulton Park BSB 2019

Tarran Mackenzie was back inside the top ten in this afternoon’s session holding off Keith Farmer who completed the top ten, edging out joint championship leader Josh Elliott, Bradley Ray on the leading Buildbase Suzuki and Scott Redding on the second Be Wiser Ducatis.

Ben Currie took P13 in FP1 , but while having a good session crashed at Shell and sustained a fracture to his left leg, and is currently undergoing checks on his leg and foot in Stoke Hospital.

BSB Rnd Ben Currie watching the timing ImageDaveYeomans
Ben Currie fractured his leg, ending his weekend at Oulton Park

Fraser Rogers also crashed during the opening session at Water Tower, sustaining a fracture to his right arm.

BSB Superbikes FP1/FP2 Results

Source: MCNews.com.au

Josh Brookes sets pace at Oulton Park BSB Test

2019 BSB
Oulton Park Test

Josh Brookes has put a disastrous opening round of the 2019 British Superbike Championship behind him and was back on the front foot this week with the 35-year-old topping the official BSB test at Oulton Park ahead of the Bank Holiday second round next weekend (May 4/5/6), edging ahead of Danny Buchan at the Cheshire circuit.

BSB Test Oulton Park Josh Brookes
Josh Brookes

The 2015 champion topped the opening two sessions in the dry conditions after a tough start to his season at Silverstone last weekend; putting a massive gap of 1.067s between himself and FS-3 Racing Kawasaki’s Buchan on combined times.

BSB Test Oulton Park Josh Brookes
Josh Brookes

Josh Brookes – Be Wiser Ducati

“I am obviously really pleased to have been fastest in the dry as that is everybody’s goal. I am actually really pleased with the progress we made today as there were a few things that we needed to address and explore some setup changes. Leaving Silverstone we were disappointed but I was then focused on here and working through some setting changes we didn’t get the chance to try at Silverstone and the bike performed really well – it has been a really positive day.”

BSB Test Oulton Park Josh Brookes
Josh Brookes

Tommy Bridewell was back at the sharp end on the Oxford Racing Ducati, clocking the third fastest time ahead of next weekend’s next two races, pushing ahead of Tyco BMW’s Christian Iddon as the team continue their development work with the new S1000RR.

BSB Test Oulton Park Christian Iddon
Christian Iddon

Peter Hickman also proved the pace of the BMWs by setting the fifth fastest time, maintaining his position ahead of Luke Stapleford on the leading Suzuki on his return to Oulton Park for the first time in three years.

BSB Test Oulton Park Peter Hickman
Peter Hickman

Luke Mossey was seventh fastest for OMG Racing Suzuki ahead of Tarran Mackenzie who ended the day early due to the changing conditions later in the day, forging ahead of Glenn Irwin and Jason O’Halloran, who tipped off in the morning session.

BSB Test Oulton Park Jason Ohalloran
Jason O’Halloran

The test marked the first appearance at the Cheshire circuit for Scott Redding and Xavi Forés with the pair utilising the track time to learn the challenging circuit, ending the sessions in 13th and 25th respectively.

BSB Test Oulton Park Ben Currie
Ben Currie

Ben Currie continues to adapt to the Superbike and was 19th quickest on the JG Speedfit Kawasaki.

BSB Test Oulton Park Michael Dunlop
Michael Dunlop

Road race star Michael Dunlop used the day to get some all-important track time on the Tyco BMW S 1000 RR, ending the session 27th on the time-sheets, 4.4-seconds behind pace-setter Josh Brookes.

BSB Test Oulton Park Michael Dunlop
Michael Dunlop

In the Superstock 1000 category Richard Cooper topped proceedings ahead of South Australia’s Billy McConnell.

BSB Test Oulton Park Billy McConnell
Billy McConnell

Levi Day showed progress to rank inside the STK1000 top ten.

BSB Test Oulton Park Levi Day
Levi Day

Brayden Elliott was the 16th quickest Superstock machine while Jack Kennedy topped the Supersport ranks ahead of Brad Jones.

BSB Test Oulton Park Brayden Elliott Levi Day
Brayden Elliott and Levi Day

Bennetts British Superbike Championship
Oulton Park BSB Official Test
  1. Josh Brookes (Be Wiser Ducati) 1m:34.929s
  2. Danny Buchan (FS3-Racing Kawasaki) +1.067s
  3. Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Racing Ducati) +1.081s
  4. Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +1.086s
  5. Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) +1.142s
  6. Luke Stapleford (Buildbase Suzuki) +1.195s
  7. Luke Mossey (OMG Racing Suzuki) +1.313s
  8. Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) +1.396s
  9. Glenn Irwin (Quattro Plant – JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +1.757s
  10. Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +2.002s

BSB Test Oulton Park Tommy Bridewell
Tommy Bridewell

BSB Test Oulton Park Billy McConnell
Billy McConnell

BSB Test Oulton Park Ben Currie
Ben Currie


Images by Dave Yeomans

Source: MCNews.com.au

Tarran Mackenzie on pole for BSB season opener

2019 British Superbike
Round One – Silverstone


Tarran Mackenzie claimed his first pole position in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Silverstone this afternoon, holding off his hard-charging team-mate Jason O’Halloran by 0.054s whilst Scott Redding fired himself onto the front row ahead of his BSB race debut tomorrow (Sunday).

SBK Jason Ohalloran
Jason O’Halloran

There was a dramatic start to the opening Datatag Qualifying session of the season for Josh Brookes, who suffered a technical problem with his Be Wiser Ducati, causing a brief red flag delay and the 2015 champion will start 18th on the grid for tomorrow’s opening race.

SBK Josh Brookes Pitreturn
Josh Brookes Ducati failed him

It was a close battle to qualify for Q2 with 24 riders covered by just 0.728s and the first rider to narrowly miss out was Quattro Plant – JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s Ben Currie in the closing seconds of the opening session.

SBK QP Ben Currie
Ben Currie

In Q2 there was another incredible battle to be inside the top nine to qualify for the final Q3 stage; the Honda Racing pairing narrowly missed out on making the cut, just 0.056s putting Andrew Irwin the first in the drop zone adrift of Christian Iddon, who held ninth for Tyco BMW.

SBK Josh Elliott
Josh Elliott

When Q3 got underway Mackenzie was straight out of pitlane and instantly on the attack for a flying lap, setting the benchmark early ahead of O’Halloran and Josh Elliot as OMG Racing Suzuki qualified for the final qualifying stage for the first time.

Redding meanwhile had been building momentum during his first Datatag Qualifying experience and he moved into sixth, before a final attack put him into third and on the front row ahead of his much-anticipated race debut.

Elliot was able to hold off his team-mate Luke Mossey to head the second row as the OMG Racing Suzuki celebrated their strongest qualifying performances to date ahead of Dan Linfoot on the Santander Salt TAG Yamaha.

SBK Tommy Bridewell
Tommy Bridewell

Tommy Bridewell and the Oxford Racing Ducati team will start in seventh place after their hard work to rebuild the stricken machine after yesterday’s crash with Christian Iddon and Luke Stapleford completing the top nine.


2019 British Superbike
Round One – Silverstone
Qualifying Times

  1. Tarran Mackenzie – Yamaha 53.549 Q3
  2. Jason O’Halloran – Yamaha 53.604 Q3
  3. Scott Redding – Ducati 53.607 Q3
  4. Josh Elliott – Suzuki 53.738 Q3
  5. Luke Mossey – Suzuki 53.808 Q3
  6. Dan Linfoot – Yamaha 53.874 Q3
  7. Tommy Bridewell – Ducati 53.893 Q3
  8. Christian Iddon – BMW 54.081 Q3
  9. Luke Stapleford – Suzuki 54.223 Q3
  10. Andrew Irwin – Honda 54.122 Q2
  11. Xavi Fores – Honda 54.181 Q2
  12. Claudio Corti – Kawasaki 54.238 Q2
  13. Ryan Vickers – Kawasaki 54.274 Q2
  14. Danny Buchan – Kawasaki 54.309 Q2
  15. Glenn Irwin – Kawasaki 54.325 Q2
  16. Bradley Ray – Suzuki 54.381 Q2
  17. David Allingham – Yamaha 54.680 Q2
  18. Josh Brookes – Ducati 54.213 Q1
  19. Ben Currie – Kawasaki 54.380 Q1
  20. Keith Farmer – BMW 54.489 Q1
  21. Peter Hickman – BMW 54.507 Q1
  22. Sylvain Barrier – Ducati 54.656 Q1
  23. Matt Truelove – Yamaha 54.711 Q1
  24. Joe Francis – BMW 54.730 Q1
  25. Shaun Winfield – Yamaha 55.104 Q1
  26. James Ellison – BMW 55.288 Q1
  27. Dean Harrison – Kawasaki 55.332 Q1
  28. Fraser Rogers – Kawasaki 55.341 Q1
  29. Dean Hipwell – Kawasaki 55.357 Q1
  30. James Hiller – Kawasaki 55.568 Q1
  31. Sam Coventry – Kawasaki 55.734 Q1
  32. Conor Cummins – Honda 55.744 Q1

Tarran Mackenzie – P1

“It feels really good to be on pole position as I didn’t have the best pre-season really. I felt good on the bike but I just wasn’t that fast, so coming here after the test I was a bit more confident. In Q2 the bike felt perfect so I felt happy going into Q3, I didn’t expect pole position so this is awesome and I can’t wait for tomorrow.”

SBK Pole Tarran Mackenzie
Tarran Mackenzie

Scott Redding – P3

“If you are an adrenaline junkie that was exactly what you want to do – for me that was insane! I am used to one qualifying session and then maybe a second one. You don’t want to make a mistake in Q1 but then in Q3 you just close your eyes and go all in. That was so much adrenaline and I am super happy with that. I was a bit nervous to start with but this system is amazing as you can get clear laps at the end. I wanted to go for the pole position, that was my mindset and I think how it was for everyone. Unfortunately it wasn’t me today but it is a good start to my season.”

SBK Scott Redding
Scott Redding

British Superstock 1000

Richard Cooper enjoyed a perfect start to his Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship with a double win in the two opening races.

STK Cooper Leads
Richard Cooper leads STK1000

In the first 24 lap race, it was Cooper who grabbed the holeshot ahead of Taylor Mackenzie and Alex Olsen. Maintaining positions for the opening half of the race, Olsen made his move into the lead but was unable to break away leaving it a battle until the last lap to decide the victor.

STK Richard Cooper
Richard Cooper

Coming into the final corner in the lead, a problem for Olsen saw Cooper slice his way past to take victory with Mackenzie also taking advantage to claim second place.

The start of the second 24 lap race was almost a replica of the first as again Mackenzie, Cooper and Olsen were able to break away from the rest of the field to fight for the victory amongst themselves.

STK Cooper Mackenzie Olsen
STK1000 Podium – Cooper P1, Mackenzie P2, Olsen P3

Trading places throughout the race, it came down to another last corner move as Cooper fought his way past Mackenzie and was able to fend off a late challenge to the line to claim a double win. Olsen was again third whilst behind him Lee Jackson took a brace of fourth place finishes.

STK Billy McConnell
Billy McConnell

South Australia’s Billy McConnell scored 18th and 7th places across the two races while Brayden Elliott finished 26th in the first bout before improving to 16th place in the second race of the weekend.

STK Brayden Elliott
Brayden Elliott

British Supersport

Jack Kennedy kicked off his title defence with victory in the opening Dickies British Supersport race after an epic battle with Alastair Seeley over the final few laps. Kennedy grabbed the holeshot into the first corner, with team mate Brad Jones in close contention behind and Seeley running third.

Supersport Kennedy Leads
Jack Kennedy leads Supersport

The two Colin Appleyard Macadam Yamaha riders were able to pull a gap of one second over the Seeley during the opening third of the race but a string of fast laps from the ‘Wee Wizard’ saw him close up, taking the lead at the start of lap. The trio traded places throughout the closing laps, coming down to the final lap as Kennedy past Seeley coming onto the back straight to take victory.

Lee Johnston was fourth whilst Kyle Ryde was the leading GP2 Cup rider in fifth. Sam Wilford was second in the GP2 class, sixth overall, whilst Jamie Perrin was third in the class (ninth overall).

British Supersport Race One Results
  1. Jack Kennedy (Colin Appleyard Macadam Yamaha)
  2. Alastair Seeley (EHA Racing Yamaha) +0.194s
  3. Brad Jones (Colin Appleyard Macadam Yamaha) +0.440s
  4. Lee Johnston (Ashcourt Racing Yamaha) +7.701s
  5. Kyle Ryde (Kovara By RS Racing Kalex GP2) +7.926s
  6. Sam Wilford (IDWe RAcinh Honda HP2) +11.398s
Supersport Kennedy Seeley Jones
British Supersport Race One Results
Jack Kennedy (Colin Appleyard Macadam Yamaha)
Alastair Seeley (EHA Racing Yamaha) +0.194s
Brad Jones (Colin Appleyard Macadam Yamaha) +0.440s
Dickies British Supersport Championship Standings
  1. Jack Kennedy (Colin Appleyard Macadam Yamaha) 25
  2. Alastair Seeley (EHA Racing Yamaha) 20
  3. Brad Jones (Colin Appleyard Macadam Yamaha) 16
  4. Lee Johnston (Ashcourt Racing Yamaha) 13
  5. Kyle Ryde (Kovara By RS Racing Kalex GP2) 11
  6. Sam Wilford (IDWe RAcinh Honda HP2) 10

Images by Dave Yeomans

Source: MCNews.com.au

Jason O’Halloran to ride for Yamaha in BSB 2019

O’Show replaces Josh Brookes at McAms Yamaha

After finishing BSB 2018 on a high with a podium at the Brands Hatch finale, Jason O’Halloran has parted company with Honda after an incredible 11 year with the brand. During those years with Honda Jason has taken the runner-up spot in the British Superstock Championship twice, in 2012 and 2014, but a BSB Title has eluded the O’Show. 

BSB Final Brands Sun Leon Haslam leads Jason oHalloran Race
Jason O’Halloran #22 chasing Leon Haslam at the 2018 BSB season finale at Brnads Hatch – Image Dave Yeomans

After an injury plagued season this year which saw O’Halloran finish eighth in the British Superbike Championship, the 30-year-old will switch allegiances and ride for Yamaha in BSB season 2019.

O’Halloran last rode for Yamaha in 2007, when he clinched the Australian Supersport Championship on a YZF-R6. 

ASBK Champions Superbike Jamie Stauffer Jason Ohalloran Supersport Jeremy Crowe Dan Stauffer
In 2007 Jason O’Halloran (Third from left) won the Australian Supersport Championship on a Yamaha. Team-mate Jamie Stauffer took out the Superbike Title. #26 is Dan Stauffer, #4 is Jeremy Crowe.

Jason O’Halloran

“It’s a new chapter and its really exciting to be joining a new team and manufacturer after a long time in the same place. I have big aims and know I’ve got loads more to prove, people haven’t seen the best of me yet! The bike is a proven race winner and the team has great pedigree, so I believe we have the ingredients to fight for wins. I’ve followed the R1 plenty and it seems like you need to be smooth and hold good corner speed, things I really think I can work with. Taz has some great experience on the bike now, so it will be good to be able to hook into information too.”

BSB McAMS Yamaha Jason OHalloran Mackenzie
Jason O’Halloran and Tarran Mackenzie – McAMS Yamaha for BSB 2019

O’Halloran will join young Tarran McKenzie at the McAms Yamaha squad. McKenzie had his rookie Superbike season in 2018 and took tenth place in the championship while team-mate Josh Brookes finished the season in fourth place. 

Tarran Mackenzie

“We had a mega first year on the YZF-R1 and I’m just so pleased to be able to continue that progression with the same bike, crew and team for next season, it’s the perfect situation to be honest. Our target was to get a podium before the year was out and we got four with a couple more near misses, so I’m well happy with that to be honest. We hit our stride mid-season and towards the end of the year I felt like my trackcraft and confidence was really high so it will be great starting the year in that way. Silverstone was a key round, we had two podiums, it should have been three and we were battling with the Championship contenders all race. The aim for next season is definitely to make the Showdown and get those first race wins. We have a test at Almeria after Motorcycle Live and I just can’t wait to get cracking, I’m not great at sitting around!”

BSB McAMS Yamaha Tarran Mackenzie
Tarran Mackenzie

Brookes has joined PBM Be Wiser Ducati for 2019 and will be joined on the Panigale V4 R in the squad by MotoGP exile Scott Redding. 

Josh Brookes

“PBM have been the benchmark during much of my time in BSB and have always set the bar very high. With Shakey being my arch-rival, I never really saw myself riding alongside him but when things changed, it became a real consideration, although I wish him a full recovery. The Be Wiser Ducati V4 will be an awesome bike and I’m excited to be a part of this, and to start winning regularly again. I know the team will be at the forefront once again in 2019 and I’m really looking forward to this challenge.”

Josh Brookes Ducati
Josh Brookes to Ducati for BSB 2019

Not only has Jason O’Halloran parted ways with Honda, team-mate Dan Linfoot has also left Honda Racing after a long collaboration with the team. Honda have announced that Andrew Irwin will race Superbike on the Fireblade in BSB 2019 while Tom Neave will contest the Superstock 1000 Championship for Honda Racing. 

Source: MCNews.com.au