BROOKES AND FHO RACING BMW MOTORRAD SECOND ON THE SNETTERTON PODIUM

08/07/2023

Josh Brookes and the FHO Racing BMW Motorrad team were back on the podium this afternoon at Snetterton, after a sensational opening race saw Josh second aboard the BMW M 1000 RR.

The start of the weekend for the fifth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship was mixed for Faye Ho’s squad, with a sensor issue hampering progress in Friday’s practice sessions, where Josh finished the day seventh on combined times. Inside the top-12, Josh went straight into today’s Q2 qualifier where he qualified on the second row of the grid in fifth ready for the opening race of the weekend.

The 12-lap Bikesocial Sprint Race was frantic from start to finish with battles throughout for the leading pack. Dropping back slightly in the opening stages of the race, Josh by the seventh lap had made his way up to fourth and had the leading three riders in his sights.

Closing in on the top three, Josh manoeuvred his BMW Superbike into third place, but he wasn’t quite finished there. With Tommy [Bridewell] and Glenn [Irwin] ahead and battling with each other, Josh started to close the gap and a last corner move on the brakes into Murrays saw him secure second place.

Tomorrow (Sunday 9 July) the team will be back in action with two-longer 16-lap races at the Norfolk circuit, where Josh lines up second on the grid for the days’ first race.

Josh Brookes:
“The start of this weekend wasn’t going well, we had some sensor issues yesterday for the opening session and we spent a lot of time in the garage. For FP2 we made a change and a good step forward, I felt some momentum, but then later every change we’d made seemed to have gone in the wrong way and we didn’t really seem to improve. So, we ended up with a bit of a combination of what we had in FP2, just with some slight adjustments and that’s what I had for qualifying. We qualified strong in fifth and the BMW felt good, but as I hadn’t had the same bike across the weekend I wasn’t too confident in the early stages of the race and in the opening laps I lost a few places as I wasn’t really forcing my position on people and you really need to do that here.

As the race went on, I got more relaxed with the bike, understood it better and was staying consistent. The tyre grip was good – I had a few moments, as we all do, spinning the tyre but nothing I couldn’t manage. At one point I thought I’d have to settle for third as I got past Jason, with Tommy and Glenn too far away, but I managed to close them up as they were fighting as well. At the final turn I didn’t have that plan, but it got to the point where I was coming in and I could see an opportunity, so I went round the outside of Glenn and made my pass. I’m pleased for all the team and sponsors, and everyone as a supporter to be back on the podium today. Fair credit to Tommy he rode a brilliant race and deserved that win.”

Faye Ho – Team Principal:
“I’m so pleased for Josh and the team being back on the podium today. It’s not been the easiest start to the weekend, so it’s fantastic we’ve been able to turn it around into that result today. The race was exciting from start to finish and is just what BSB is about. Josh starts tomorrow from second on the grid and I’m looking forward to seeing how he gets on across the two longer races.”

Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Snetterton, BikeSocial Sprint Race: