Brookes back on the pace
Josh Brookes was back on the pace at the Oulton test after a disastrous start to his 2018 BSB campaign. Struggling to find rear grip over the first two rounds, Brookes languishes 11th in the championship standings but after two busy tests since Brands Hatch, the Aussie seems to have made the progress needed to get back to the front.
The McAMS Yamaha squad tested privately at Silverstone last week before heading to the official Oulton shakedown, where a number of geometry changes and a new suspension linkage from the World Superbike team seemed to get them back on track.
“We’ve made some big improvements,” Brookes told MCN. “The bike is more or less where I’d have expected it to be at the start of the season. The changes we’ve had to make to get some grip have really changed the character of the bike, but that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make! “The main change we’ve made is to the bike’s centre of gravity, it feels a lot more stable in the middle of a corner now. It’s not so stable in a straight line, but we can work on that. “This track is difficult to go fast on, so if we can go fast here it bodes well for the next races. I’ve been off the pace, so to come here and be quick from the first session is obviously going to boost confidence.” While there was joy on one side of the McAMS Yamaha garage, the test proved tough for rookie Tarran Mackenzie who ended the day 21st fastest after missing the driest session of the day with a technical issue.