Brookes struggles as Hickman grabs podium for new BMW
Champion’s weekend is hampered by setup issues and a lack of grip
It’s fair to say that the one rider who nobody expected to struggle at the opening round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship was reigning champion Josh Brookes. He won at Oulton last year but endured a frustrating time with the setup on his PBM Ducati, securing a best result of two sixth places.
The problems began during preseason testing when last year’s racewinning setup didn’t provide the same feeling for Brookes and therefore the team went down a path of trying new things before the season opener.
‘We’re missing something with the ingredients’
JOSH BROOKES, PBM DUCATI
However, the potential wasn’t there so he and the team reverted to last year’s setup, which was, in Brookes’ own words, “a disaster”.
“The bike I raced last year is in a museum somewhere,” Brookes told MCN. “The bike I’m racing now, sure it’s built exactly to the 2020 spec but there’s something different. You can build 10 races engines, one will be really good, one will be really bad, and the other eight will be more or less the same. Sometimes you get a really good one, and sometimes you don’t. Now I’m in the position where I think whatever way the bike has been put together, we’re missing something with the ingredients.”
Whilst Brookes was able to find some improvements for the final race, it still wasn’t anywhere close to the bike’s potential. The main issue? Grip. “The grip just isn’t there. If I carry the speed into the corner which I think is possible, I end up running wide or sliding the tyre. We need more rear grip.” Brookes made it clear that this wasn’t an issue with the Pirelli tyres, which he praised after the races. Not the ideal start to his championship defence, however this was only one round of 11 and there’s plenty of twists and turns ahead.