JOSH BROOKES
Whether it’s BSB, WSBK, the TT or even the Suzuka 8 Hours, Josh Brookes has done ’em all – and been incredibly successful as well. But as we found out, it hasn’t all been plain sailing for the Aussie…
“There were a lot of layers to 2020 for us; early on we came over to England and Spain for testing, but we made the call to come back to Australia after it was announced that both the MotoGP and the second round of WSBK was cancelled. It seemed like a good idea as it would be better to be stuck there if things did go crazy; there’s far more things I can do, including earning money – my visa in England only allows me to draw an income from racing. Sure, it was a gamble, but no one had any idea what was going to happen. We were pretty lucky at the beginning, as we didn’t have the heavy lockdowns and stuff over in Aus… the hard thing was not knowing when things would resume. All my life I had a date for purpose – whether it’s the first round, first test, the summer break, I’ve always had that clear direction and for the first time I had no idea what I was doing. That was really a strange experience, and I dealt with it by just keeping busy and focusing on other activities – I didn’t want to sit in idle mode. I think honestly, everyone else in the UK had it far worse, and I had the best situation.”
“It’s my first time running the #1, and now I have no interest going back to worlds. When I was a kid I wanted to go to GP, but over my career there’s just been too much pain and misery fighting the politics of how it’s run. If I was young, I’d say yeah, 100%,
but being 37, I just feel like I’m not interested in that, and it would be career suicide – my season in WSBK in 2016 was the final straw that broke the camel’s back. Looking back, when I was finding my feet on the scene back in the 2000s, there were at least nine incredible Aussies racing, and they were sick to the teeth of Australians doing well. Coming third in the world championship didn’t even give me a decent paid salary; they knew I had what it took, but they just didn’t need another Aussie at the time, so BSB was my lifeline. I might be a bit bitter about it deep down but I’m grateful I’m in the UK now, and I’ve far exceeded my expectations and a lot of other people’s as well.” think that a racer thinks that, but say for example turn one at Phillip Island – it is an incredible place to ride just down into the ocean. The Island is like 37 miles of that! And when you’ve got it to yourself, it’s pretty special, and I’ve never done anything that rivals it for excitement and exhilaration. As an achievement, I’d love to race or ride or compete in MotoGP but I can’t, so the highest level of racing I’ve been in is at the Suzuka 8 Hours. And to be fortunate enough to be on the podium there is amazing; I’d love to go back and go for the win, as that’s the closest I could get to the highest level of racing – it really is the pinnacle that I could do right now. The classic TT is ace as well; the danger level is probably just as high as lining up for the Senior, you know, you’ve only got to hit a wall at 40mph to come off pretty badly. But it’s just like riding without the pressure. There’s always an expectation to achieve, but at the classic it’s a job just to get the bike to the finish, so it really dissolves expectation and pressure, it’s just about having fun on a fantastic track. Everyone’s just excited that you got back and the bike didn’t break down! It’s tough actually, as every event is dear to me for different reasons.” life into three or four months alongside it, so it’s condensed catching up with friends and family, doing boring things like all the paperwork, sorting the house, the bills… all stuff I ignore while I’m in England. Then I fit in the social and fun of an Australian summer, work, and keep sharp on the bikes as well! It keeps me grounded though, which makes it easier to recognise how hard things are when working. Racing for a living is a luxury that I have, and I don’t take it for granted, but making a career in other methods is important.”
“I do! I’ve had my fair share of injuries but in recent years, I’ve used my experience to know my limits. Look at Rossi; in the past season he knew the Yamaha wasn’t good enough to do much better, so he sat and waited, whereas Viñales or Quatararo were just pushing harder to try and get more than what the bike really could manage. If he was younger he could stick his neck out I’m sure, but that’s where the subconscious experience comes in. It’s about fixing it, testing it and making it right – it doesn’t matter what people say, the team are far more grateful to fix the set-up on a poorly performing bike than fix a crashed one that’s been pushed too hard, and I feel like that mentality has really helped me out... especially with the set-up issues we had at the start of last year. We worked so hard to get around that and literally started from scratch for one reason or another, which wasn’t easy work. And as far as after goes? I don’t think that far ahead but working within racing still interests me, you know, within a team. Sure, I’ve definitely toyed with the idea, and it would be considered when I can’t race any more, and that doesn’t interest me at all!”