Brookes Just Misses Podium As Iddon Hits Trouble
The second and third races at round five of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Donington Park today proved to be a tough affair for reigning champions FUCHS SILKOLENE backed VisionTrack Ducati with title contender Christian Iddon following up a fourth place in yesterday’s opening race, before crashing out of both races.
But it was better news for teammate Josh Brookes who gave the Penrith-based team a little bit of cheer with fourth place in the final race of the day, meaning a much-needed confidence booster for the two-times Bennetts BSB champion.
After a mixed opening day yesterday, the duo started today’s opening race, held over the longer distance of 26 laps, with Tyneside-based Iddon in ninth and Aussie Brookes in 13th place on the factory-supported VisionTrack Ducati Panigale V4RRs.
Iddon ran comfortably inside the top four for the first six laps, before there was drama at the start of lap seven when a clash with Andrew Irwin at Redgate Corner ended up in contact with a furious Iddon crashing out.
Bedfordshire-based Brookes again struggled in the early laps, dropping back to 18th, but as the race progressed, he found a good rhythm and by mid-race distance, he was one of the quickest riders on the track. With three laps to go, he’d climbed up to seventh only for the safety car to be deployed and in the final sort out, he got shuffled back to tenth.
The final race of the challenging weekend saw Christian line up on the third row and Josh at the head of the fifth with a damp track greeting the riders for the shortened 20-lap race. Iddon chose a slick rear and intermediate front and was looking strong in fourth before crashing out at Craner Curves when closing in on the leaders.
Brookes opted for intermediates all round and although his starting position held him back in the early stages, he was up inside the top ten by the third lap and steadily moved forward after that. One of the quickest riders on track, he was up to fourth by half race distance and it was here where he finished for a morale boosting result.
