MILWAUKEE Yamaha’s Josh Brookes celebrated his first victory of the 2015 British Superbike championship in a dramatic opening race at Brands Hatch after Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne crashed out.
It was Byrne who lead the field into Paddock Hill Bend for the first time, followed by Brookes, Michael Laverty and Richard Cooper. Brookes was hunting down Byrne and on the fourth lap made the move to take the lead at Druids.
Brookes held off the championship leader who was followed by the chasing pack including Cooper, James Ellison and Stuart Easton, who all remained in close contention. Easton’s race ended prematurely with a huge crash at Hawthorns. The PBM Kawasaki rider was able to sit up and talk to the medical team despite the spectacular crash. The crash brought out the Nissan GT-R safety car.
When the race resumed on the eighth lap, Brookes maintained his lead over Byrne, Cooper and Ellison. The safety car was deployed once again just four laps later when Byrne also crashed out at Hawthorns. He was able to walk away from the high-speed accident without significant injuries.
The race resumed for the second time and Brookes continued to set a consistently fast pace to try and make a break from the pack over the final five laps. The Milwaukee Yamaha had the edge and he took a slight advantage over Cooper as Ellison sealed the final podium position.
Tommy Bridewell was the leading Tyco BMW rider in fourth place, ahead of his team-mate Michael Laverty. John Hopkins scored sixth place on his return to MCE BSB on the Lloyds British Moto Rapido Ducati, the team's best result of the season so far.
Race one results:
1. Josh Brookes AUS Milwaukee Yamaha
2. Richard Cooper GBR Anvil Hire TAG Racing Kawasaki +0.507
3. James Ellison GBR JG Speedfit Kawasaki +0.693
4. Tommy Bridewell GBR Tyco BMW +0.758
5. Michael Laverty GBR Tyco BMW +4.542
6. John Hopkins USA Lloyds British Moto Rapido +4.626
7. Luke Mossey GBR Quattro Plant Kawasaki +5.758
8. Dan Linfoot GBR Honda Racing +6.401
9. James Westmoreland GBR JG Speedfit Kawasaki +7.128
10. Billy McConnell AUS Smiths Racing BMW +7.187
11. Broc Parkes AUS Milwaukee Yamaha +7.744
12. Lee Jackson GBR Buildbase BMW +8.232
13. Christian Iddon GBR Bennetts Suzuki +8.655
14. Jack Kennedy IRE Team WD-40 Kawasaki +8.746
15. Filip Backlund GBR Anvil Hire TAG Racing Kawasaki +10.986
16. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN Buildbase BMW +11.248
17. Josh Waters AUS Bennetts Suzuki +14.312
18. Jed Metcher AUS PR Racing Kawasaki +18.197
19. Jenny Tinmouth GBR Honda Racing +23.713
20. Shaun Winfield GBR Anvil Hire TAG Racing Kawasaki +23.734
21. Aaron Zanotti GBR A-Plant Yamaha +34.796
DNF. Lee Costello GBR Morello Racing Kawasaki ZX-10R 18 laps completed
DNF. Howie Mainwaring GBR Quattro Plant Kawasaki ZX-10R 15 laps completed
DNF. Taylor Mackenzie GBR Team WD-40 Kawasaki ZX-10R 12 laps completed
DNF. Shane Byrne GBR PBM Kawasaki ZX-10R 10 laps completed
DNF. Rhalf Lo Turco BRZ SBK City Kawasaki
DNF. Chris Walker GBR Be Wiser Kawasaki
DNF. Martin Jessopp GBR Riders Motorcycles BMW
DNF. Stuart Easton GBR PBM Kawasaki
DNF. Joe Burns GBR Joe Burns Racing Kawasaki
DNF. Michael Rutter GBR Gearlink Kawasaki
DNF. Jason O'Halloran AUS Honda Racing
DNF. Peter Hickman GBR RAF Reserves BMW
DNF. Danny Buchan GBR Be Wiser Kawasaki
DNF. James Rose AUS Moto-Breakers Kawasaki
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