Joshua Brookes put his Alto Evolution Honda into 12th place on the grid at his home circuit of Phillip Island and he was also the only Alto Evoution rider to complete Superpole.
His team-mate
Karl Muggeridge crashed after hitting oil on the track at Hayshed Corner, and missed his chance to compete in Superpole, despite qualifying in the top 16. The oil was laid by Brooke's machine after a technical problem during the final free qualifying session.
While Brookes was putting in an impressive Superpole performance, Muggeridge was undergoing tests in hospital because he suffered a short concussion during his crash. Muggeridge may also have damaged an ankle tendon, but if he passes medical checks he hopes to compete at his home circuit. If he is given the all clear he will start from the fourth row.
"I put a lot of pressure on myself, especially at this race at Phillip Island and from the word go we have not been kicking any goals. The bike is not so far away but as a package we have not really meshed,” said Brookes, “There are no extremely big problems and we have a good group of people and a better motorcycle than we have had in the past. I just don't feel I'm confident, questioning everything, so a little bit is maybe to do with me and I am not shining on the bike. Maybe I just need to chill out and ride to have fun. Superpole was extremely windy and we still did an OK time. Third row is good for the start."
Mean while Muggeridge is frustrated by the outcome of his weekend so far saying, "I am not sure if I can ride tomorrow, but we will see what they say. I was out for a second or two and it was a fast crash. We were just unlucky but I'm pretty frustrated."
