Josh Brookes returns to winning ways with “unconventional” move in Oulton Park race one.

Josh Brookes was a British Superbike winner for the first time since 2023, which also came at Oulton Park, bringing a first win for the DAO Racing team in the process as he took risks that outsmarted everyone in the opening race.

The weather played a huge part - the first start was stopped after just a few corners asbthe heavens opened, which began the stress of the tyre gamble on the grid.

Brookes won big time, fixing his DAO Racing Honda with intermediates, the former champion explained his thinking after the race:

“We just looked at the weather that had come through and it was a small shower that didn’t really saturate the track. So the rain, the water that was down, wasn’t going to be lasting. So even though it was declared a wet race, you know, I didn’t have a championship to defend or anything, so I knew I could take a bit of a risk and I felt strongly on the side of the intermediate tyre,  would be the correct choice.”

Brookes was quick to check who else had made the choice which turned out to be inspired - with Haslam the only other intermediate shod rider:

“When all the warmers come off, I looked over my shoulder and, you know, Leon was the only person on the grid I could see within a short distance that had the same tyre choice as me. So I immediately thought, well it’s going to be between Leon and I.

We set off and I was getting really like, in battles with people, on the opening few laps, and then I was actually thinking to myself, there’s only really one person I have to worry about - that’s Leon.

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So I don’t need to get in a battle with all these people on wets, the change is going to come in our favour”

Brookes felt Haslam was better in the damp conditions, allowing him to come from further back and pass, then gap the Australian:

“Then all of a sudden Leon came past me and I felt like he was more confident in the damper conditions.

So I was trying to use him as a gauge and then as the track started to dry out more I could feel my tyre was getting hotter in the dry areas of the track and it looked like Leon wasn’t able to pull away as much when it got to those conditions I started to catch him back and then it started to sprinkle with rain again - and he gapped me again.

So, it was really more clear again that the cooler or damper conditions weer favouring his bike, but then fortunately, the rain went away - finally -the last few laps the track was drying and the tyres were getting hot and I felt like I had a package that was working better on those tyres.”

The race came down to a last lap fight between the two series veterans, and Brookes used a unexpected move at Brittens to edge ahead:

“Our pace was so evenly matched so I didn’t think, like, , a regular pass was not going to be enough to make Leon just accept second, So I thought I needed to make a pass in an unconventional place just to catch him off guard - and then maybe gain a couple of tenths.

So it wasn’t like an immediate attack back in the next turn. The last sort of sector, you know, I just took a lot of risk, I guess, in a way - to make sure he couldn’t attack back.

I was really, obviously, you know , fighting hard to get this result. It’s not a conventional way to win a race, but I don’t care. I didn’t know if I was ever going to get another one of these again on my recent results, so it’s just nice to be back up here either way.”