Brookes gains guidance with 2015 BSB title-winning crew chief

Josh Brookes will have his 2015 MCE British Superbike title-winning crew chief Stuart Winton in his garage at the Knockhill round as he returns from an impressive showing at the Isle of Man TT.

The Australian rider enjoyed a standout return to the Isle of Man TT capped by setting a new fastest lap on the Norton of 130.883mph on his way to sixth place during the Senior TT race.

Returning to short circuit racing in BSB, Brookes has been given an extra boost with the arrival of his 2015 BSB crew chief Winton who helped him to the title with Milwaukee Yamaha.

Brookes sits fourth in the BSB championship standings but just nine points separate him from the closest contender outside the top six Showdown spots - defending champion Shane Byrne on the Be Wiser Ducati.

As a result, Brookes is keen to step up his results after the mid-season pause but is expecting a tricky race weekend starting at Knockhill.

"As we finished up at Oulton Park I wasn't happy with the results and we needed to focus on making the bike a little better," Brookes said. "This weekend we have the presence of Stuart Winton, who was my crew chief in 2015, so he's giving us a hand and will help us in the right direction with the bike.

"Things to need to improve with the machine, if we look at the results from the last round it's not what I'm used to achieving in BSB, it's important that we focus on the areas of the bike that are requiring improvement, and I'm ready to see what changes the team have made.

"Knockhill isn't a circuit I look forward to racing at, it isn't a bad layout, the lap is just too short. It's a shame because the corners that are there are fun to ride, but it can get monotonous on a superbike.

"I want to like the track but I haven't had the results there that I'm searching for, which leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. I've got to go there with the same outlook as every weekend, there all equally important and I'm hoping I can put things right at Knockhill and we can get some good results."