More Points For MCE Ducati At Knockhill
MCE Ducati riders Josh Brookes and Tom Sykes added to their points tally in the opening race of the fourth round of the 2022 Bennetts British Superbike Championship at a breezy Knockhill in Scotland today.
Double BSB champion Brookes and ex-World Superbike champion Sykes showed good speed during Friday’s damp action to make it inside the top 12 of the Superpicks Free Practice with Brookes in fifth and Sykes in tenth for Paul Bird’s Lake District-based team.
However, the pair couldn’t replicate that today and in the qualifying session, held in very strong winds, Brookes qualified in tenth to start from row four with Sykes three places and one row further back on the MCE Insurance-sponsored and factory-supported MCE Ducati Panigale V4Rs
Conditions remained tricky for the opening race of the weekend, the eBay sprint race over 22 laps of the short
Fife circuit, which saw the pair battle throughout with a group of riders inside the top ten. At the flag, Brookes managed to score tenth place with Sykes just a second behind in 12th.
As a result, Brookes occupies 11th in the standings on 58 points with Sykes in 14th on 36 points going into tomorrow’s two races.
Josh Brookes: “The race was a bit frustrating as I lost a few places in the early stages and that meant I was in a battle with my teammate which is always difficult as we are on the same machinery. I didn’t want to make any dodgy passes and take us both down, but the lap times were nowhere near what we needed to do to get on the podium. So, I’m a bit disappointed but I knew after qualifying we may struggle but I’m always optimistic. We’ve looked at what we can change for tomorrow’s two races and hopefully we can improve.”
Tom Sykes: “It’s been a bit frustrating to be honest, I felt good on the bike yesterday but today, we just couldn’t improve. Not being here for 14 years didn’t help, especially when many of the other riders have been every year but my lap times were OK. We tried different settings and all of the Ducatis were on a similar pace in qualifying, and in the race, I ended up in a scrap with Josh. I’m not happy and we just need to keep working hard to find what we need to progress from our limitations.”
eBay Sprint Race (22 laps)
1 B Ray (Yamaha)
2 J O’Halloran (Yamaha)
3 R Skinner (Kawasaki)
4 L Jackson (Kawasaki)
5 D Buchan (BMW)
6 K Ryde (Yamaha)
10 J Brookes (MCE Ducati)
12 T Sykes (MCE Ducati)
Championship Positions (after 10 races)
1 B Ray 183pts
2 J O’Halloran 150
3 L Johnson 138
4 R Skinner 132
5 K Ryde 127
6 G Irwin 116
11 J Brookes 58
14 T Sykes 36
Images courtesy of Double Red: Josh Brookes (25) and Tom Sykes (66).
