News

After two solid points scoring finishes in Race 1 that saw Josh Brookes finish in a solid 11^th place just ahead of teammate Karel Abraham in P12, Race 2 saw Brookes in the points once again in the wet, with Abraham suffering a mechanical problem on his BMW machine that saw him unable to see the flag.

Brookes, who led in Assen in wet conditions, suffered with the set up and was unable to push to his limits, settling for points on the unfamiliar Sepang International Circuit and completing a good rookie weekend at the track, gaining experience of both the weather and the new track surface.

“The race was pretty much what I expected,” said Brookes. “We tried some different settings with the throttle this weekend which didn’t work as well for me, and it’s an area we need to look at. I think I have could have raced up front, especially as it was wet like Assen, and it would have been great to mix it up with the leaders again. Unfortunately the bike set-up just didn’t work for me today, but it was good to get some more points. I’m hoping we can get some better results at Donington, and I’m looking forward to racing there again. I will give 100% effort, but we have to make sure that the bike is working correctly too so that I feel confident to push it.”

Donington is a track that Brookes knows well, having won and raced on the UK circuit in the British Superbike Championship, and the baton is passed from one teammate to another as the WorldSBK paddock returns from Sepang -  a circuit on which Abraham has vast experience.

“I was a bit anxious before the start of the race when it started to rain, because we didn’t do any wet laps during the weekend,” said Karel Abraham. “I had problems with the launch control and wheelie control on the formation lap and I knew that something was wrong with the bike. I didn’t want to risk damaging the bike or hurting myself, so unfortunately I had to make the decision to retire. It was a shame because until then the weekend had been pretty good and we made progress with the bike.

Ahead of the next race at Donington I hope that we can avoid similar issues and make everything work. I know that the guys will work their hardest to get everything ready, and I will make sure to give my best and get good results.”

Round 7 takes place at Donington Park on the 27^th to 29^th May, as Milwaukee BMW head back to Europe for the team’s home round.