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Josh Brookes is challenged by Dan Linfoot (#4), Thomas Bridewell (#46) and John Kirkham (#10)

Josh Brookes was forced out of his debut British Superbike Championship race at Brands Hatch on medical grounds after crashing out of the opening race yesterday.

The Relentless Suzuki by TAS rider was deemed “not fit” to take part in the second race after high-siding while challenging for the lead in the opening race at the Kent circuit, after scything through the pack from a lowly 13th-placed start on the grid.  Just when the Australian was planning his attack on race-leader Shane Byrne, he suffered a spectacular high-side at the top of Paddock Hill Bend, prematurely ending his Easter Monday debut.

Josh Brookes:
“I suppose we did all right coming back from where we were in qualifying and I have to say, everything felt 100 per cent better today on my bike. As I said after qualifying, I knew what caused the problem and once we’d that sorted; we were fast in morning warm-up and in the race. While I was battling with people in the race, I couldn’t get into a proper rhythm, but once I got to P2 – which was quite easy – I was totally confident. I saw Shakey and thought, ‘I’m in a good position here,’ but it all ended at Paddock Hill. I’m upbeat because I really can’t believe how I didn’t injure myself in such a big crash. Now I’m just looking forward to Oulton Park.”

Philip Neill, Team Manager:
“Josh proved in the opening BSB race that we’d really cracked it with his set-up this morning in warm-up and I have to admit, watching him come through from 13th to second place – it’s been a long time since I’ve taken so much pleasure watching someone on a Superbike: He was so strong and made a pass on almost every lap; no one could hold him off at Clearways. He can certainly ride a motorbike and that’s why we signed him, for his ‘never say die’ attitude. He just pushed that little-too hard down Paddock Hill which caused the crash, but we’ll accept that and move on. Until then, he made the whole GSX-R1000 Superbike package look absolutely superb.

British Superbike Race 1:
1st – Shane Byrne (Honda); 2nd – Tommy Hill (Yamaha); 3rd – Tommy Bridewell (Honda); 4th – Stuart Easton (Kawasaki); 5th – Jon Kirkham (Suzuki); 6th – Michael Rutter (Ducati); 7th – Loris Baz (Yamaha); 8th – Dan Linfoot (Honda); 9th – Martin Jessopp (Ducati); 10th – Chris Walker (Kawasaki). Josh Brookes DNF

British Superbike Race 2:
1st – Tommy Hill (Yamaha); 2nd – Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda); 3rd – Shane Byrne (Honda); 4th – Michael Laverty (Yamaha); 5th – John Hopkins (Suzuki); 6th – Stuart Easton (Kawasaki); 7th – Michael Rutter (Ducati); 8th – Dan Linfoot (Honda); 9th – Peter Hickman (Honda); 10th – Gary Mason (Kawasaki). Josh Brookes DNS.

Alastair Seeley demonstrated the pedigree of Suzuki’s all-new GSX-R600, taking it to its debut victory in the British Supersport Championship at Brands Hatch earlier today in front of a packed Easter Monday audience.

Alastair Seeley leads Jack Kennedy (#4), Christian Iddon (#21) and Dean Hipwell (#74) in Supersport race two at Brands Hatch on Monday

Supersport
The former British Superstock champion and current Superbike and Supersport lap record holder at the International North West 200, picked himself up after yesterday’s disappointment, to lead home a high-speed freight train over 26 pulsating laps. Less than a second covered the top five at the checkered flag, and despite yesterday’s DNF the Ulsterman sits well poised in fourth place, just 13 points behind the series leader.

British Superbikes
Josh Brookes will not forget his Relentless Suzuki British Superbike debut in a hurry, crashing out spectacularly in race one, which disappointingly forced a medical withdrawal from race two. Before the race one incident, the Australian had mesmerizingly scythed his way through the pack from 13th position through to second place on his GSX-R1000 Superbike. But just when he was planning out his attach on race leader Shane Byrne he suffered a wicked high-side at the top of Paddock Hill Bend prematurely ending his Easter Monday debut.

Alastair Seeley, Supersport
“I never looked behind me in that second Supersport race and it’s a good job as I think I might have scared myself! I just watched my board today, kept my head down and stuck to the game plan. Ben tried to make a break for it but I was ready for him and when I eventually got to the front I just defended my line on that last lap and brought it home for the win. Next week we’ll get a chance to stretch the legs on the wee GSX-R600 at Oulton Park, but before that I have a GSX-R owners’ day here at Brands Hatch with Suzuki.”

Josh Brookes, Superbike
“I suppose we did all right coming back from where we were in qualifying and I have to say, everything felt one-hundred percent better today on my bike. As I said after qualifying, I knew what caused the problem and once we’d that sorted we were fast in morning warm-up and in the race. While I was battling with people in the race I couldn’t get into a proper rhythm, but once I got to P2, which was quite easy, I was totally confident. I saw Shakey and thought, ‘I’m in a good position here,’ but it all ended at Paddock Hill. I’m upbeat because I really can’t believe how I didn’t injure myself in such a big crash. Now I’m just looking forward to Oulton Park.”

Philip Neill, Team Manager
“There are a number of positives to take away from this meeting starting with Alastair Seeley. He was pure class in that race today, and it’s not the first time he’s pulled this team out of a hole. He completely out-smarted his rivals and the new GSX-R600 package was nothing short of perfect. He rode the textbook race and we knew he had a better tire choice than many of his rivals. He controlled the race from the front and it was the race of the day for the fans with five of them in it at the end.

“Josh proved in the opening BSB race that we’d really cracked it with his set-up this morning in warm-up and I have to admit, watching him come through from 13th to second place – it’s been a long time since I’ve taken so much pleasure watching someone on a Superbike. He was so strong and made a pass on almost every lap; no one could hold him off at Clearways. He can certainly ride a motorbike and that’s why we signed him, for his never say die attitude. He just pushed that little too hard down Paddock Hill which caused the crash, but we’ll accept that and move on. Until then he made the whole GSX-R1000 Superbike package look absolutely superb.

“Guy [Martin] acquitted himself really well this weekend and we are really pleased how he got on running 46.5 lap times. There are not too many of the pure road racing men who could match those times here and it sets him up well for the Cookstown 100 next week, where he will ride our GSX-R Superstock and Supersport machines.”

Results

British Superbike Race 1
1st – Shane Byrne (Honda); 2nd – Tommy Hill (Yamaha); 3rd – Tommy Bridewell (Honda); 4th – Stuart Easton (Kawasaki); 5th – Jon Kirkham (Suzuki); 6th – Michael Rutter (Ducati); 7th – Loris Baz (Yamaha); 8th – Dan Linfoot (Honda); 9th – Martin Jessopp (Ducati); 10th – Chris Walker (Kawasaki)
Josh Brookes DNF

British Superbike Race 2
1st – Tommy Hill (Yamaha); 2nd – Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda); 3rd – Shane Byrne (Honda); 4th – Michael Laverty (Yamaha); 5th – John Hopkins (Suzuki); 6th – Stuart Easton (Kawasaki); 7th – Michael Rutter (Ducati); 8th – Dan Linfoot (Honda); 9th – Peter Hickman (Honda); 10th – Gary Mason (Kawasaki)
Josh Brookes was withdrawn from BSB Race 2 as a precautionary measure on medical grounds

British Supersport Race 2
1st – Alastair Seeley [Relentless by TAS Suzuki]; 2nd – Jack Kennedy [Yamaha]; 3rd – Steve Plater [Honda]; 4th – Ben Wilson [Kawasaki]; 5th – Dean Hipwell [Yamaha]; 6th – Lee Johnston [Honda]; 7th – Jimmy Hill [Triumph]; 8th – Luke Mossey [Triumph]; 9th – Sam Warren [Yamaha]; 10th – Daniel Cooper [Triumph]

Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing had a tough opening day at the British Superbike Championship first round at Brands Hatch. Josh Brookes suffered several minor problems in BSB Qualifying, posting the 13th-best time and Alastair Seeley crashed out in the first of the Easter weekend’s two Supersport races challenging for the lead. Guy Martin, appearing at Brands as a BSB wildcard entry, qualified a respectable 27th in his first official time out on a Relentless GSX-R1000.

Relentless Suzuki's Josh Brookes

Josh Brookes:
“I’m disappointed with qualifying but I don’t want to make excuses. In my opinion we’re not just quite there yet and qualifying wasn’t a good showing. We made a few changes and I’ve a fair idea what the problem was, but as I say, I’m not going to make any excuses. I’m trying to stay upbeat as being annoyed is not going to help the situation. We will make a few changes for morning warm-up and see where we can improve.”

Alastair Seeley:
“I was catching Ben Wilson when I lost the front, so it’s good to be getting two bites at the cherry this weekend. The new GSX-R600 really felt great up to that point; it’s just a matter of sussing out what tires to be using for tomorrow in this heat. I suppose it’s all down to rider preference. I’m okay and the bike’s not too bad after the crash, so we’ll reload for tomorrow and go chasing a podium.”

Philip Neill – Team Manager:
“Today was a big disappointment, there’s no hiding that. We’re taking the positives as we’ve spent most of the weekend on the back foot after Josh had a small crash and an electronic problem also cost us a whole session. It’s been a baptism of fire but we’ve been here before at Brands so no one is panicking. We have the pace on a race tire and while it’s not an ideal grid position, if Josh can find a bit of consistency through the whole lap, we can come away with something from the weekend.

“In the Supersport race we felt Alastair had a good set-up and tire choice. The plan was to stay in the hunt early on and make his move towards the end, but unfortunately he made a small mistake. We’ll get back up and try again tomorrow. What I would say is he’s got to be able to run at this pace and not crash to be in the Championship race.

“Guy Martin has made steady progression and the objective was to come here so he could gain as much knowledge as possible with the GSX-R1000 Superbike, and he’s doing that. He has been going faster with every session and that’s what we expected he would do. He’s competitive and would like to be further up the grid but his lap time is respectable.”

Guy Martin will make his pure road racing debut in Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing livery at the Cookstown 100, Northern Ireland’s opening road race of the season on April 29 & 30.

The event will be used as a North West 200 shakedown for the Lincolnshire man, who hasn’t raced at the County Tyrone circuit since 2005. He will ride his GSX-R600 and GSX-R1000 Superstock machines at the event. In preparation for event, he will also race this weekend at Brands Hatch in the opening round of the British Superbike Championship.

Guy Martin:
“I’m looking forward to Brands but it’s hard to beat a bit of pure road racing. We’ve had plenty of testing time, but ‘yeah… there’s nothing like a bit of racing to get you ready for the real thing. This will give us a chance to try the bikes out on a road circuit, which at the end of the day is where we intend racing them. I haven’t been at Cookstown for quite some time but it’s only a little circuit so we’ll be spot on.”

Philip Neill – Team Manager:
“The organizers and local fans are very enthusiastic about the Cookstown 100 and with our team based just up the road in Moneymore; it’ll do us no harm to show them a bit of support. We always try to make an effort and go there when circumstances allow, and even though it clashes with the Oulton Park BSB we will work around it. It’s always beneficial to get out on a road circuit before the North West 200, but with Guy being a relative newcomer to Cookstown, we will be realistic with our expectations.”

After three years learning the ropes in the British Superbike Championship, Northern Ireland-based Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing is now ready to fight for the 2011 championship title with hard-charging Australian Josh Brookes.

Brookes finished runner-up in last season’s BSB series, but since arriving at his new base in Northern Ireland in March, the former World Supersport race winner has familiarized himself with the “Irish way of life,” not to mention his race-winning GSX-R1000 Superbike during numerous preseason tests. And after spending many hours in the Sperrin Mountain Range surrounding the team’s rural base in Moneymore on his mountain bike, the 27-year-old is now ready to race.

Josh Brookes:
“I wouldn’t be telling any lies if I said, ‘it’s all been easy for me so far here in Northern Ireland.’ I get on really well with the guys in the team and being here has brought a lot of fun back into my racing. The good thing is, I want to be here; I want to work with the guys; and I like being in the workshop when the boys pull new parts out of a box to see their reaction – it’s like Christmas for adults! Their effort doesn’t go un-noticed by me: I understand and respect the hours they put in for the team.

“It took me a while to get to grips with the Suzuki during the opening test, but when we got to the Brands test it all fell into place. I didn’t feel under pressure and everything felt very natural on the GSX-R. We were able to start to make the regular changes you would during a race weekend and everything about the team flowed and was well structured.

“I have total respect for the guys I am working with and I can’t be more pleased with where I am. The only thing now is to go out there and get the results. It feels very long since I last raced, so it will be good to get the first round out of the way so the season feels like it has actually started.”

Philip Neill – Team Manager:
“Josh has been a pleasure to work with since he arrived and we are all immensely impressed with his work ethic. As a team we have put a lot of hard work into the GSX-R1000 Superbike for this year, making small steps and improvements right across the board. Josh’s build-up is now complete. He is certainly enjoying his time in Northern Ireland and will no doubt add some numbers to his fan base.

“We have all been anticipating the start of the season, as we do believe this is our best-ever chance to challenge for the Championship. The first three years in the Superbike class taught us a lot and we now feel the time is right to launch a major challenge for honors with Josh. We have put a respectable amount of miles under our belts in testing – now it’s time to race.”

2009 Superstock champion and former Superbike race winner Alastair Seeley will debut Suzuki’s all-new GSX-R600 at the opening British Supersport round at Brands Hatch on Easter Monday.

The new middleweight machine, voted “King of the 600 class” by former 500c Grand Prix race winner Simon Crafar in a recent MCN test, has been completely revamped, using advanced component design techniques derived from MotoGP. This detailed work has produced a GSX-R600 which is an astonishing 9kg (20lbs) lighter than its predecessor.

Seeley clicked instantly with the new machine during his debut ride at Cartagena in Spain, and after additional tests in the UK, the Irishman is confident of pushing the Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing GSX-R600 to the front of the Supersport class this season.

Alastair Seeley:
“The bike felt good straight away. The motor was so much stronger and the brakes were probably the one thing I noticed more than anything over the 600 I rode at last year’s NW200. We have made progress since that first test in Spain and I believe we now have a decent set-up going into the first round at Brands Hatch. It’s a bike I felt at one with straight away and having won races in British championship on GSX-R machinery at Superstock and Superbike level, I will be looking to add top steps to my CV on the all-new GSX-R600.”

Philip Neill – Team Manager:
“We decided pretty early on to participate in the 2011 British Supersport Championship with the new GSX-R600, so you can imagine how pleased we were when we discovered how good the bike was straight out of the crate. We were equally pleased to see the bike’s new lighter weight transfer from road machine to race trim. There are still a few steps left to develop the bike to its full potential, but it is already an impressive package and more than ready to race.

“As a team, we are looking forward to returning to the class we all but dominated in 2007, as at the end of the day, it is where we started off in British championship racing. It’s already been well documented why we chose Alastair Seeley to ride the bike, and with his raw speed and diminutive stature we are very confident he can rack up race wins on the new GSX-R600.”

The opening round of the British Supersport Championship takes place this weekend – April 22-25 – at Brands Hatch in Kent.

Road racing veteran Guy Martin will make his debut for Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing during the Easter weekend British Superbike Championship opener at Brands Hatch alongside Australian Josh Brookes, who will also be making his debut in Relentless Suzuki colors.

While this event will be the start of Brookes’ BSB campaign, Martin will use the saddle time to gain valuable experience on his GSX-R1000 Superbike prior to the two main events on his International Road Racing calendar: the Relentless International North West 200 in May and the Isle of Man TT Races in June.

Philip Neill, Team Manager:
“The later-than-normal start to the season has already provided Guy with some great opportunities to spend time on track familiarizing himself with our full range of GSX-R machinery that he will be using during our International Road Racing campaign. However, pairing Guy with Josh for the opening Superbike race at Brands Hatch is a perfect way for us to understand how Guy reacts to some set-up changes in a race situation.

“The considerable amount of track time available throughout the four days at Brands and competing against the best riders in British Championship will enable Guy to really bring himself up to speed on the Superbike; and although our goals are not necessarily results-based, I’m sure Guy will be setting himself some personal targets over the four days.

“I’d like to thank MSVR for accepting our application for a wild card entry to this event, as the opportunity really does allow Guy to remind everyone that he is a motorcycle racer, who can ride on circuits as well as he can on the roads. This opportunity should help him prepare for his debut season with us in the best possible way.”

Guy Martin:
“I’ve been to the moon and back testing which is fantastic as I have never enjoyed so much pre-season track time before. However, practice is all right but you can’t beat a bit of racing, so I’m really looking forward to the chance of getting back out on track at Brands Hatch – and to do this in the BSB class is just perfect.

“I’m already quite familiar with the GSX-R1000 Superbike however, but this gives us the opportunity to work on some finer detail set-up stuff, which will no doubt come in handy throughout the season.”

After four busy days at Cartagena in Spain, the Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing team is returning to the UK very satisfied after what Team Manager Philip Neill described as one if its most-productive tests ever.

Relentless Suzuki's Josh Brookes

All three riders learned a great deal about their new machinery for 2011, and not one of the team’s GSX-R machines missed a beat all week, despite accumulating the maximum amount of laps available on each of the four days.

New British Superbike recruit Josh Brookes put in a lot of hard work; not only did he ride a GSX-R1000 Superbike for the first time this week, but he tested an extensive range of different settings, engine specifications and even rode three different machines. It was vital for the team to make the most of the opportunity and allow Brookes to gain as much knowledge as possible. A testing procedure of this nature can be difficult for some riders as they never really get the chance to settle, but Brookes worked hard and only really started to push towards the end of the final session on Sunday.

Team Manager Philip Neill said: “To see Josh finish comfortably faster than his best-ever time at this circuit is very encouraging indeed.”

Guy Martin also completed an enormous amount of work riding Superbike, Superstock and the all-new GSXR600 Supersport machinery. Again it was vital for Martin to understand all the different options available to him on the Superbike, as, once the International Road Racing season is underway, the opportunities for testing are limited.

On Martin’s performance Neill said: “I’m quietly confident that Guy has already found a comfortable set up with his new bikes. He also carried out some productive tire tests with Pirelli and everyone involved with TAS Racing is looking forward to helping Guy enjoy a very successful season.”

Seeley immediately gelled with the 2011 GSX-R600 and continued to make good progress over the four days. The team is now looking forward to seeing the new bike hit the track for the first time; even though it is still at stage one in terms of development. It was also encouraging to see Seeley show the true potential of the GSX-R1000 Superstock Suzuki, which carried him to the national title in 2009.

Neill added: “This test not only provided an opportunity for Alastair to ride his British Supersport machine for the first time; he was also able to reacquaint himself with a brand new GSX-R1000, which he will campaign at the NW200 and perhaps even selected rounds of the National Superstock series.”

With plenty of time to go before the opening round of the BSB Championship at Brands Hatch on April 25th, the team will now begin the long journey back to their workshop in Northern Ireland in a positive mood. Further tests will take place during March at selected British championship circuits.

Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing will head to Spain for the opening test of the year at Cartagena on March 3-6 with riders flying in from Northern Ireland, England and Australia.

Alastair Seeley, now in his third full season with the team, is no stranger to Relentless Suzuki’s pre-season testing program and Guy Martin is well settled after a pre-Christmas test on the team’s GSX-R1000 Superbike. Australian Josh Brookes, the team’s sole representative in this season’s British Superbike Championship, has been riding a ‘tricked-up’ GSX-R1000 in Australia, sent out to him by the team in November – letting him learn the characteristics of the Suzuki before he makes the long journey to Europe next week.

Josh Brookes:
“After riding different machinery for so long, I’m surprised just how quick the Suzuki felt so natural to me; I did feel at home on it straight away. Yes it is technically a street bike, but it gave me the chance to set up things like footrest and handlebar positioning before Spain. I’m more driven than I have ever been for a season – after a spending time at home doing different activities every day to keep myself focused – and I’ve never been so fit.

“I’m now looking forward to meeting all the guys in my new team and getting to know them before the season starts. I hear quite a few of them are into Mountain Biking and Motocross so that should be fun; we can have a laugh and hang out together.

“I’ll be in the Fox Sport TV studio this weekend in Sydney and I’m on the commentary team for the World Superbike races at Phillip Island, which gives me a chance to tell everyone what I’m doing this season and give them some information on the team before I leave for Spain on Monday.”

Philip Neill, Team Manager:
“I think everyone in the team is looking forward to getting stuck in this season, and it will be nice to have all the guys out in Spain together. Josh is pleased with what he’s achieved at home in Australia on the GSX-R1000. He had suspension and different bits and pieces sent out also, so it’s given him a base-setting and a head start before he jumps on the Superbike proper.”

Worx Power Tools will partner Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing in the British Supersport Championship and International Road Racing in 2011.

“Worx represents quality, making our job of promoting its products very easy indeed,’ said team manager Philip Neill. “In fact, the support of Worx has enabled us to expand our racing commitments for 2011 representing Suzuki in the British Supersport Championship with Alastair Seeley on the all-new GSX-R600.

“Worx will also be involved in our British Superbike and International Road Racing programs as a team partner. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Worx for its commitment to TAS Racing and also to our existing partners and title sponsor Relentless for welcoming Worx into the fold.”

“We are delighted to be able to show our continued support to Suzuki and BSB by becoming secondary partners of the Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing team,” said Worx managing director Clive Daley. “The Worx Professional brand stands for innovation, quality and performance and we believe the Relentless Suzuki race team has similar characteristics. Also, experience has shown British Superbike provides a fantastic platform to engage with our consumers. When it came down to it the choice to partner Relentless Suzuki by TAS was an easy one to make; not only does it allow us to build on our existing relationship with Suzuki, but the Relentless team is extremely professional with great ambition, which aligns perfectly with our brand.”

The 2011 British Superbike Championship season kicks off April 23 at Brands Hatch Indy. The North West 200 starts on May 21, 2011.