British Superbike fans might recognize the name, but Josh Brookes is making headlines with his Isle of Man TT debut, having set the fastest Mountain Course lap ever for a newcomer. Teammate to Guy Martin on the Tyco Suzuki team, Brookes is showing himself to be a very capable road racer having finished 10th in the 2013 Dainese Superbike TT.
Posting a 127.726 mph lap, Brookes shattered Steve Plater’s record of 125.808 mph from 2007. The new high-water mark isn’t likely to last though, as Brookes will have another shot at it on Superbike equipment later this week during the Senior TT, the blue-ribbon and final race of the 2013 IOMTT.
The first solo bike race of the 2013 Isle of Man TT, the Dainese Superbike TT race features 1,000cc superbike fours (1,200cc twins), which complete six laps around the Isle of Man’s Mountain Course. A prelude of things to come during the TT’s blue-ribbon event, the Senior TT, the Superbike TT boasts all the top names on the fastest machinery, and typically is the opening race for the IOMTT.
The Mountain at Cadwell Park, as it is known, is like the British version of the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca: another one of those special points on a race track, that would not exist on the computer-generated courses we see today.
Famous for lofting bikes into the air, The Mountain makes for spectacular photographs, and should be on every rider’s track day bucket list. Finding the fastest racing line over The Mountain can be difficult though, as riders have to contend with keeping the front of their motorcycles down, but such is not the case for HM Plant Honda’s Josh Brookes…