Josh Brookes has celebrated becoming the Bennetts British Superbike Champion for a second time following a sensational title-deciding triple-header on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit.
Having lost some momentum to his main rivals on Saturday, the Australian responded today (Sunday) in superb style with a pair of lights-to-flag victories, surely amongst his best-ever rides in Bennetts BSB. In both races he withstood prolonged and intense pressure from the McAMS Yamaha pairing of Jason O'Halloran and Tarran Mackenzie, but appeared completely unflappable throughout.
Brookes was last crowned champion in 2015, and his commanding performance this weekend across the final three rounds gave him a final 21-point advantage over closest rival O'Halloran to seal the crown.
The 2020 victory for VisionTrack Ducati also means that the PBM team successfully defended their title to score an incredible eighth Bennetts BSB Championship victory.
The championship momentum had swung back in favour of the VisionTrack Ducati team following the penultimate event at Donington Park, and Brookes came into the final round with a 16-point advantage over teammate Christian Iddon.
However the start to the season was a fairly indifferent affair as Brookes' campaign began with a podium at the opening round at Donington Park, before disaster struck following a collision with Andrew Irwin, which left a zero point score finish to the opening weekend.
Brookes rebounded at Snetterton to claim victory in the opening race, which he followed up with a podium finish, before another podium following a difficult weekend at Silverstone.
Oulton Park saw another tough start to the racing action, but claiming the victory in the final race in Cheshire put Brookes back on the winning course and in confident mood ahead of the return to Donington Park.
Two third places and a victory in the East Midlands, as championship leader Glenn Irwin crashed out of the opening race, gave the charismatic Aussie the edge coming into the title-decider.
Brookes had his lead reduced in the standings in the opening race to seven-points, but on the final day of the season he claimed a superb Round 17 victory before sealing the final win of 2020 in equally dominant style to secure the title in style.
The 2020 Bennetts BSB Champion commented: "It feels awesome to win the title and a lot of my talking was done out on the track today. When I'm under pressure, I seem to be able to find that little bit more and get the results when I need to, which is exactly what I've done today.
"It's been a hard fought year and I was pushed hard all weekend but the bike worked really well, especially on Sunday and it felt natural to go out there and win so a big thank you to everyone at the PBM team."
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch GP, Round 17 result:
- Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati)
- Jason O'Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +1.085s
- Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) +10.880s
- Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing) +16.097s
- Lee Jackson (Rapid Fulfilment FS-3 Kawasaki) +16.246s
- Luke Mossey (Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW) +16.523s
- Danny Buchan (Rapid Fulfilment FS-3 Kawasaki) +16.590s
- Peter Hickman (Global Robots BMW) +17.889s
- Gino Rea (Buildbase Suzuki) +17.964s
- Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +19.935s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch GP, Round 18 result:
- Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati)
- Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) +0.578s
- Jason O'Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +1.339s
- Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) +8.816s
- Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing) +8.882s
- Danny Buchan (Rapid Fulfilment FS-3 Kawasaki) +9.042s
- Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +17.660s
- Peter Hickman (Global Robots BMW) +17.827s
- Lee Jackson (Rapid Fulfilment FS-3 Kawasaki) +17.891s
- Gino Rea (Buildbase Suzuki) +18.028s
Final Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:
- Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati) 288
- Jason O'Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 267
- Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) 258
- Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing) 226
- Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) 215