JOSH BROOKES

Josh Brookes remains one of the main talking points at the Isle of Man TT as one can’t help but wonder what he would have achieved if he’d contested the event year on year after making his debut in 2013. 

Josh Brookes remains one of the main talking points at the Isle of Man TT as one can’t help but wonder what he would have achieved if he’d contested the event year on year after making his debut in 2013. He became the fastest ever newcomer that year but although he returned in 2014, improving both his results and speeds, he then missed the following two years as British and then World Superbike Championship commitments took over.

The Australian, who now has two British Superbike titles to his name as well as being the second most successful in terms of wins and podiums, was back at the TT in 2017 and 2018 where he rode for a variety of teams across the classes. He again excelled in all of them although he may well have been disappointed not to have finished on the podium in the 2018 Supersport races on the McAMS Yamaha.

His performances on the Norton in the Superbike/Senior races stood out though and didn’t get the credit they deserved as he finished all four of them inside the top ten, three of them being inside the top eight. He ended on a high too with fifth in the 2018 Senior being a simply excellent ride, especially as he lapped at a superb 131.745mph.

That made him the fastest Australian around the Mountain Course and the fastest ever on the Norton but, again, he was missing from the TT in subsequent years with his PBM Ducati team, who he rode for in BSB between 2019 and 2022, opting out of the TT.

Back in 2023, returning after a five-year gap was a big ask but there’s a reason why he’s regarded as one of the best ever rider to have graced the BSB series and, arguably, the one with the most talent of anyone on the TT entry. Concentrating initially on just a Superstock bike for the FHO Racing team, his speeds increased throughout practice opening his account in race week with seventh in the Superbike race.

Retirement in the Superstock race after just a couple of hundred yards cost him valuable mileage but he went on to take fifth in both the second Superstock and Senior races, upping his pace in the latter to an extremely impressive 132.529mph. Keen to get as much track time as possible, he also added the Supertwin races to his schedule after a last-minute deal with Dafabet/RC Express Racing and, after taking fifth in the first race, he notched up his first ever TT podium with third place in the second.

Brookes said afterwards he needs to be competing in all classes, like his rivals, in order to maximise his track time and that’s wat he did in 2024. He lost more valuable track time when, in the Superbike race, he only got as far as the 11th Milestone on the opening lap and although his results were a bit up and down – sixth in the opening Supersport race but down in 11th in the Superstock race he ended on a high when he took a brilliant second place in the Senior, upping his pace to an excellent 134.056mph.

Being Peter Hickman’s team-mate for two years would have been no easy task at the TT but there’s no doubt Brookes has the potential to lap at similar speeds and win a TT. If he hadn’t missed four years of track action around the Mountain Course he could well already have done that, but he still has time on his side to fulfil that dream. He switches to Honda power and the Jackson Racing team for 2025.

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NOTHING BUT JOSH BROOKES AT THE TT