After returning from road racing action at the 2026 Isle of Man TT, where Josh Brookes and DAO Racing collected third place in the blue-riband Senior TT, the Cumbrian-based squad now turns its attention back to the 2026 ZYN British Superbike Championship as round three of the season roars into life at Knockhill.

The Scottish Highlands will play host to the third round of the 2026 campaign, with the 1.2-mile Knockhill circuit providing the venue where DAO Racing aims to kickstart its season as Josh Brookes and Lee Jackson look to improve their championship standings.

Josh Brookes heads north of the border ready to improve his current short-circuit racing form. The 43-year-old sits 14th in the standings on 19 points and believes that what the team discovered during their time at the Isle of Man TT and the North West 200 could help improve his fortunes at Knockhill.

‘LeeBob’ Jackson enjoyed a solid outing at round two, however, a heavy 120mph crash in the final race left him battered and bruised heading into the four-week break. He has since undergone an intensive rehabilitation programme, including several hyperbaric chamber sessions, and is raring to go in Scotland.

Jackson will have to complete a fit-to-ride assessment on Thursday, however, the Lincolnshire rider is confident that, after a strong recovery process, he will be on track throughout the weekend as he looks to close the gap to Ryan Vickers, who lies ahead on 37 points and sits 10th in the standings.

Knockhill is one of the shortest circuits on the calendar. At just over one mile in length, the Fife-based venue provides some of the best racing of the year in front of thousands of passionate Scottish fans.

Josh Brookes: “It’ll be a bit of a shock to the system to go from the longest circuit I compete on all year to the shortest one, that’s for sure. Post-TT, I’m still super motivated to get back to BSB and try to turn our season around.

“The TT highlighted a couple of areas where we may have been heading in the wrong direction with the bike, based on our results in BSB. I wouldn’t normally compare the two specifically from a bike set-up perspective, but for the performance of the bike to be noticeably different at the TT suggests we might be going the wrong way with the set-up in BSB.

“These are all ideas right now, but we’ll go in a different direction with the bike at Knockhill and see what results we can get. I’m excited to get back to racing, not just because it’s BSB, but also to see what changes we can make, try some new variations and hopefully discover a better way forward. Hopefully the weather will be kind to us so we can properly evaluate this new approach.”

Lee Jackson: “I’m really looking forward to coming back at Knockhill after the break. For some people the break is nice, but for me I left the last round in a battered state after my crash. It’s been a long four weeks on crutches, going through rehab and physio, doing everything I can to ensure I’m back in time for the next round at Knockhill.

“I’ve got to pass a medical on Thursday, but I have no doubts in my mind that I’ll be fit. I feel good in myself and I’m raring to go. I want to continue the progress we made at Donington. OK, we weren’t fighting inside the top five, but we were making progress. I posted my fastest-ever lap around there and was consistently battling to be the top Honda rider.

“Knockhill is a physically demanding track, so it’ll be a good test of my fitness. But once the helmet goes on and the visor goes down, I’ll be doing everything I can to get back to where I know we can be. The weather may have something to say this weekend and that could help us, but I’m excited to get back to action.”

Team Manager Jonny Bagnall: “We’re excited to return to short-circuit action this weekend at Knockhill. It’s one of our closest circuits and, after our success at the Isle of Man TT, we’re hoping to continue that momentum in Scotland.

“We haven’t stopped our development programme while competing on the roads and have a few items to test during both free practice sessions which will hopefully improve the Fireblade and make it more competitive on the short circuits.

“Josh heads to Knockhill in good spirits. We enjoyed a fantastic two weeks together at the TT and our results have given the team a real boost in confidence. Fingers crossed that momentum continues this weekend.

“After Lee’s big crash at Donington Park, he has recovered extremely well. Although he must pass a fit-to-ride assessment on Thursday, we’re confident he’ll be on track on Friday and looking to pick up where he left off at the last round, where he was consistently the top Honda rider.”