Qualifying

Josh Brookes 2nd Peter Hickman 14th

Race 1 – 18 laps

Josh Brookes 4th Peter Hickman 8th

Race 2 – 10 laps

Josh Brookes 16th Peter Hickman 14th

Race 3 – 5 laps

Josh Brookes 10th Peter Hickman 11th

It was a weekend of highs and lows for the FHO Racing BMW Motorrad team at the ninth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park, with Josh Brookes back in podium contention and Peter Hickman continuing to make progress aboard the BMW M 1000 RR.

Both FHO riders stormed into Q2 on Saturday after Josh set the second fastest time with Hicky 11^th in Friday’s practice sessions. Heading into qualifying the mood in Faye Ho’s garage was positive; on track Josh was flying aboard his BMW machine and soon jumped to the top of the times. However, in the final stages of the session Josh was knocked off pole position by just 0.040 seconds and started the opening race of the weekend from the front row in second.

Getting a brilliant start off the line for the opening race, it was Josh who led the field at the first corner. With the chasing BSB pack behind him Josh led for the first three laps, with Glenn Irwin eventually sneaking past on the third rotation. Josh held strong and defended his position well until the 15^th lap, where there was a four-way battle for the three podium spots. Kyle Ryde and Lee Jackson got through and eventually Josh crossed the line fourth. Meanwhile for teammate Peter, he came home eighth having made his way through from 12^th.

Conditions soon changed on Sunday, with relentless rain at the 2.69-mile circuit for most of the day. With a revised schedule in place the Sprint race was reduced to just ten laps, but having started from third place Josh dropped back on the opening lap and wasn’t able to make up places, which saw the FHO duo finish Pete 14^th and Josh 16^th.

The second Superbike race of the day took place in tricky conditions, opting for intermediate tyres and having started from 17^th, Josh flew past his BSB rivals and by the opening lap had moved up to sixth. Drops of rain were reported, but Josh was still moving through the pack and on the fourth lap he was in second place. With a podium looking hopeful, there was further heartbreak for Josh who crashed at Druids with conditions getting worse. The race was eventually red flagged due to track contamination as a result of another crash. Peter meanwhile at the red flag was 11^th.

The race was restarted to a five-lap dash; however, the action was in the FHO Racing garage after the team learnt that Josh could restart the race. With just minutes until pit lane opened the BMW M 1000 RR was recovered back to the pit box and it was all hands-on deck to get the Superbike out for the race. All eyes were on the garage as Faye Ho’s squad worked quickly and with just seconds to spare Josh gallantly rolled out to start the race from the back of the grid.

Across the five laps Josh rode a heroic race; being hesitant for the first few laps with a lack of grip, he then found grip and started making his way up the field. Matching the times of those running in the front group Josh was flying. However, with a shorter race distance, he was unable to move further up and crossed the line in an impressive 10^th position, but with a few more laps of Oulton Park he would have once again been chasing down a podium spot. Teammate Hicky finished his weekend with an 11^th place.

The FHO Racing BWM Motorrad team now have a week’s break before the penultimate round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship takes place at Donington Park on 27-29 September.