BSB: Josh Brookes is the master of change in the second free practice at Brands Hatch

Josh Brookes mastered the changing conditions in the second Bennetts British Superbike Championship free practice session at Brands Hatch this afternoon as the McAMS Yamaha rider topped the timesheets.

A brief shower before the afternoon session saw several of the riders choosing to wait until later in free practice two to head out on circuit once the track dried, but Brookes continued to live up to his reputation, and was the first rider on track.

Brookes set the initial pace and it wasn’t until the closing ten minutes when the times began to tumble with the final 60 seconds a frantic flurry of improvements with Glenn Irwin and Jake Dixon moving up the order before Brookes returned to the top.

Ellison posted a time in his final run of the session to climb back up the order into fourth place with Mason Law completing the top five for Team WD-40 Kawasaki. Dan Linfoot was sixth fastest for Honda Racing as team-mate Jason O’Halloran decided to watch the session from the garage as he continues his recovery from his ankle injury.

Gino Rea, one of the first riders to venture out of pitlane in the session, was seventh at the chequered flag. He held off Andrew Irwin who used free practice two to get a feeling for the Superbike in the different conditions as he continues his rookie season in the premier class with Luke Hedger and Christian Iddon completing the top ten.

Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch, Free Practice 2:

Josh Brookes (McAMS Yamaha) 1m:36.324s
Jake Dixon (RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki) +2.774s
Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) +2.942s
James Ellison (Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha) +3.048s
Mason Law (Team WD-40 Kawasaki) +3.500s
Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) +5.107s
Gino Rea (OMG Racing Suzuki) +6.645s
Andrew Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) +7.190s
Luke Hedger (Lloyd & Jones Bowker BMW) +7.288s
Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +7.886s