British Superbike Championship runner-up Josh Brookes will follow through on his pledge to compete at the Isle of Man TT races on the Tyco Suzuki machines in 2013.
The fearless Aussie has made no secret in the past of his desire to pit his skills against the unique challenge of the legendary Mountain course and next June Brookes’ dream will become reality.
His maiden appearance at the North West 200 as a tune-up to the TT also appears to be a foregone conclusion.
Following a parade lap at the TT in the summer, Brookes revealed during an interview with Manx Radio that Tyco Suzuki team manager Philip Neill had promised him a crack at the greatest road race in the world if he succeeded in winning a maiden British Superbike crown for the Northern Ireland team.
The 29-year-old from New South Wales came up agonisingly short as he conceded second best to PBM Kawasaki’s Shane Byrne, but Neill has nonetheless relented and granted Brookes his wish.
A former World Supersport and World Superbike rider, Brookes is a highly experienced and respected competitor, but the challenge presented by the most fearsome road racing course on the planet is one that represents an altogether different prospect.
With that in mind, Brookes isn’t in a rush to identify any personal targets ahead of his debut next year, although he admits he’s relieved the news is now ‘out in the open’.
“I’m glad it’s out in the open now as all the questions about whether I was going to ride or not – and not being able to say anything – were getting a bit tiring,” he said.
“I fell in love with the place on my first visit back in 2009 and now that I’m with, what I regard, as the best team at the event in Tyco Suzuki – it gives me peace of mind.
“It’s too early to be setting any goals. It’s the beginning of a new project and we’ll just see how it goes.”
Given the roads heritage of TAS Racing, it was only a matter of time before team chief Neill gave Brookes the nod to pursue his TT ambition.
“As a team with a strong background in pure road racing I suppose it was inevitable that Josh would like to have a go at the TT,” he said.
“We won’t be expecting any miracle results and there is certainly no pressure on him.”
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