Brookes to contest North West 200

Aussie rider Josh Brookes will contest this year’s International North West 200 street race, which will be held over a course dissecting the towns of Coleraine, Portstewart and Portrush, Northern Ireland, over May 12-18.

Brookes, who finished second in last year’s British Superbike Championship and will again be contesting the premiere UK title in 2013, will be riding alongside Tyco Suzuki teammate Guy Martin – the latter no stranger to pure road-race events.

The North West 200 will serve as a handy introduction to street-circuit racing for Brookes, who has also revealed his intention to compete in the 2013 Isle of Man TT. Brookes said he was very much looking forward to event, which is held on the back doorstep of Tyco Suzuki’s Coleraine headquarters.

“The North West 200 is another box I wanted to tick in my career and being my local race while I’m based in Northern Ireland it’s going to be an exciting place to make my road racing debut,” he said. “I’ve been asked many times these past few days about what my expectations are, but until I get out there and sample the public roads and negotiate strange obstacles like roundabouts, I'll not know what to expect,” he added.

“Obviously my main focus this season will be to win the British Superbike Championship, but as a competitor I'll want to give a good account of myself at the North West on my debut and in the Tyco Suzuki guys I believe I have the best machinery and back-up to do that,” he said.

Tyco Suzuki Team Manager, Philip Neill, said he was excited to be involved in Brooke’s first North West outing. “Obviously it has taken a while to sort out all the details but this now completes Josh’s racing campaign for 2013 – it will be quite a busy programme,” he said. “Winning the British Superbike title remains our number-one goal as a team but the North West 200 is also a very important event for Tyco Suzuki and all our associated sponsors, as we have had a lot of success there over the years,” he added.

“Like any newcomer to the North West there is no pressure on Josh other than to enjoy the experience. Once he has completed his road racing campaign at the North West and TT, only then can we evaluate his future on the road. It is an exciting prospect for the organisers and the fans to have one of the leading BSB riders on the grid and with both he and Guy camped under our awning I expect it to be a very busy event for all at Tyco Suzuki,” he said.

For more information on this year’s International North West 200 visit www.northwest200.org .