2017 Phillip Island MotoGP: Parkes’ building blocks

Hunter Valley rocket Broc Parkes knows he’s jumping into a tough situation when he replaces ill German Jonas Folger in the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 squad at this weekend’s Michelin Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, but at least he’s taking some level of pre-ride comfort into his campaign.

Parkes, now a world endurance regular, rode the Michelin-shod Yamaha YZR-M1 MotoGP machine in a couple of test sessions a few years ago, so he has some idea of what to expect when the first practice session is held at 10:55am on Friday.

“I know a little bit about the bike and tyres, and I obviously know the circuit, so they are the starting points for this weekend,” said Parkes.

“However, I do know that I’m in at the deep end and I’ll have to get to Friday to see how competitive I can be.

“It’s a great opportunity to be riding for such a good team and in front of my home crowd. I never thought I would get this opportunity again.”

The Andorran-based Parkes, 35, has competed at the Aussie MotoGP round before, but this time the circumstances are poles apart.

“The bike I rode in 2014 was… so far off the pace, but this M1 is a podium finisher,” said Parkes.

“It’s probably the easiest bike in the paddock that you can jump on straight away and try and get used to.

“However, until I get on the bike, feel it and see where my pace is at, I won’t make any predictions for the weekend.”

Parkes reckons he’s nearly in career-best form.

“On the back of last year, I found a lot of form and it’s continued into 2017,” continued Parkes.

“I had a few bad years after 2014, but I’ve bounced back and I feel that I’m in great shape this year with more support from my team (Yamaha Austria Racing Team) and out of Japan.”

With his M1 ‘fitment’ having taken place at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit today, Parkes is now keen to get amongst it.

“Hopefully we can get some clean sessions with good weather and I can get some time on the bike,” he said. “MotoGP bikes are a lot different to jump on than a normal bike and the competition is so high.

“To race in MotoGP is one thing, but to do it in front of my home crowd is a real privilege. It’s a dream come true, really.

“I’ll do the best I can and maybe something will come up for the future.”

Parkes has also competed in world championship events at Philip Island in three other classes: 125 GP, world superbike and world supersport. His best results were third in the 2006 and 2007 world supersport rounds, both times on a Yamaha.

Only one round has been held in the 2017-2018 Endurance World Championship, but it was a DNF for the Yamaha Austria Racing Team after his teammate Kohta Nozane crashed the YZF-R1M.

Nozane deputised for Folger – who’s suffering from Epstein Barr disease – at Motegi last weekend.