A good opening day’s practice put both DAO Racing riders, Lee Jackson and Josh Brookes, directly into Saturday afternoon’s pole position shoot-out.
A crash in qualifying however saw a halt Lee Jackson’s pole position aspirations, whilst Brookes placed himself ninth on the grid for the weekend’s opening race.
The opening race on Saturday saw the team pick up their first-ever podium in British Superbikes, in a race that saw Brookes push his way through the order and was as high as fourth by lap fifteen. The Australian began to reduce his gap to the third and second-place riders in the closing laps. A move into third on the penultimate lap was enough to secure the final podium position for Brookes and the DAO Racing team.
Lee Jackson recovered from a nasty accident in qualifying to collect crucial points, crossing the line in fourteenth place.
Sunday morning’s sprint race saw Josh Brookes cross the line in sixth, with some really strong lap times towards the end. An injured Lee Jackson fought through the pain barrier to only just miss out on points in seventeenth.
The final and third race of the weekend saw Brookes round off a strong weekend with another top-six finish, ending the race in sixth. Jackson’s race would come to a premature end; the #14 was unable to finish due to injury.
Overall, it was a round of mixed fortunes for the DAO Racing team. Nonetheless, the proof is now that the team can mix it right at the front of the grid. With this only being the second round, it’s a good sign for the rest of the season.
