Former champ Josh Brookes says he’s ready to battle for the win after finishing near or at the top of the order in every condition thrown at him today.
The Aussie, who ended the final session of the day fastest in mixed conditions, feels he and the McAMS Yamaha squad have at last hit their stride and struck a good setup combination.
Brookes clocked the second fastest lap behind Be Wiser Ducati's Glenn Irwin in this morning’s FP1, before topping FP2 in damp conditions this afternoon.
He was a mere 0.115s off Irwin’s time this morning, and nearly three seconds faster than everyone else after throwing on a set of slicks in the closing minutes of the final session today.
But the 2015 title holder admits it’s still difficult to gauge the team’s progress with the R1 when the weather spanner is thrown into the equation.
“It’s frustrating when you’re in the middle of a development process,” he told Bikesport News. “Every weekend you try to find at least as good as what you had the last time you were here and from that point you try and progress further on.
“But you almost need every other element outside you and the bike to stay consistent so you can gauge whether it’s a forward progress of change or a negative one and obviously a slight change in weather is going to have a far bigger effect on the bike than anything a rider or mechanic can do – that’s the frustration.
“Today we were second in FP1 so we are strong in the dry, then the track went full wet and I was fastest for most of the session, and then I came in and changed to slicks and finished the session fastest on slick tyres.
“So throughout three kind of conditions – dry, wet and part dry – at any given moment I was fastest in those three conditions and that’s a positive situation to be in.
“Now we know that no matter what happens this weekend, we should be in a strong range to fight for results.”