Josh Brookes claims the Panigale V4 R's first ever British Superbike pole position at Oulton Park

Australian Josh Brookes has scored his first pole position with his new Be Wiser Ducati team - and the first ever BSB pole for the Panigale V4 R - in just the 2nd round of the British Superbikes championship at Oulton Park.

Riding the Be Wiser Ducati Panigale V4 R, Brookes set the tone right from the off and was in imperious form during practice and qualifying, just as he had been at last month’s official test around the 2.69-mile Cheshire circuit.

Brookes' Q3 time of 1:34.084 sees him line up in pole for Race 1. He will share the front row with Tommy Bridewell, who qualified in 2nd place with his Oxford Racing Panigale V4 R in a Ducati 1-2 qualifying finish.

Josh Brookes (Be Wiser Ducati #25
"I’m naturally delighted to have taken pole position today and after all these years of being rivals to the Be Wiser Ducati team, I’m grateful for the opportunity to represent them and to bounce back like this after the first round is tremendous for all of us. The team and the bike are working really well and we’re already at the stage where we’re just fine tuning the bike which at such an early stage of the season bodes well for the rest of the year. We’re well aware we still have a lot of work to do and one thing we’ve missed this weekend due to the weather is a longer run but our pace is good in both the wet and the dry so let’s hope we come away with the two good results we deserve."