DAO RACING AIMING TO ACHIEVE STRONG RESULTS AT BRANDS HATCH

Cumbrian-based DAO Racing are set to travel south to Brands Hatch for the fifth round of the 2026 ZYN British Superbike Championship, as Josh Brookes and Lee Jackson look to achieve strong results and break into the top ten of the Championship standings.

Following a challenging weekend last time out in the Norfolk countryside at Snetterton, the DAO Racing Honda team head to Kent and the home of MSVR, Brands Hatch, aiming to kick-start their season on the 2.4-mile Grand Prix circuit.

Brookes, who currently sits 13th in the standings, has endured a tricky start to the year, achieving a season-best result of seventh on two separate occasions during the previous two rounds. However, the Australian is hopeful of securing stronger results this weekend.

The Bringelly native has enjoyed plenty of success at the Kent venue, claiming both of his British Superbike Championship titles on the Grand Prix circuit. He has also taken 19 of his career victories at Brands Hatch and held the lap record for more than eight years.

Team-mate Lee Jackson, who left Snetterton frustrated and ultimately disappointed with his results, is out for redemption at Brands Hatch. ‘LeeBob’, who currently sits tenth in the Championship standings, is fully focused on improving his fortunes across the weekend.

The Lincolnshire rider is 32 points adrift of the top six, a deficit that could be significantly reduced this weekend, with three races once again scheduled.

Josh Brookes: “We didn’t really unlock anything at Snetterton, so there won’t be any exploratory settings being tried this weekend at Brands Hatch. We’ll conduct our work in the usual way, go through the settings and try our hardest to refine the package to make the bike as good as it can be.

“I think we’ll be reliant on my experience and the fact that Brands Hatch is one of my favourite circuits on the calendar. I’ve had 19 wins there over the years, so it is a good circuit for me and hopefully that will shine through in our results over the weekend.”

Lee Jackson: “After the run of form we’ve been in recently, I’m looking forward to getting to Brands Hatch. We’ll start the weekend somewhere familiar with the bike, using the base set-up that we had in 2025. I love going to Brands Hatch; it’s a great circuit and somewhere I’ve been in the hunt for a podium before, and I’d like to replicate that this weekend.

“I’m hoping that our work last season will give us a strong starting point. I don’t want to say our set-up from 2025 was perfect and that it’ll work straight away because each year the game moves on, people improve and things change. Hopefully, though, we’ll be starting from the front. I have a clear head heading to Brands Hatch, I’ve hit the reset button and I’m aiming for strong results. I want us to minimise the gap to the leaders. We have everything at our disposal to do that, and hopefully we can achieve it this weekend.”

Team Manager Jonny Bagnall: “After the weekend we had at Snetterton, the whole team is raring to go at Brands Hatch. It’s been a challenging season so far, in truth, and everyone is committed to ensuring we produce a strong run of results through the middle part of the year.

“Both Lee and Josh love Brands Hatch. We know it’s one of their favourite tracks on the calendar and both are determined to break into the top six. Ultimately, if they have the opportunity to fight for a podium, they’ll take it with both hands. Both riders are striving for the same results and level of performance. We’re constantly developing the package with new ideas, trying to extract as much as possible from the Honda, and we feel this weekend could be a positive one for us.”

Action gets underway on Friday, July 17, with two free practice sessions and pre-qualifying. Saturday features qualifying and Race One, before two further races take place on Sunday. The full weekend timetable can be found here.