Relentless Suzuki's Josh Brookes secured his place in the 'Top-Six Title Fighters' Showdown at Cadwell Park today with fourth place in the opening British Superbike Championship race and also proved he is very much a Championship contender with a strong-and=commanding second place in race three.

The Australian received rapturous applause for his performance in race two at Cadwell from fans who obviously believe yesterday's controversial decision to exclude him from the results was harsh treatment after the incident with Michael Rutter.

Josh Brookes:

"I was a bit suspicious in the first race that we had a small tyre problem and we wisely didn't change anything on the bike for race two. The whole GSX-R Suzuki package worked so much better and I was able to fight at the front and finish right on Tommy's back wheel. Despite a few blips during the season, we always knew we were in with a chance of winning the title and we got the chance to prove that this weekend in the results. I'm really pleased how the weekend ended."

Philip Neill - Team Manager:

"What a weekend. I'm certainly glad that one's over but I'm also delighted how it ended for us. We made life difficult for ourselves at the start of the season and had to play catch up, but the combined package of Josh Brookes and our GSX-R Superbike is more than good enough for the job. He's coming strong at the right time of the season and even though we would have liked a few more podium credits, the man who wins races in the final three rounds will undoubtedly be Champion. Donington, Silverstone and Brands are strong circuits for Josh and we firmly believe he will be in there challenging for victories.

"On behalf of the whole team, we would like to pass on our deepest sympathy to Ben Gautrey's family circle after the young man tragically lost his life today at Cadwell Park. We'd also like to mention local men Wayne Hamilton and good friend of TAS Racing, Adrian McFarland, who also sadly lost their lives in separate road racing crashes at the weekend."

BSB race two result:

1 Tommy Hill (Yamaha)
2 Michael Laverty (Yamaha) +1.700s
3 Shane Byrne (Honda) +3.460s
4 Josh Brookes (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +6.067s
5 Peter Hickman (Honda) +18.892s
6 Jon Kirkham (Suzuki) +23.495s
7 Martin Jessopp (Ducati) +24.300s
8 Graeme Gowland [Honda] +24.424s
9 Ryuichi Kiyonari [Honda] +33.228s
10 Gary Mason (Kawasaki) +33.534s

BSB race three result:

1 Tommy Hill (Yamaha)
2 Josh Brookes (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +0.632s
3 Michael Laverty (Yamaha) +1.582s
4 Shane Byrne (Honda) +2.013s
5 Peter Hickman (Honda) +2.664s
6 Jon Kirkham (Suzuki) +3.622s
7 Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +8.039s
8 Martin Jessopp (Ducati) +17.537s
9 Graeme Gowland (Honda) +18.386s
10 James Ellison (Honda) +20.465s

British Superbike Championship standings:

1 Tommy Hill (Yamaha) 529
2 Shane Byrne (Honda) 522
3 John Hopkins (Suzuki] 518
4 Michael Laverty (Yamaha) 510
5 Josh Brookes (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) 509
6 Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 508

.