WALKER ON THE PACE AT BRANDS
 Rizla
Suzuki's Chris Walker won the applause of the large Bank Holiday
Monday crowd at the opening round of the Bennetts British
Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch GP circuit in Kent
with his all-action riding style and fighting spirit.
Starting from fifth on the grid, Walker shot to second by
the first corner in both races. In the opener he held third
right until the final two laps and eventually ended fifth.
In the second pace-car interrupted race he was second for
the first eight laps before dropping back, finishing eighth.
In both cases from the mid-point onwards, he suffered from
a lack of rear grip.
Rizla Suzuki's Cal Crutchlow also struggled for grip during
both races despite showing early on he could run with the
top riders. He finished bravely with 13th and 18th places
on his debut in the British Superbike Championship.
Ducati's Gregorio Lavilla won both races, held in glorious
warm sunshine.
The second round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship
is at Rizla Suzuki's home circuit of Thruxton in Hampshire
next weekend, with race day on Sunday, April 9th.
Chris Walker:
"It's been a frustrating day as we certainly had the
pace to run at the front and compete for the podium. At the
half-way point of both races my bike lost rear grip - it was
like a switch was flicked and there was nothing I could do
about it. Tyre choice wasn't easy this weekend so we'll be
working hard with Dunlop to ensure we get it right at the
next round.
"Two top-10 finishes give me a solid start to the season
and I am absolutely delighted to be back riding in front of
the British crowd again; it's the best ever motivation. Thanks
to all the 'Stalker' fans and I hope you enjoyed the racing!"
Cal Crutchlow:
"I didn't get quite the same storming starts as Chris
in either race but I had a lot of confidence in my Rizla Suzuki
and was carving my way towards the front when I started to
lose rear grip. In both races I was wheel-spinning everywhere
and that is not the way to make a fast lap.
"It's certainly not the start to my Superbike career
that I wanted but I'm taking the positives from here. My Rizla
Suzuki is fast, handling well and able to compete towards
the front of the field. Once I get the tyres to last race
distance, it's going to be a very different story. Roll on
the next round."
Simon Buckmaster - Team Manager:
"Chris and Cal had the pace to race for the podium but
ended up down the results sheets because of a lack of rear
grip. They tried different tyres for the two races and while
improvements were found, they didn't work as planned. We'll
be working with Dunlop to find tyres better-suited to our
powerful and fast Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000.
"Well done to Chris for showing tremendous courage,
determination and skill. He had us all on the edge of our
seats fighting at the front and it's fantastic to witness
the support he has in the crowd - it really keeps him motivated
like nothing else can.
"My hat goes off to Cal; making your Superbike debut
is not easy and he gritted his teeth and brought the bike
home in difficult circumstances. He also proved his undoubted
skill and ability and will have much better days.
"It's a quick turnaround for Thruxton next weekend and
we are looking forward to putting on a good show for our home
crowd. See you there."
Race One Results: 1: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati)
28:56.903, 2: Leon Camier (Honda) +1.701, 3: Jonathan Rea
(Honda) +4.576, 4: Shane Byrne (Honda) +5.699, 5: Chris Walker
(Rizla Suzuki) +6.357, 6: Leon Haslam (Ducati) +14.868, 7:
Tom Sykes (Honda) +20.794, 8: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +21.760,
9: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +26.591, 10: Michael Rutter (Kawasaki)
+30.829. 13: Cal Crutchlow (Rizla Suzuki) +38.212.
Race Two Results: 1: Lavilla 31:09.132,
2: Rea +1.308, 3: Camier +2.103, 4: Haslam +3.834, 5: Sykes
+10.456, 6: Karl Harris (Honda) +10.465, 7: Rutter +11.154,
8: Chris Walker (Rizla Suzuki) +11.261, 9: Simon Andrews (Yamaha)
+11.676, 10: Dean Thomas (Suzuki) +12.317. 18: Cal Crutchlow
(Rizla Suzuki) +21.563.
Championship Positions (after one of 13 rounds)
1: Lavilla 50, 2: Camier 36, 3: Rea 36, 4: Haslam 23, 5: Sykes
20, 6: Chris Walker (Rizla Suzuki) 19, 7: Byrne 16, 8: Rutter
15, 9: Kiyonari 13, 10: Andrews 12. 16: Cal Crutchlow (Rizla
Suzuki) 3.
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