CRUTCHLOW AT HOME AT OULTON
 Rizla
Suzuki's Cal Crutchlow cites Oulton Park as one of his favourite
circuits and it showed in today's practice sessions for the
fourth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship
as he powered his GSX-R1000 to the ninth quickest lap time.
Crutchlow, who has won races in the junior categories at
the picturesque and flowing 2.69-mile long circuit, was relaxed
and confident as he tested settings and tyres on his Rizla
Suzuki, in warm, dry conditions. He is just one second away
from fastest man Leon Haslam on a Ducati.
Chris Walker, coming off a podium finish at the previous
round at Silverstone, was a little behind his team mate in
11th as he got to grips with a number of set-up changes on
his Rizla Suzuki.
There is one more practice session tomorrow before qualification.
Superbike racing starts at 1300 on Bank Holiday Monday, May
7th, at the Cheshire circuit.
Cal Crutchlow:
"I think I could've gone a fair bit faster but was held
up by traffic on quite a few laps; but that isn't a major
concern as I still managed some useful testing on my Rizla
Suzuki.
"We tried a couple of minor changes to the engine management
and the air bypass system to help with the braking. I've also
tried three different Dunlop tyres for race pace. I've asked
my mechanics for some additional rear braking power to help
control wheelying over Oulton's high-speed crests and that
should help tomorrow."
Chris Walker:
"We tried a few new settings on my Rizla Suzuki including
adjusting the ride height and rear shock absorbers. It came
together towards the end of the day and although I didn't
make it into the top 10, I think my bike is better than where
we started from.
"I have the feel I want from the rear of my GSX-R but
could do with more consistency and control at the front -
that's what we'll be aiming for tomorrow."
Simon Buckmaster - Team Manager:
"After our good results at Silverstone last weekend
today has been a reality check and reminded us just how competitive
and hard it is to succeed in the British Superbike Championship.
"Cal is comfortable in ninth and I think he can challenge
for the second row in qualifying and top six in the races.
Chris's bike is not far from being right and he needs to find
more from himself tomorrow to get on to the second row."
BSB Practice Times:
1: Leon Haslam (Ducati) 1:35.871
2: Jonathan Rea (Honda) +0.003
3: Shane Byrne (Honda) +0.140
4: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +0.290
5: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +0.473
6: Tom Sykes (Honda) +0.502
7: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +0.620
8: Karl Harris (Honda) +0.782
9: Cal Crutchlow (Rizla Suzuki) +1.030
10: Leon Camier (Honda) +1.044
11: Chris Walker (Rizla Suzuki) +1.740
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