More top 6 Joy for Stalker at Snetterton
Rollover to zoom
Click main image to enlarge
01/01/1970
The Quattro Plant Kawasaki team were back in British Superbike Championship action at the weekend with the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk the latest venue to be visited and whilst it was a bit of a mixed weekend, Chris Walker ran consistently inside the top six to maintain his drive towards one of the coveted Showdown positions
The Nottingham rider was strong throughout practice and qualifying and he duly lined up in a strong sixth place on the grid for Sunday’s opening 16-lap race. A solid start saw him maintain that position as he challenged Ryuichi Kiyonari for fifth and although the former triple Champion edged away slightly, he was still running in sixth at two thirds race distance. However, with just three laps to go he was cruelly forced out of the race when the battery failed.
Conditions remained extremely warm for the second race where Chris was naturally keen to make amends and he did exactly that. Running once more in the company of Kiyonari and also James Westmoreland, he ran in sixth place from start to finish for his fourth top six finish in five races. The DNF dropped him back to eighth place in the table but he’s now only eight points behind new fifth placed man Kiyonari.
Pete Extance, Team Manager: “I seem to be using the same opening sentence each time but it’s been another mixed weekend for us! Chris was in a determined, confident mood all weekend so hopes were high of two more good results and had it not been for a bit of bad luck he’d have got exactly that. He ran in sixth place pretty much all weekend and put together two excellent races so it was a shame the battery went in the first one but that’s how racing can go sometimes. He bounced back excellently and although we’re slightly disappointed to have slipped back to eighth overall, other results mean the race for fifth has tightened up so we’re still very handily placed.”
The next round of the series takes place in two weeks time at Brands Hatch, Kent on July 19-21.
Picture by Tim Keeton – Impact Images
Phil Wain
Freelance PR
