The Be Wiser Kawasaki team had a challenging weekend at round four of the MCE British Superbike Championship at the Snetterton 300 circuit. Chris Walker gained a very positive sixth place in race one and he was unlucky to crash out of fourth place in race two. Danny Buchan was 13th in the first race and was 17th in race two.
Chris Walker managed to do some damage to his back whilst out on track on Friday and suffered the rest of the weekend with muscle spasms. Danny was struggling to find a set up to suit his riding style for the long 2.9-mile circuit.
Chris had a tough qualifying session and ended up starting from 22nd place on the grid, a disappointment for the team after he was up there on Friday in the practice sessions with an eighth and fourth place.
Danny just managed to get through to the second qualifying session but he made a small mistake on his fast lap before the heavens opened putting a quick end to the session for all the riders, he ended up starting the race from 20th place
In the race Chris Walker got one of his blinding starts and was 11th after lap one making up 11 places on the opening lap. He continued to work hard, set consistent lap times and was locked in a six bike battle for fifth place. He got through to sixth and a mistake on the last lap saw him unable to make a move on Dan Linfoot for fifth. In race two Chris started from 10th position on the grid and was 5th after lap one. He was looking very settled and confident on the bike and moved up to fourth place passed Broc Parkes, sadly he tucked the front into the first turn on lap five and crashed out of a potential podium position.
Danny was struggling all weekend to find a set-up that suited him and despite making several changes to the bike over the weekend he was unable to put in the times he had hoped for. He rode well in race one starting from 20th on the grid he worked his way through to 13th position and a couple of valuable Championship points. Danny was in 19th for race two, he got a better start and started making progress through the pack and got up to 15th but he ran wide on lap ten and dropped back to 18th. He was unable to make up the lost time and had to settle for 17th place as the flag came out.
Chris Walker - "It was a bit of a mixed weekend for us as the bike was running really well on Friday and the times were up there. Something wasn't quite right for free practice 3 but we didn't find the problem and it was worse for qualifying. It was a small electrical problem but my team drove back to Grantham on Saturday night with my bike, worked all night to fix it for me and returned to Snetterton at 4.30am and I am so grateful to them for their time and effort this weekend.
The bike felt great in warm up and I was looking forward to the races, I knew it was going to be tough starting from 22nd place on the grid but I got my head down, got a great start and made a lot of progress. I was locked in a battle which was good for me as it stopped me thinking about the pain in my back and distracted me for the duration of the race. I felt really comfortable racing the Be Wiser Kawasaki and the team really have done a good job in four rounds to make the progress we have.
We made some minor changes for race two and qualifying higher up the grid helped me massively. I got another good start and I actually felt like I could push for a podium position, the safety car came out which I was a bit gutted about as I'd managed to bridge a gap of 0.8. I closed in on Broc and made the pass on him after the car came back into the pit lane, on the next lap I think my tyres weren't fully up to heat and down I went. We have made a lot of good progress this weekend and I can't thank my side of the team enough for their effort here."
Danny Buchan - "It was a really tough weekend for me this weekend, I just didn't seem to gel with the bike and find a set-up that I could work with. I tried my best to get some strong finishes but was perhaps pushing a little hard and made a couple of mistakes where I lost positions. The team have worked really hard for me this weekend and just hope we can be there or thereabouts at the next race at Knockhill, I'm quite glad this weekend is over."
Tommy Hill - Team Manager - "This weekend has been difficult but we have managed to take out of it plenty of positives, it was also full of mixed emotions.
We are certainly moving in the direction we need to be going and we always knew this year would be tough not having data at any circuits that we go to and it is just a case now of placing all the pieces in the jigsaw together.
We have all the rights pieces now, it is just a case of putting them altogether and we will be able to run at the sharp end and that is where we want to be. Chris proved this weekend we have the pace to run with the front runners and he rode and incredible first race to come from 22nd on the grid to sixth. Chris got another fantastic start in race two and it was looking at one point that he might be in with a shot of a podium place, it was unfortunate he crashed out and he has been brilliant this weekend despite riding with an injury.
Danny was showing form in the first race and his time would have seen him running within a top eight position. He made a few mistakes but that is something we are prepared to build on and help him achieve a better qualifying position and then a good race result.
Despite some problems this weekend we have taken a lot from it and know where we need to go to make things better. I'm sure now we are in a good place and hope the results will show that at the remaining rounds of the Championship."
