Tricky weekend for Be Wiser Kawasaki at Cadwell Park

It was a tricky weekend for the Be Wiser Kawasaki team at round eight of the MCE British Superbike Championship at Cadwell Park. Despite the form Danny Buchan was showing throughout the weekend, he was unlucky to crash out of race one but fought to a solid eighth in race two. Chris Walker was forced to retire from race one and was 15th in the second race.

The Be Wiser Kawasaki team were looking forward to their local round and had good expectations at a circuit that both Danny and Chris have achieved successful results at in the past. Danny was on flying form throughout the weekend and was second in every practice session and was looking confident and strong going into the qualifying. He secured his first front row position of the year in second behind Josh Brookes.

In the opening race the youngster got a good start and away with the leading pack, he dropped back to fifth but was settling into a good rhythm. Danny was looking good and made a move on Bridewell for fourth. However, on lap eight Danny got caught out on the Mountain section of the circuit and crashed out heavily and Bridewell took super-fast action to avoid him.

In race two he started from the second row in fourth and he got a solid start but dropped a couple of places to sixth after lap one. He was in some discomfort and pain during race two and he slipped back to ninth place. He was in a close battle for sixth place but had to settle for eighth, a strong top ten finish for him.

Chris Walker was looking forward to racing at his local and one of his favourite circuits but he struggled to find a set-up he was happy with over the weekend on the Be Wiser Kawasaki. Chris had to start from 17th place on the grid and knew he had a lot of work to do in race one to achieve a solid result. He held his position after the opening lap and by lap five was in a points scoring place of 15th. Chris suspected there was a mechanical problem with the bike and for safety reasons pulled into the pit-lane to have it looked at by his crew, forcing him to retire.

In race two he had to start from a lowly 19th place on the grid and he knew it was going to be tough to salvage something good from it. He got a good start and away with the pack and as always Chris showed his determination throughout the 18-lap race to make his way up to 15th gaining one valuable Championship point in the process.

Danny Buchan - "To say I'm disappointed would be an understatement. I just want to do well and try and re-pay my team for all their hard work and I feel like I'm letting not just myself but them down also. Everyone in the Be Wiser Kawasaki team has worked so hard for me over the weekend and I felt so comfortable on the bike during the practice and qualifying sessions.

I felt so good going into race day and was really looking forward to a couple of decent results. I settled down in the first couple of laps and despite a poor start I was still with the leading group. I got passed Tommy (Bridewell) and it was going well. I knew I felt comfortable over the Mountain section but Luke (Mossey) rode it differently to me. He had a bit of a moment so I had to roll off and it just spat me over the bars. I was lucky to crash there and not to end up badly hurt so I'm glad the marshals were so good with the flags and that the other riders were so fast to react to it.

I was feeling a little second hand for the second race and the most important thing for me was to finish and just bring the bike home in one piece. Eighth is a good result but obviously with the weekend going as well as it was I was a little disappointed. I hope things will take a turn for the better at the remaining rounds of the series."

Chris Walker - "The Be Wiser Kawasaki team worked tirelessly to try and get me a comfortable setting with the bike to be able to push in what was a tough weekend all round. I made the job harder for myself as well by not qualifying up where I normally do on a track that is very difficult to pass on.

I stopped in race one with what I believed to be a technical problem, which didn't help with the grid position for race two. We made a few more tweaks here and there and finally I managed to break into the 1'27's and scraped into the points for our efforts. Oulton Park is next, onwards and upwards. #OldButGold."

 Alan Greig - Team Owner/Manager - "Cadwell Park is the local round for the team who are based in Lincoln. In the past, with the Be Wiser team in Superstocks we have achieved some of our best results at the circuit with our first race win and first pole position, so despite moving up to the Superbike class we were hoping for a good run of results again.

Both Danny and Chris came to Cadwell with high hopes. Danny was impressive all weekend and was up there near the top of the sheets in every session. We were delighted he qualified on the front row and were looking forward to watching him have a battle with Brookes in the races.

We had a long chat with Danny on Thursday night and reminded him of the minimal expectations the team expect from him the first year on the Be Wiser Kawasaki Superbike, there is no pressure on him and we just wish him to finish and enjoy his racing. He did settle in the opening laps and didn't let his start fluster him into making mistakes and he was soon battling with Tommy (Bridewell) and got up to fourth. He had to take evasive action when Luke (Mossey) made a mistake and unfortunately he paid the price crashing out. It was clear he was suffering with pain in the second race but despite this still fought on and secured a solid eighth position, which we are really happy with.

Chris was having problems with set-up all weekend and the team worked really hard to try and help him find something that suited his style around Cadwell. He struggled during qualifying and was making progress in the first race but he suspected an oil leak on the bike and because he is the ultimate professional pulled in the pit-lane to avoid any problems to himself or any other rider on the circuit. The Be Wiser Kawasaki team once again pulled together to help make changes for Chris and these seemed to work and he worked his way up to a well-earned point.

I must thank the entire team for their dedication to the sport and the work they do, they work all hours to help Danny and Chris get the results they deserve and I'm sure that hard work will pay off soon.

 We are now looking forward to moving on to Oulton Park the weekend after next."


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