GixerGaz
08-05-2007, 15:33
http://www.gixerjunkies.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=9861&stc=1&d=1178634817
http://www.gixerjunkies.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=9862&stc=1&d=1178634817
After taking his first podium of the 2007 Bennetts British Superbike season at Silverstone, Chris Walker had high hopes of further success at Oulton Park on Bank Holiday Monday - but it proved a weekend to forget.
Having qualified just 13th, the Rizla Suzuki rider fell during the first race and then made another mistake in the second outing, leaving the 2006 WSBK race winner ninth at the chequered flag.
"To be honest we just had one of those weekends," "We came here with high expectations after doing so well at Silverstone - where we felt we made a step forward with the bike and proved to everybody that, when's the bike's right, we can run at the front. I knew it would be tough coming here after so long away, seven years, and we struggled on Friday - some technical problems didn't help - and never really got going after that. We obviously qualified lower than we wanted to, which affects you a little bit.
"I made a genuine mistake in the first race; braked a little bit harder, locked the front wheel and went down. We made a few tweaks for the second race to give a bit more of a forgiving ride - and to be honest it was really good - but I made another similar mistake at the same corner.
"I'd passed Cal [Crutchlow - team-mate] and a few other guys. I was up to sixth or seventh place and feeling pretty comfy. After qualifying as low down as I had I'd have been chuffed with a top six, so to make another mistake and end up battling for tenth was not what I needed. Ninth after a pretty tough weekend was pretty disappointing."
Having been a world championship rider since leaving BSB at the end of the 2000 season, Walker admits he's finding the challenging British tracks harder to re-learn than expected.
"It weird. I'm finding it tougher than I thought I would," he confirmed. "Shakey only had a couple of years away and he's going much better this year than last, so it must make a difference. I've been away for seven years and it does take a bit of learning again - nearly all the tracks have got a new chicane or they've been resurfaced since I last rode them.
"Although the positions haven't been what we wanted this weekend, I still enjoyed riding around Oulton," he insisted. "It is an amazing place and the track's in so much better nick since I was last here. Mr Palmer's come along and he's really spent some proper money on the tracks and done a great job, fair play to him."
Walker's next chance to get back up front will come at round five of the championship, at Snetterton, on May 20 - before which he will try to further understand the GSX-R1000 during a test.
"We're testing on Friday at Mallory Park. We've got a full day there and, weather permitting, we'll get a few things achieved that we really desperately need to do and roll on Snetterton," said Chris. "It's a track I really used to enjoy in the past. We've got a monster of an engine so it should be good for there.
"The bike is just a bit unruly at the moment. We've got everything we could possibly want; it's the latest, greatest, bike with all the latest suspension and bits and bobs. We just haven't quite got the setting right yet. It's hard work. We're enjoying it, but we're desperate to come back with a bit more silverware."
"Chris has not performed as we would have anticipated this weekend," declared team manager Simon Buckmaster. "Right from the start he struggled to find a comfortable setting on his bike and it showed in the races. In typical fashion though, he dug in and was unlucky with a crash in the opener before taking a top 10 finish in the second race. He will be very busy at our test at Mallory Park on Friday as he needs to find a better base setting to take to the next round."
Rookie team-mate Crutchlow was seventh in race one, but then black-flagged in race two due to a smoking engine.
http://www.gixerjunkies.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=9862&stc=1&d=1178634817
After taking his first podium of the 2007 Bennetts British Superbike season at Silverstone, Chris Walker had high hopes of further success at Oulton Park on Bank Holiday Monday - but it proved a weekend to forget.
Having qualified just 13th, the Rizla Suzuki rider fell during the first race and then made another mistake in the second outing, leaving the 2006 WSBK race winner ninth at the chequered flag.
"To be honest we just had one of those weekends," "We came here with high expectations after doing so well at Silverstone - where we felt we made a step forward with the bike and proved to everybody that, when's the bike's right, we can run at the front. I knew it would be tough coming here after so long away, seven years, and we struggled on Friday - some technical problems didn't help - and never really got going after that. We obviously qualified lower than we wanted to, which affects you a little bit.
"I made a genuine mistake in the first race; braked a little bit harder, locked the front wheel and went down. We made a few tweaks for the second race to give a bit more of a forgiving ride - and to be honest it was really good - but I made another similar mistake at the same corner.
"I'd passed Cal [Crutchlow - team-mate] and a few other guys. I was up to sixth or seventh place and feeling pretty comfy. After qualifying as low down as I had I'd have been chuffed with a top six, so to make another mistake and end up battling for tenth was not what I needed. Ninth after a pretty tough weekend was pretty disappointing."
Having been a world championship rider since leaving BSB at the end of the 2000 season, Walker admits he's finding the challenging British tracks harder to re-learn than expected.
"It weird. I'm finding it tougher than I thought I would," he confirmed. "Shakey only had a couple of years away and he's going much better this year than last, so it must make a difference. I've been away for seven years and it does take a bit of learning again - nearly all the tracks have got a new chicane or they've been resurfaced since I last rode them.
"Although the positions haven't been what we wanted this weekend, I still enjoyed riding around Oulton," he insisted. "It is an amazing place and the track's in so much better nick since I was last here. Mr Palmer's come along and he's really spent some proper money on the tracks and done a great job, fair play to him."
Walker's next chance to get back up front will come at round five of the championship, at Snetterton, on May 20 - before which he will try to further understand the GSX-R1000 during a test.
"We're testing on Friday at Mallory Park. We've got a full day there and, weather permitting, we'll get a few things achieved that we really desperately need to do and roll on Snetterton," said Chris. "It's a track I really used to enjoy in the past. We've got a monster of an engine so it should be good for there.
"The bike is just a bit unruly at the moment. We've got everything we could possibly want; it's the latest, greatest, bike with all the latest suspension and bits and bobs. We just haven't quite got the setting right yet. It's hard work. We're enjoying it, but we're desperate to come back with a bit more silverware."
"Chris has not performed as we would have anticipated this weekend," declared team manager Simon Buckmaster. "Right from the start he struggled to find a comfortable setting on his bike and it showed in the races. In typical fashion though, he dug in and was unlucky with a crash in the opener before taking a top 10 finish in the second race. He will be very busy at our test at Mallory Park on Friday as he needs to find a better base setting to take to the next round."
Rookie team-mate Crutchlow was seventh in race one, but then black-flagged in race two due to a smoking engine.