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. Cal, 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 Oulton Park in Cheshire. It will be broadcast on ITV4 from 1500 and on Sky Sports 2 from 2100 on the same day.
Cal:
“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, 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 wheelieing over Oulton’s high-speed crests and that should help tomorrow.”
Stalker:
“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.”
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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