Rizla Suzuki’s Chris Walker will start from fifth and Cal Crutchlow from eighth to bookend the second row of the grid in tomorrow’s third round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Silverstone in Northamptonshire. Stalker was in contention for a front row position for much of the session and only missed out by just over a 10th of a second right at the end. Cal saved his best lap until last to join his team mate on the same row of the grid.
In blustery wind and glorious sunshine, both Rizla Suzuki racers made big strides forward with the set-ups on their GSX-R1000s. Honda’s Ryuichi Kiyonari took pole position.
Superbike racing starts at 1240 on Sunday, April 29th, at the 2.13-mile long Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire. On the same day it will be broadcast on ITV1 from 1435 and on Sky Sports 3 from 1930.
Stalker:“The effort it takes to ride a Superbike on the limit is incredible. I gave it my all in qualifying and earned my second row start.
“My Rizla Suzuki feels hard at the front and soft at the rear. It’s a situation we are working on but it isn’t easy to sort because if we soften the front it hampers our braking performance. Overall the package isn’t bad though – it’s certainly close to the pace and we’ll be working to make it better in warm-up in the morning.”
Cal: “My Rizla Suzuki is absolutely mint when I am riding it on a qualifying tyre – the extra grip gives me so much confidence. On race tyres it moves around a little but it is now becoming more predictable and I enjoy riding it.
“We still have a decision to make on which tyre we will use in the races. I will be aiming for a good start and to hang on to the riders in front of me; my target is the top six.”
Simon Buckmaster, Team Manager:“I think Chris was a little unlucky to have been pushed off the front row right at the end of the session; but that actually might play to our favour for the races as he is now starting behind pole position and on the best part of the track for attacking the first corner.
“Cal did a terrific job to get on the second row and has lifted his game as the weekend has progressed. If he can get into the top six from the start then he’ll start fighting with the other riders and that’ll bring the best out of him.
“The Rizla Suzuki team has worked hard this weekend and will do what it takes to get back to the front where it belongs. We are all pulling together and working well as a team and that means the results will not be far away.”
Qualifying Times:1: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 1:25.383
2: Leon Haslam (Ducati) +0.023
3: Shane Byrne (Honda) +0.233
4: Jonathan Rea (Honda) +0.305
5: Chris Walker (Rizla Suzuki) +0.433
6: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +0.649
7: Leon Camier (Honda) +0.756
8: Cal Crutchlow (Rizla Suzuki) +0.835
9: Tom Sykes (Honda) +0.901
10: Michael Rutter (Kawasaki) +0.940
Related Linkswww.rizla-suzuki.co.uk
Related News
