PRESS RELEASE - sorrymate.com/SMT Honda
 
Walker impresses on SMT Honda debut

Chris Walker impressed greatly on his debut for the sorrymate.com/SMT Honda at Snetterton at the weekend and the Nottinghamshire rider recorded a best finish of 7th at round 7 of the British Superbike Championship. Despite only sitting on the bike for the first time on Friday, Walker was soon on the pace and he ended the weekend with a brace of 7th's and an 11th from the three races, much to the delight of the entire team. 
 
The BSB veteran had made the switch to the team and Honda power just a few days prior to the event but he soon got to grips with both the machine and team, placing 11th and 10th respectively in Friday's free practice sessions. Steadily improving his times throughout the weekend, he then placed third in Saturday's final free practice session, which was held in the wet, before the weather improved for the afternoon's qualifying session. A time of 1m05.881s meant he ended up just missing out on the final 'shoot-out' session but he still placed 11th, good enough for a third row start.
 
Saturday also saw the cancelled race from Knockhill held although it didn't get off to the greatest of starts when a few spots of rain caused the red flag to come out after just two laps. On the re-start, Chris completed the first lap in 8th place and here he remained until the 7th lap when James Ellison pushed him back to ninth as he battled with no less than six riders for the lower places in the top ten. With just four laps of the race remaining, both Tommy Bridewell and Gary Mason found a way past and, try as he might, Chris was unable to move back in to the top ten and, with a few gear selection problems, he had to settle for 11th at the chequered flag although he lapped four tenths of a second quicker than what he had done in qualifying.
 
The team changed engines overnight just to ensure there'd be no further technical problems and, with a lot warmer conditions, a great start in Sunday's first race saw Chris jump up from 11th place to 7th at the end of the first lap although he was pushed back to 8th two laps later when John Laverty overtook him. However, on lap 7 Chris was back up to 7th and here he stayed until lap 16 when race leader Michael Rutter retired. Chris was then embroiled in a terrific 7 man dice for 6th place and although Tommy Bridewell found a way through with three laps to go, he held on for 7th place and 9 points, the best result of the year for the team.
 

In the third and final race of the weekend, Chris lined up in ninth on the grid and, with his usual quick start, he was up to 8^th place at the end of lap 1 and right in touch with the leading pack. Pushed back to 9^th on lap 6 by John Laverty, he was back up to 8^th on lap 12 when second placed Josh Brookes retired and just a lap later he was up to 6^th as Alastair Seeley and James Ellison crashed out together. Battling hard with both Laverty and Simon Andrews, Chris ultimately ended up in 7^th place once more but, with 23 points from the three races, it had been an impressive weekend for Chris and the team, one which left team owner Robin Croft delighted.

“Fantastic, super and over the moon are just some of the words I could use to describe the weekend. I’m absolutely delighted with the efforts of both Chris and the team and we’ve been out there fighting hard in every one of the three races. The results have given us one of our best ever weekend’s of racing and Chris simply felt happier and more comfortable with the bike as the weekend wore on. We’ve had a good, fast and safe weekend of racing and I couldn’t be happier with how it’s all gone. I’ve already had a good chat with Chris and I’m delighted to say that we’ve reached an agreement that will see him riding for SMT Honda for the remainder of the season, which is terrific news for all parties. We’ve had a great time working with each other and will now get a bit of testing done before the next round to make sure we’re even more dialled in when we get there and I really cannot wait to get to Brands in three week’s time!”

The team now have a three-week break before the next round of the British Superbike Championship, with the meeting taking place at Brands Hatch on August 6-8.

Picture by Glynne Lewis
 
Phil Wain
Freelance PR