2007 British Superbike Motorcycle Racing

Race Results
Rizla Suzuki's Cal Crutchlow showed determination and sheer speed during a tough fifth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Snetterton in Norfolk today.

Crutchlow did not allow high-speed crashes on Friday and Saturday hold him back and in the opening race, starting from 11th on the grid in warm sunshine, he took nearly three-quarters of a second from his best previous lap time as he fought his way to eighth.

In the second race he started from the back of the grid on his spare bike after his number one Rizla Suzuki developed an electrical fault during the sighting lap.

Out of 30 starters, he worked his way up to 9th by the 16th lap, but just before a safety car incident he was forced to retire when fluid on his boot meant he couldn't change gear.

Chris Walker finished with a pair of ninths on his Rizla Suzuki.  Despite every effort, he never found a comfortable set-up on his GSX-R1000 to allow him to run with the leaders.
Honda's Ryuichi Kiyonari won both races.

Rizla Suzuki will be at Donington Park in Derbyshire next Saturday, May 26th, at BikeFestUK, where it will be testing on track throughout the day.  The next round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship is at Mondello Park in the Republic of Ireland on Sunday, June 17th.

Cal Crutchlow:  "The opening race was good and my lap times competitive. I asked for a few changes I think would have helped for race two but never got a chance to try them as I had to start on my number two bike.  I was then gutted after battling into the top 10 and having to retire and not scoring any points as a result."

"My heart says I want to be scoring in the top six and fighting for podium finishes.  My head tells me that I am learning more every weekend.  My skills for understanding, setting up and racing a Superbike are developing and that's my main objective for now; the top six results will come soon, I am sure.  Final word goes to my team technicians - you guys were brilliant this weekend, thanks for all the support. You are ace."

Chris Walker:  "If there were rewards for effort then we would be on the top step of the podium.  We tried our hearts out this weekend but no matter what we did, we couldn't compete at the front."

"Our performance this weekend is both confusing and frustrating because we know we can fight for the podium after the Silverstone results.  I'll be talking with my technicians about a test plan for next weekend that will hopefully see us back at the sharp end of the races soon."

Simon Buckmaster - Team Manager:  "It's been a difficult weekend for Rizla Suzuki, there's no hiding that.  On the plus side Cal has again impressed with his determination, attitude and speed despite a couple of crashes and poor luck.  He leaves here a wiser and more accomplished Superbike rider."

"Chris has struggled for the second race meeting in a row to extract the best performance from his Rizla Suzuki and that is something, along with a number of technical issues that we will be analysing and addressing over the next couple of days.

"The entire team has worked very hard this weekend but knows there will be no respite. We are testing at Donington Park at BikeFestUK on Saturday and need to make it count so we can go to Mondello Park in Ireland optimistic we can achieve good results - the team needs more effort from the riders and technicians alike.

"One thing that has lifted our spirits is Chris Vermeulen's MotoGP victory in Le Mans today - well done to our sister Rizla Suzuki team, we hope we can emulate your success soon."

Race One Result: 1: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 24:00.140, 2: Jonathan Rea (Honda) +0.277, 3: Leon Haslam (Ducati) +8.209, 4: Tom Sykes (Honda) +12.981, 5: Leon Camier (Honda) +14.185, 6: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +14.379, 7: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +18.471, 8: Cal Crutchlow (Rizla Suzuki) +21.387, 9: Chris Walker (Rizla Suzuki) +28.255, 10: Tommy Bridewell (Suzuki) +28.552.

Race Two Result: 1: Kiyonari 26:56.071, 2: Rea +0.625, 3: Shane Byrne (Honda) +0.920, 4: Sykes +4.240, 5: Haslam +4.312, 6: Camier +5.650, 7: Hill +6.076, 8: Scott Smart (Kawasaki) +10.530, 9: Chris Walker (Rizla Suzuki) +10.720, 10: Ollie Bridewell (Suzuki) +13.874. DNF: Cal Crutchlow (Rizla Suzuki).

Championship Positions (after five of 13 rounds): 1: Kiyonari 190, 2: Lavilla 179, 3: Rea 149, 4: Haslam 131, 5: Camier 117, 6: Sykes 106, 7: Byrne 87, 8: Chris Walker (Rizla Suzuki) 76, 9: Hill 70, 10: Michael Rutter (Kawasaki) 50. 12: Cal Crutchlow (Rizla Suzuki) 43.

Race Preview
Rizla Suzuki's Cal Crutchlow was ninth and Chris Walker 10th after the first day of practice for the fifth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Snetterton in Norfolk.

Crutchlow was comfortable in the top six during the second dry but windy 50-minute practice session when he suffered a high-speed crash with approximately 30-minutes remaining. He was unhurt and got back on track on his spare Rizla Suzuki for the final minutes of the session.

"Stalker" took almost a second off his lap times between the two sessions as he got to grips with the flat, fast, 1.95-mile long circuit.

Cal Crutchlow:  "My crash this afternoon was very fast - flat out in third gear through Coram corner - and I am lucky to have walked away unhurt.  It was disappointing to crash when I did because my confidence and speed were both building steadily.

"I am focusing on tomorrow and putting the crash behind me.  I feel as though there is quite a bit more performance to come from me and my Rizla Suzuki and think we can be competitive for the top six."

Chris Walker:  "At the end of the day we tried a different tire and it helped to improve my lap times straight away and that gives us something to build on tomorrow morning in the final practice session.

"We made a few adjustments to my Rizla Suzuki this morning and then in the afternoon I spent time on track riding without any other distractions. While 10th is not where I want to be, we have made big strides today and if we can do the same tomorrow we'll be in the mix."

Simon Buckmaster - Team Manager:  "Chris made a big step forward in the second session when we found a tyre that was worth nearly a second a lap.  He can now use that use as a platform to build on.

"Cal is in good shape despite his crash, which we believe was caused by a gust of wind catching him while at maximum lean. He hasn't used the same tire as Chris yet, so we think there's more time to come from fitting that alone. He's got the pace for top six here."

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