Chris Walker took two top six finishes at the seventh round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at a rain-drenched Knockhill in Scotland today. ‘Stalker’, starting from sixth on the grid, used all his experience to master the treacherously-wet conditions to finish a clear fifth in the opening race that was shortened by six laps. In the second water-logged event, shortened from 30 to 26 laps, he was relegated to sixth on the last lap and didn’t have time to regain the place he had held for most of the race. Cal Crutchlow had a tough weekend: In the opening race his visor fogged in the damp weather – reducing visibility – and he finished 11th. In the second race he was lying in 12th when he crashed out on the high-speed run to the hairpin at the 1.29-mile long track; fortunately unhurt. Honda’s Jonathan Rea won both races. Rizla Suzuki will attend the official BSB test at Croft in North Yorkshire on Tuesday and Wednesday, July 2nd-3rd, before returning to racing at Oulton Park on Sunday, July 15th. Chris Walker: “It’s been a solid day but I must confess I am smashed to have lost out on fifth place in the second race. I rode as hard as I could in the conditions and to lose a place on the last lap is simply gutting. “There was a lot of standing water on the circuit and it was very tricky but my Rizla Suzuki was doing what I wanted and I was comfortable riding it. I am still not quite used to the amount of grip the Dunlop tyres give in wet conditions, but with today’s experience under my belt if it rains again I’ll be wiser and faster.” Cal Crutchlow: “An 11th and DNF are not the results I wanted or that Rizla Suzuki deserves. In the opening race my visor misted and despite having top 10 pace I couldn’t see and had to slow down. Race two was wetter and I felt as though I had very little grip – I was proved right when I crashed. “It’s been a frustrating weekend but I’ll sit down with the team, analyse the areas where we can improve and will come back stronger, faster and more determined than ever to get into the top six.” Simon Buckmaster – Team Manager: “Chris did a very good job in some of the most difficult riding conditions I have ever witnessed. The rain didn’t waste any time falling, the circuit was soaked with standing water and he did exceptionally well today. It was great to see him racing competitively and this will give the whole team a boost. “Cal had high hopes for this round as it is one of his favourite circuits but he ended up struggling with the conditions. The learning curve for a Superbike rookie can be both unforgiving and punishing but we have every confidence he will pull through and look forward to sharing much better days with him soon.” “We now go to Croft for an official BSB test and hope the rain and flooding keeps away – we are past the half-way point of the season and really want to come on strong in the remaining six rounds of the Championship.” Race One Result: 1: Jonathan Rea (Honda) 21:28.015, 2: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +6.848, 3: Leon Haslam (Ducati) +8.851, 4: Shane Byrne (Honda) +13.782, 5: Chris Walker (Rizla Suzuki) +20.317, 6: Tom Sykes (Honda) +21.994, 7: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +28.222, 8: Ollie Bridewell (Suzuki) +42.951, 9: Sean Emmett (Suzuki) +43.552, 10: Karl Harris (Honda) +46.707, 11: Cal Crutchlow (Rizla Suzuki) +51.530. Race Two Result: 1: Rea 22.56.710, 2: Haslam +5.858, 3: Kiyonari +9.453, 4: Sykes +9.508, 5: Byrne +14.306, 6: Chris Walker (Rizla Suzuki) +15.171, 7: Leon Camier (Honda) +26.730, 8: Harris +34.846, 9: Emmett +49.449, 10: O Bridewell +53.371. DNF: Cal Crutchlow (Rizla Suzuki). Championship Positions (after 7 of 13 rounds): 1: Kiyonari 248, 2: Rea 237, 3: Lavilla 220, 4: Haslam 205, 5: Byrne 151, 6: Camier 145, 7: Sykes 138, 8: Chris Walker (Rizla Suzuki) 104, 9: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) 86, 10: Harris 79, 11: Cal Crutchlow (Rizla Suzuki) 56. More, from a press release issued by Martin Jessopp’s publicist: Sixth for Jessopp at Soaked Knockhill Martin Jessopp and the Riders Racing Ducati Team got their season back on track this weekend at a soaked Knockhill Circuit. Jessopp managed to gain sixth place in the Maxxis British Supersport Race at the tight 1.27-mile circuit. Jessopp who is still recovering from a fractured hand was in need of a strong result to regain his confidence after a run of bad luck at the last few meetings. The youngster from Yeovil ran strong and consistent times throughout the weekend and managed to qualify the 749 Ducati in fifth position on the full grid. Only a poor start let the 21-year-old down and he got blocked into the first corner and was pushed back to eighth after the first lap which left him with a lot of work to do, in what turned out to be a very interesting and close fought 20-lap race. With riders exchanging positions on every lap, the horrendous weather conditions thankfully held off for the Supersport race after already being delayed due to torrential conditions earlier in the day. Jessopp was locked in a tight battle throughout the race with various riders including James Hiller, Sam Owens and Billy McConnell with the riders changing positions on every lap. Jessopp fought a hard race to finish in sixth and is now lying in 12th in the Championship after three DNF’s. Commenting he said “I’m pretty happy with the result as I’ve had a couple of bad meetings and needed to get back into the top six and hopefully move up the Championship tables. The team have worked really hard this weekend to get things moving back in the right direction. I felt a lot more comfortable on the bike and my hand hasn’t given me as much grief as it has done in previous rounds. We’re heading down to Croft for the test on Tuesday and hopefully we will be able to get some good track time there too. I’m looking forward to Oulton Park in a couple of weeks time.” Supersport Result: Laverty Suzuki Young Triumph Grant Yamaha McConnell Yamaha Lowry Suzuki Jessopp Riders Racing Ducati Hobbs Honda Hutchinson Honda Amor Honda Owens Honda More, from a press release issued by Stobart Motorsport: BYRNE AND SYKES JUST MISS KNOCKHILL PODIUM 2007 Bennetts British Superbike Championship Round 7 Knockhill, Fife Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport riders Tom Sykes and Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne just missed out on a podium each having had to settle for a fourth place finish in each of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship races which comprised round seven at a weather affected Knockhill earlier today. Qualifying on the front row of the grid for the second time this year, 21 year old Sykes followed up a sixth place finish in race one with a superb fourth place result in race two, just missing out on a podium position by 0.055 seconds as he battled with defending champion Ryuichi Kiyonari. Meanwhile 30 year old Byrne overcame vision problems in race one to post a fourth place finish which he followed up with a hard earned fifth place in the second of the day’s races to round off a decent day’s work for the team. Both races were reduced in distance due to torrential rain which fell at the Fife venue but the organisers did well to battle against the elements to prepare the track for two cracking races which as a result sees Shakey and Tom in fifth and seventh places in the championship respectively. The team moves on to Oulton Park in two weeks time whereby the Stobart, VK and Vent Axia backed team will be looking to return to the podium. Shane Byrne: “I just got really beat up at the beginning and just tried to pick my way through. On my own I had a good pace but trying to pass people was a totally different matter and I just rode quite sensibly. I knew I had Leon Camier behind so that was important to me championship-wise. Tom got a couple of points off me as well but a fourth and fifth from a bad qualifying I am quite happy with really. I could have done with a couple of podiums but they will come.” Tom Sykes: “I got a decent start in the second race and just took it a bit steady at the start to make sure I didn’t spin it up. I settled into my race and just took it lap by lap as we’d made some changes from the first race and it took a couple of laps to get settled in, the whole package was brilliant. I was so close to Kiyonari at the end, I tried my hardest but I just couldn’t quite get past him at the hairpin. It’s really gutting to be just 0.055 seconds off the podium but I’m happy to get fourth. I’ve learned a few things today which will help me in the future and I’d like to thank the whole team and hope I can put it on the podium soon because they deserve it.” Paul Bird: “It’s been a good day considering the weather and we had two strong points scoring rides from both riders in both races. We’re looking forward to Oulton Park now and hopefully some decent weather!” Race 1 Result: 1, Jonathan Rea (Honda) 21m28.015s, 2, Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +6.848s, 3, Leon Haslam (Ducati) +8.851s, 4, Shane Byrne (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Honda) +13.782s, 5, Chris Walker (Suzuki) +20.317s, 6, Tom Sykes (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Honda) + 21.994s, 7, Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +28.222s, 8, Ollie Bridwell (Suzuki) +42.951s, 9, Sean Emmett (Suzuki) +43.552s, 10, Karl Harris (Honda) +46.707s. Race 2 Result: 1, Jonathan Rea (Honda) 22m56.710s, 2, Leon Haslam (Ducati) +5.858s, 3, Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +9.453s, 4, Tom Sykes (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Honda) +9.508s, 5, Shane Byrne (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Honda) +14.306s, 6, Chris Walker (Suzuki) +15.171s, 7, Leon Camier (Honda) +26.730s, 8, Karl Harris (Honda) +34.846s, 9, Sean Emmett (Suzuki) +49.449s, 10, Ollie Bridewell (Suzuki) +53.371s. Bennetts British Superbike Championship Positions after Round 7 1, Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 248pts 2, Jonathan Rea (Honda) 237pts 3, Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) 220pts 4, Leon Haslam (Ducati) 205pts 5, Shane Byrne (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Honda) 151pts 6, Leon Camier (Honda) 145pts 7, Tom Sykes (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Honda) 138pts 8, Chris Walker (Suzuki) 104pts 9, Tommy Hill (Yamaha) 86pts 10, Karl Harris (Honda) 79pts Round 1 7th to 9th April Brands Hatch GP, Kent Round 2 14th/15th April Thruxton, Hants Round 3 27th/29th April Silverstone, Northants Round 4 5th/7th May Oulton Park, Cheshire Round 5 18th/20th May Snetterton, Norfolk Round 6 15th/17th June Mondello Park, Co Kildare Round 7 30th June/1st July Knockhill, Fife Round 8 13th/15th July Oulton Park, Cheshire Round 9 20th/22nd July Mallory Park, Leics Round 10 10th/12th August Croft, North Yorkshire Round 11 25th/27th August Cadwell Park, Lincolnshire Round 12 21st/23rd September Donington Park, Leics Round 13 12th/14th October Brands Hatch Indy, Kent