Rizla Suzuki completed its pre-season test programme at a cold, windy and dry Snetterton circuit in Norfolk [Sunday, March 25] with Chris Walker and Cal Crutchlow making more development progress with their GSX-R1000 race bikes. Stalker, returning to the circuit for the first time in seven years, spent time reacquainting himself with Snetterton’s fast straights and turns before testing various suspension parts and settings in the final afternoon session. Blighted by three red flags, his time on track was limited so he opted to continue testing parts right until the chequered flag rather than go for an outright lap time. He finished ninth overall. Crutchlow found a comfortable setting on his bike early in the day and was competing for the leading positions when he suffered a freak crash at the Russell Bend. He was unhurt but didn’t return to the track for the last 14-minutes. His time from earlier was good enough for 10th overall. Honda’s Jonathan Rea was fastest. Rizla Suzuki is back in action on Bank Holiday Monday, April 9th, for the first round of the 2007 British Superbike Championship at the Brands Hatch GP circuit in Kent. Chris Walker: “Given the cold and windy conditions, we decided rather than chasing lap times we’d work on developing the bike for race conditions. On that front it’s been a good day – right at the end we made a change to the forks that made a positive difference to the front end feel on my bike. “Today’s lap times don’t show how competitive we really are but I’m not apologising for that, we’ve made more progress and that’s the result we wanted. I’m excited that the next time we are on track it’s going to be the opening round. I can’t wait.” Cal Crutchlow: “I worked through a couple of changes to the link and added a rear thumb brake today, all of which helped to improve my Rizla Suzuki. I was feeling good and the bike was quick, so when I crashed on a closed throttle out of the chicane, it was a surprise. “I’m not hurt from the crash and frustrated as the time sheets really don’t give a true reflection of our position. It’s not the perfect way to finish our test programme but the fact is we are faster and better than we showed today and I’ll be out to prove that at Brands Hatch on April 9th.” Simon Buckmaster – Team Manager: “Chris got through some useful testing today but I would have liked him to have had time to go for an outright fast lap. He got through some good parts tests but that doesn’t mean that ninth on the time sheets is acceptable – we are all a little disappointed. “Cal was riding well and looked on top of his game right up until his accident. At the point of the crash he was more than three-quarters of a second faster than his previous best lap and contending for the top six. We think it might have been caused by a rapidly-cooling track and cold tyre, so he can leave here knowing it wasn’t his fault and hungry to show what he can do at the opening round. “Overall the team underperformed to expectation today but we will learn from that and focus on the positives – we learnt more about the bikes and are in good shape for the start of the season at Brands Hatch in two weeks time.” Official Test Times: 1: Jonathan Rea (Honda) 1:05.010, 2: Leon Haslam (Ducati) +0.819, 3: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +0.992, 4: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +1.096, 5: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +1.155, 6: Tom Sykes (Honda) +1.376, 7: Leon Camier (Honda) +1.463, 8: Shane Byrne (Honda) +1.667, 9: Chris Walker (Rizla Suzuki) +1.953, 10: Cal Crutchlow (Rizla Suzuki) +1.974. More, from a press release issued by Steve Plater’s publicist: PLATER SCORCHES THE TRACK Woodhall Spa Superbike rider Steve Plater scorched the track on both sides of the channel – but in very different circumstances – when he conducted a series of tests last week. He was the fastest rider over the two-day period with the World Endurance team Kawasaki France at Le Mans but ended the week with a spectacular crash at Snetterton where he was testing the AIM Yamaha in preparation for the forthcoming British Superbike championship. “The test at Le Mans went really well. The weather was cold and cloudy, with the temperature ranging between six and 10 degrees but the second day was quite sunny. It was ideal for us really as we need to test in cold conditions because endurance racing continues through the night when the temperature drops,” said Steve. “We were on the pace throughout, lapping about a second faster than last year. We made some good changes to the bike and tested some new Pirelli tyres. We still have a few more adjustments to make and these will be done at the final Le Mans test just a few days before the Brands Hatch British Superbike opener at Easter.” But when he arrived back in the UK for the Snetterton test with AIM Yamaha on Saturday Steve was greeted with foul weather conditions. It was misty, cold and a strong easterly wind blowing with some light rain making track conditions hazardous and the team decided to give testing a miss on Saturday preferring to wait and see if the weather improved on Sunday. “There was nothing to be gained by going out in those conditions,” said Steve. “The weather forecast for Sunday promises a dry and sunny day so it makes sense to wait. “The bike has done quite a few miles on the dyno but this is the first time on the circuit for us so we have plenty of testing to get through. Sunday’s opening session saw Steve put in some good times but after eight laps the bike developed an oil leak causing him to crash. “My foot slipped off the peg and I realised too late that there was oil leaking from somewhere,” explained Steve. “And as I negotiated the Esses the bike just flicked me off.” The second session went without a hitch but on returning to the track for the afternoon session it all went wrong. Steve appeared to be comfortable on the bike and on the pace but as he followed Greg Lavilla into Russells he suffered a massive high side and crashed heavily. “I looked up and saw the bike already on fire and heading towards me at a fast rate of knots. I rolled out of the way and it missed me but then I realised that my ankle and back were hurting. But there is nothing broken and I am relieved just to have some heavy bruising to contend with. “The bike is more or less ok as well. The damage is mostly cosmetic, fairing etc and the fuel tank but other than that is fine. It is a shame I couldn’t have spent more time out there but these things happen. Obviously Brands Hatch will now be a big test over the Easter period.” Steve returns to action at Le Mans on April 3 & 4 where he will conclude his testing for Kawasaki France in preparation for the opening round of the World Endurance series, the Le Mans 24-hour race on April 20 & 21. He returns to the UK for the season opener of the British Superbike championship with AIM Yamaha with testing on April 7. Qualifying is on April 8 with racing on Easter Monday, April 9. More, from a press release issued by Hawk Kawasaki: Despite the cold and wet weather conditions Hawk Kawasaki are pleased with the progress they made at the pre season test at Snetterton at the weekend, 23rd 25th March. It was the first time that all four riders, Smart, Hickman, Hallett and Wright had been out on the track as a team. The two Superbike riders Smart and Hickman braved the wet elements on Saturday and found a good wet race set up. It was the first outing for Smart on the ZX10 since he signed with Hawk a few weeks ago. Having not ridden a Kawasaki since 2004 the Maidstone rider adapted well to the bike and the atrocious conditions. The two riders tested a variety of new electronics plus new compound Dunlop tyres which proved to be a success. Hickman continued to bond with the 06 ZX10 and consistently improved his times throughout the weekend in both the wet and dry. He is settling in well to the new bike having ridden the 05 model last season. The team tested a number of new set ups over the weekend and the varying conditions were useful for the team to get a good understanding of how the bikes work in all weather elements. The two Hawk Junior riders Hallett and Wright both were taking it steady and getting to grips with their new bikes. Hallett riding in the Superstock Cup, adjusted well to his new 1000cc machine and they made a huge amount of progress and he was adapting his riding style to suit it. Wright was bedding in his new ZX6 and getting to grips with the ultra fast Snetterton Circuit. The two riders are now eager for the season opener at Brands Hatch on Easter Weekend. Team Owner Stuart Hicken was happy with the weekend saying “The weather didn’t prove to be a problem for us as it allowed us to try a number of different settings out on the four bikes. We know which direction we are heading in now and know what we have to do to get there. We are going to try and get out again before Brands as we have a significant amount of new parts to test before the racing starts. I’m pleased with the two youngsters, David and Jak, they took things steady but I feel have learnt a lot in just the one weekend. I’m looking forward to the season and hoping all the riders will have a good one.”