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.
Cal 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.
Racing starts at 1315 on Sunday, May 20th, at Snetterton in Norfolk. All the action will be broadcast on ITV1 from 1500 and on Sky Sports Extra from 2300 on the same day.
Cal:
“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 focussing 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. ”
Stalker:
“At the end of the day we tried a different tyre 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 tyre 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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