Mixed fortunes for motorcycle ace Walker in Assen

Making the long trip to the legendry ‘Cathedral of Motorcycle Racing’ TT Circuit Assen produced more than what the Quattro Plant Kawasaki Team had expected.

Chris was focusing on the Riders Cup in which he is in a good position of securing the title.

However, a crash for Walker in final free practice and then technical faults on his ZX-10R bike in qualifying meant he had to start race one from the penultimate row of the grid in 19th position.

Things turned from bad to worse for Chris just after half distance of the 18-lap race when he retired with mechanical problems

Race two saw Chris sat in 17th position on the grid, as determined as ever and in the same frame of mind as he was at the start of the season, to carry on regardless and make his mark.

The lights went out and in the usual ‘Walker the Stalker’, style he battled to the end of race two with a sixth place finish and a speed of 100.82mph.

Team mnager Pete Extance said: “It looked like being a disastrous weekend for Chris after crashing in practice and subsequently missing the cut in qualifying.

“A small, technical fault – a result of the crash – ended his first race prematurely, but he came back brilliantly from 17th on the grid in the second race to take an excellent, and well-deserved, sixth, something I didn’t think was possible after all the problems.”

Walker now lies 10th in the Championship with 133 points and this weekend he goes to Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit for the penultimate round of the MCE British Superbike Championship with the final round at Brands Hatch on 18th-20th October.