Race ace Walker heads for Thruxton with Showdown target

Walker is currently sixth in the MCE British Superbike Championship.

Round five at Brand Hatch turned out to be a mixed affair for him.

Qualifying saw both Walker and Lloyds BritishGB Moto Kawasaki Team mate James Ellison gain front row starts, Walker second on the grid and Ellison in third, and Walker had improved his best lap time around Brands Hatch by half a second.

Race one saw its distance reduced after a start line incident into the first corner saw Walker in third. Following a short period with the pace car and reduced laps, some pushing and shoving between Walker and Ellison for the lead resulted in Chris finishing a respectable fourth position.

In race two Ellison took the lead, but a nasty accident saw him crash out and he was later taken to hospital for a check-up.

The wet conditions hampered Walker showing his full potential with bike settings the issue.

Eventually finishing in ninth position, Walker said: “First of all I want to send my best wishes to James and hope for a speedy recovery.

“It’s been a great weekend for us and we’ve been on the pipe through every session and qualifying on the front row was very special. Fourth place in race one was a good result and I don’t mind missing out on a podium to a team mate.”

After leaving Snetterton in the middle of June with a sixth position in race one and disappointed at not finishing race two, Walker had travelled to Knockhill in Scotland for round four where his fortunes improved vastly, taking a second race podium position, finishing third for his 50th British Superbike podium.

Free practice on the Friday saw Walker crash breaking two fingers, but nursing the pain, he made it across the line of the 30-lap race for a podium, Ellison finishing eighth.

Walker goes to Thruxton this weekend, hoping to better his current overall standing of sixth position with 96 points and in the Showdown zone.