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+--- Thread: GBmoto Kawasaki continue 100% podium record at Oulton Park! (/showthread.php?tid=17097)
GBmoto Kawasaki continue 100% podium record at Oulton Park! - Malcolm - 06-05-2014
![[Image: gbracinglogo.jpg]](http://www.ttwebsite.com/gifs/gbracinglogo.jpg)
It was a fiery weekend for the Lloyds British GBmoto Kawasaki team with a spectacular crash in qualifying from Chris Walker making headlines, while James Ellison secured another double podium in front of a huge Bank Holiday Monday crowd to keep GBmoto Kawasaki’s 100% podium record.
The Lloyds British GBmoto Kawasaki duo came out of the blocks strongly for the opening practice session, with Ellison topping the timesheets and Walker in close contention in fifth. Despite suffering from his injury, James was able to continue to improve throughout the weekend, qualifying in third place for the opening race and being one of only three riders to dip into a 1:34m lap.
It was a different story for fan favourite Chris ‘Stalker’ Walker, who suffered a spectacular crash early in the third Free Practice session which saw his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R erupt into a fireball. Despite there being less than four hours before qualifying, the team did a fantastic job in building a brand new Superbike and within three laps he had set his best lap of the weekend. Even though he had missed the earlier practice session, Chris was still able to progress through to the final qualifying session, securing ninth place on the grid.
![[Image: walkerbikefireoulton.jpg]](http://www.ttwebsite.com/gifs/TT2014/walkerbikefireoulton.jpg)
Race one was a mixed affair for the GBmoto duo. Both riders enjoyed strong starts to run third and fifth into the opening corner, however an incident mid-pack necessitated a four-lap pace car deployment to clear the debris. As the car returned to the pit, both riders took full advantage moving to second and fourth in the first corner. Unfortunately, an uncharacteristic moment for Chris on lap seven saw him crash out of contention while just a few laps later James ran on into the Hizzy chicane. He was however able to rejoin in third place, where he went on to claim his third podium of the year, continuing his and GBmoto Kawasaki’s 100% podium record of the year.
Lining up in fourth and seventh for race two, both riders took lightning starts once again to go second and fourth into the opening corner. As the race progressed, third placed James broke away from the chasing group to sit behind Shane Byrne and eventual winner Josh Brookes, however a big moment saw him drop back, settling for third place and another podium. Having not completed the opening race Chris gambled with running the softer tyre, the only rider on the grid to do so, however it did not pay off, dropping back to eighth at the finish line.
Keeping his and the teams 100% podium record this year, James Ellison said,
“I’m definitely happy after this weekend, especially considering this is only the second race meeting for the GBmoto Kawasaki machines and coming into the weekend injured from Brands Hatch. I’ve not been in too much pain actually and we’ve been really consistent in every practice session and much closer to the front so we’re definitely going in the right direction.
There’s now a big gap before Snetterton so I’m heading back to the states for a few weeks to continue training in the warmer weather and fully recuperate from my injury. The team are planning some updates to the bike too so I’m confident we’ll be challenging for some higher spots on the podium!”
Despite two big crashes writing his bike off, Chris Walker was able to bounce back in the final race and walk away with a solid top ten finish “Firstly I want to thank the boys on my side of the garage, I didn’t give them an easy job this weekend but they’ve worked so hard and rebuilt two Superbikes and each time the bike felt great. Obviously we lost a fair chunk of track time this weekend so we were on the back foot for most of it but we weren’t a million miles away and if it wasn’t for me gambling on running the SC0 in the final race I’m confident we would have actually been top five.
I am disappointed with this weekend but we walked away with a strong top ten and can go into the break happy. I’ll be continuing my training and the teams going to be working on given me an even better package for Snetterton, so bring it on!”
Lloyds British GBmoto Kawasaki Team Manager Terry Liquorish said,
“As a whole, looking at both sides of the garage it’s definitely been a bit of a mixed weekend for GBmoto. James has continued where he left off at Brands and has taken a massive step forward, running closer to the front and has kept up his 100% podium record. It was a bit of bad luck for Chris, his crash in Free Practice wasn’t a big one at all but with the bike catching fire we had to completely rebuild him a Superbike and that pretty much put him on the back step for the rest of the weekend.
The team has worked incredibly hard this weekend, James’s side continued to show that we’re genuine podium contenders while the guys on Stalker’s side completely rebuilt him two bikes, both in time for the next session. We now go into the break very happy and will be working on some updates on both bikes that we think will bring both of them even closer to the front.”
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