After taking the team’s first MCE British Superbike Championship podiums at Brands Hatch and going second and third in the Championship standings, Lloyds British GBmoto Kawasaki riders Chris Walker and James Ellison move to Oulton Park for round two in decidedly different conditions. While Chris continues to build on his impressive showing from testing and the opening round, James’ usual race preparation has been halted as he suffers severely following his crash during qualifying at Brands.

With an injury to his pelvis and hip, along with ligament and joint damage after his crash during Qualifying at Brands Hatch, James Ellison fought through the pain barrier and doggedly decided to compete in the two races on Easter Monday. However at a one day test around the 2.692m Oulton Park circuit last week, it became apparent that James was suffering far more from his qualifying crash following a few days of rest, only able to complete one session due to excessive pain and discomfort. He is now undergoing work with the excellent BSB Medical Team to try and be able to race competitively this weekend.

It is a different story on the other side of the garage as Chris ‘Stalker’ Walker continues his stunning pre-season form. After taking a fantastic second place in the opening race at Brands Hatch, his first podium since a memorable victory at Oulton Park in 2012, the Stalker now returns to the Cheshire circuit on a high following the official test there last Friday.

A battered and bruised James Ellison said,

“After the highs of Brands Hatch it’s definitely been a bit of a tough few days. I was sore for both races, but once the adrenalin kicked in I was relatively OK. After a few days rest things stiffened up and I was in some real pain for our test at Oulton last week. I could only complete one session, before we decided it was best to go for some scans and I’m now working with the BSB Medical Team to try and ease some of the pain and be in a bit of a competitive shape for this weekend.

The injury is definitely a setback, but with the way the Showdown works if we can get two points scoring finishes here at Oulton then we’ll still be up there and I can rest up in the break before Snetterton to be fit for then.”

Excited to get racing at one of his favourite circuits, Chris Walker said

“It was a bit of a tough test for us last week at Oulton, I was feeling a little under the weather and obviously James was really struggling with his injury but that said, I was still able to set some competitive times and get a bit of a base setting ready for this weekend.

I’m really looking forward to actually getting racing at Oulton though, it’s a fantastic circuit and is definitely one of the favourites for both riders and fans. It’s one of those tracks where it feels incredibly fast, particularly after spending four days circulating the Brands Hatch Indy circuit! Although I always find it takes a bit of time to get my eye in and acclimatise to the undulations and flowing nature of Oulton, when you do it’s a joy to ride. The team haven’t stopped working since Brands Hatch and we should be bringing some updates for the ZX-10R so if we can walk away with another pair of top 5 finishes I’ll be very happy.”

Lloyds British GBmoto Kawasaki Team Manager Terry Liquorish said,

“It’s a bit of a mixed feeling coming into Oulton Park this weekend. Our aim at the test here last Friday was to gain as much of an early base setting as possible – as a team with brand new bikes, we have no data to work from each time we visit a circuit for the first time this year. Thankfully for Chris, he managed two dry sessions and was happy, as well as quick. We tried a few things with him and have an idea in which direction to take the bike, once we return this weekend.

Unfortunately for James, although he completed a long first run, he did so in big pain and discomfort, from his hip and pelvis – an area he damaged in his qualifying crash from Brands. It hampered him last weekend on race day and meant he couldn’t continue riding on Friday, instead choosing to go for more injury analysis and scans, to make sure we know what to do to try and get him ready for this weekend. It’s not an ideal situation given it is so early in the championship as our goal is to get both riders into the Showdown, but James is a fighter and he’ll definitely be trying this weekend.”

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