Enforced absence disappoints Walker

A battered and bruised Chris Walker says he was thoroughly downbeat to miss his first British Superbike race weekend since 1994.

06 Jul 2015

Chris Walker says he was frustrated to be forced out of the Knockhill British Superbike race weekend after suffering a massive high side crash during Friday practice and is determined to fightback in two weeks at Brands Hatch.

The Be Wiser Kawasaki rider was ruled out of competing at the Scottish circuit after being battered and bruised in a high speed off and due to BSB's one bike rule his squad was unable to fix his Kawasaki ZX-10R back into a competitive state.

Walker's crash on Friday afternoon saw him land heavily against the Armco barriers and after being checked over by medical staff on Saturday morning he was sent to hospital for further tests. Upon diagnosis it was discovered he damaged several ribs, spine and sternum, broke a finger and suffered some ligament damage.

After sitting out of qualifying on Saturday he was declared unfit to race on medical inspection on Sunday morning, while his bike was also irreparable at the track. As a result, Walker missed his first race weekend which he qualified for in 21 years but the experienced BSB rider is targeting an immediate comeback later this month at Brands Hatch.

"I'm so disappointed not to have raced at Knockhill this weekend, this is the first race I have missed since 1994 and that was only because they ran out of spares," Walker said. "I'm sorry to the team and still not 100% sure on what happened but certainly know I'm feeling very second hand.

"I will be resting and ensuring I will be back fit and fighting for Brands in a couple of weeks."

The 43-year-old now faces a race against time to return to full fitness ahead of round six of the 2015 campaign at the Kent circuit.

The Nottingham-born rider can take confidence from his team-mate Danny Buchan's performance at Knockhill after he grabbed sixth and seventh place finishes to notch up his best results of the season.

Be Wiser Kawasaki team manager Tommy Hill made sure his rider's health was paramount and is optimistic about his chances of a potential return at Brands Hatch.

"It was a huge shame not to have Chris racing for us this weekend as he has shown some really good form recently," Hill said. "He is very bashed up and we all wish him well and a speedy recovery for Brands."