Walker and Bostrom show balls in Monza.

According to Eric Bostrom, Monza race circuit takes balls. Something he and team-mate Chrs Walker showed in abundance to both post top ten qualifying times today.

Chris Walker timed his qualifying run to perfection at Monza this afternoon, jumping from fourteenth to seventh place on the provisional grid in the final two minutes of the session.

According to Eric Bostrom, Monza race circuit takes balls. Something he and team-mate Chrs Walker showed in abundance to both post top ten qualifying times today.

Chris Walker timed his qualifying run to perfection at Monza this afternoon, jumping from fourteenth to seventh place on the provisional grid in the final two minutes of the session.

Not having raced at Monza before, and with this morning's free practice being held in damp conditions, the opening qualifying session was the first opportunity for Walker to learn his way around the circuit in the dry. As the session progressed, so did Walker's times, with the 30-year-old Fuchs Kawasaki rider eventually ending the day as the fastest four-cylinder qualifier.

'Considering the fact that this is my first time at Monza, I'm pretty happy with the way things have gone today,' said Walker. 'There are still improvements to be had though, as I'm losing a lot of time through the fast chicane at the back of the circuit, where I'm having a few problems getting the bike stopped and turned. I'm probably losing half a second through the chicane and then another half a second down the following straight, because I'm not coming out of the turn as fast as I should be. Obviously, this is an area we will be looking to improve upon tomorrow. Everywhere else the bike feels fine and, overall, I've had a pretty good day.'

Like his team-mate, the opening qualifying session was also Eric Bostrom's first time on a dry Monza circuit. After qualifying tenth fastest, higher up the provisional grid than a number of the more experienced WSB regulars, the Californian declared himself impressed with the speed of the circuit.

'This circuit takes balls,' commented Bostrom. 'It's real fast but, because of the speed, you have to be real accurate with your braking markers. My main problem today was the amount of pressure I put on myself. After this morning's wet session I really wanted to go well this afternoon and the end result was that I was trying just a little too hard, not letting it come naturally and not riding consistently from lap to lap. Overall I'm happy, but we know we've got a lot of work to do tomorrow.'

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