2002 World SuperBike Championship - Round 12 - Assen - SuperPole

Fuchs Kawasaki's Chris Walker stormed his way around the historic Assen circuit during this afternoon's Superpole shootout, posting his best lap time of the weekend to finish twelfth fastest and secure a third row start for tomorrow's 16-lap Superbike races.

Despite having to contend with front end chatter on his factory ZX-7RR, Walker was over a second quicker through the middle split than his Fuchs Kawasaki team-mate, Hitoyasu Izutsu, who'd preceded him in Superpole. That gap had increased to almost two seconds by the time the 30-year-old British rider crossed the finish line to complete his flying lap.

'The front end chatter wasn't serious, but it did cause me to miss a couple of apexes on my Superpole lap,' said Walker. 'I think it was the bumps here that set it off, but apart from that, the bike was working really well. Obviously I'd have preferred to have made it onto the second row, but after qualifying 14th this morning, I'm not going to complain about a third row start for tomorrow's races.'

Hitoyasu Izutsu opted to sit out this afternoon's free practice session in order to rest his injured wrist, but the former Japanese Superbike Champion was back in the saddle of his Fuchs Kawasaki ZX-7RR in time for Superpole. After qualifying in 15th place during this morning's regular qualifying session, Izutsu managed to move one place up the grid this afternoon, with a typically smooth Superpole lap.

'The rest this afternoon was obviously good for my wrist, because I had no problems with it at all during Superpole,' commented Izutsu. 'I was happy enough with my flying lap, but I think I could have gone quicker if I hadn't suffered with a bit of chatter from the rear end of the bike. Apart from that, the bike has improved with every session and, if I can get a good start tomorrow, then I should be able to make up places during the course of the race.'