2002 World SuperBike Championship - Round 8 - Misano

Fuchs Kawasaki's Chris Walker consolidated his position as the leading four-cylinder rider in the World Superbike Championship, with two solid results in the heat of Misano this afternoon.

In the opening Superbike race of the day, with the temperature approaching 35 degrees, Walker discovered the consistency that has eluded him so far this season. The 30-year-old Fuchs Kawasaki rider pushed hard for 25 laps, applying pressure to his fellow countryman, James Toseland, throughout. A mistake by Toseland in the closing stages of the race was seized upon by Walker, who slipped through to claim seventh place at the line.

'That was a tough race,' declared an ecstatic Walker. 'James and Frankie looked like they might manage to get away from me early on in the race, but I just got my head down and rode as hard as I could to stay in touch. First Frankie, then James would make a mistake and I'd close right up on them, but then I'd make my own mistake and I'd be back to square one. Eventually James and I lost the tow from Frankie and were left to fight it out between ourselves. I passed him round the outside at the long left hander, but he got me straight back on the brakes. Then he made a mistake and I was able to get underneath him to take seventh…a great result.'

Another solid performance in the second outing of the day saw Walker finish eighth, after an uncharacteristic mistake during the early stages of the race meant that he lost touch with the two riders in front of him.

'That was another good race,' said Walker. 'On the first lap I missed a gear, got out of the seat and lost the tow from Gregorio and Frankie. Again, I got my head down and tried to string together some fast laps but, although I was able to run the same times as them, I couldn't quite close the gap. But the best thing about this weekend has got to be the level of consistency I've achieved on the bike. For the first time I've been able to do the same lap times all through the race, even in this heat.'

'I expected to have quite a few problems with my eye this weekend, but it hasn't been anywhere near as bad as it was in Australia and South Africa earlier in the season. In fact, overall, this has been one of the best weekends we've had this year. Roll on Laguna Seca…' enthused the Stalker.

Hitoyasu Izutsu did not compete in round eight of the World Superbike Championship at Misano today. The former Japanese Superbike rider made the decision to withdraw from the event after suffering problems with his wrist, injured in a qualifying crash at Sugo in April, during this morning's ten minute warm-up.

'The wrist feels pretty good on the bike, but I still lack some strength in the joint and I wasn't sure how it would fare over the course of a 25-lap Superbike race,' explained Izutsu. 'Rather than risk further injury, I made the decision to sit out this weekend's event and concentrate on getting myself fully fit for the next round at Laguna Seca.'