Remaining a one man team for their return to Oulton Park, the Lloyds British GBmoto Kawasaki team and fan favourite Chris ‘Stalker’ Walker are eager to make a return to the podium. Injured James Ellison continues his rehabilitation in the Hyperbaric Chamber on the Isle of Man, returning home this weekend where the team will then make an assessment on a possible comeback date.

It was a particularly spectacular weekend on the team’s first visit to the 2.69 mile circuit, as James secured a hard fought and well deserved double third place finish. It was Stalker who grabbed the headlines however as a crash in the third free practice session saw his Kawasaki erupt into a fireball, with the picture of him pulling the machine from the flames quickly going viral.

The team will be looking to make the headlines for the right reasons this weekend, particularly as this will mark the first time they return to a circuit with prior knowledge and settings. With this knowledge they hope to hit the ground running from Friday morning’s opening practice session – enabling them to have a strong setting ready for Saturday first race.


Eager to make up for his results in May, current Showdown contender Chris Walker is excited to return to Oulton,

“I’m definitely looking forward to going back to Oulton Park, it’s one of my favourites on the calendar and I’ve had some great results there in the past too – so to have three races is definitely a positive. Obviously our first visit in May was pretty spectacular, but it was spectacular for the wrong reasons so I’m going to be making amends for that this weekend and further shore up my Showdown position.

It was odd not having James in the garage with us at Thruxton and I definitely missed not having my pal about! We’ve worked fantastically together this year, sharing info and pushing each other throughout every session so it’s a shame he can’t be with us at a track he’s very strong at."

Lloyds British GBmoto Kawasaki Team Principal Mark Smith-Halvorsen said,

“I was really impressed with the way the team worked at Thruxton. It’s a quirky place where previous settings are vital so despite having one less rider, we were still able to put a bike out there capable of challenging at the front. That’s why I’m looking forward to coming back to Oulton, it’s a circuit where we have already had experience around so can use and build upon those settings from the first session and I’m confident Chris will be running at the front where he belongs.

James’ recovery is progressing exactly to plan and he’s as eager as anyone to return to action. He completes his Hyperbaric Chamber rehabilitation this week and will head home whereby he’ll continue to work back to full fitness. It’s still too early to give a return date but we’re confident we’ll see him back out before the Showdown where he’ll try and fight his way back into the top six.”

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