Swann Insurance Kawasaki press release:

Swann Insurance Kawasaki’s Matt Walters got his 2018 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) season off to an exceptional start at Phillip Island between 22-25 February, scoring eighth overall in an inspiring performance to commence his campaign.

Walters was on the pace all weekend long in Victoria alongside the first round of the Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK), qualifying in 10th position following a single session on Friday in damp track conditions.

More mixed weather greeted riders in the first 12-lap race of the weekend on Saturday afternoon, however Walters managed to cross the line in ninth place, featuring in an eight-rider freight-train until a minor problem forced him to slow in the closing laps.

That set him up for a solid Sunday in races two and three – both contested in fully dry conditions – where he captured eighth and ninth positions to cap-off the weekend. Those results propelled him to eighth overall, currently in that same championship position following round one of seven.

“It was a really consistent round for myself and the Swann Insurance Kawasaki team, so we’re really happy to start the season this way,” Walters reflected. “We were inside the top 10 every time we rode, which is a great result. I would have liked to be up with the front-runners a bit more, but I missed the jump out of the start a few times.

“We can definitely work on that and improve my opening laps of the races at Wakefield Park. We’re already ahead of where we were last year, so it’s positive for us and we’re confident that we can keep on progressing at round two. The Ninja ZX-10Rs worked in all conditions, I’m really enjoying them and it’s starting to show in the results!”

The 2018 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) will now travel north to Wakefield Park in New South Wales on 16-18 March, which will be Walters’ home state round on this year’s schedule aboard his Ninja ZX-10R.

Like Matt Walters Racing on Facebook and visit www.asbk.com.au for further information on the series.