Swann Insurance Kawasaki press release:

Swann Insurance Kawasaki’s Matt Walters managed a best finish of 10th position in race one at The Bend Motorsport Park’s third round of the 2018 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK), unable to maximise his true potential in South Australia.

Following some difficulties on Friday in which he secured 14th on the grid with a 1m55.341s, Walters rode his Ninja ZX-10R to a top 10 result in Saturday’s first of three 10-lap premier class races at the brand new 4.95-kilometre International Circuit.

That was the best things got for the determined former national champion, experiencing further difficulties in race two on his way to 15th and then bowing out of race three with clutch dramas in a disappointing conclusion to the round. Still, he remains focused on rebounding in the remaining events after registering P16 overall.

“I was expecting to be in the top 10 and did that in race one, but it wasn’t an easy weekend,” reflected Walters. “On Friday morning we had some pretty big issues, which set us back and put us back in 14th on the grid. Like I said, we were satisfied with 10th in race one, but it was a mixed bag after that and I wasn’t able to finish the final race.

“I’m really disappointed to come this far to a new track, trying to close the gap to a couple of guys in the championship, but we went backwards unfortunately. The plan now is to go to Darwin and push on, similar to what we did last year when we hit the reset button and ended up getting our best result. I’ll be prepared as best as possible.”

Walters is now ranked ninth in the championship standings following three rounds of seven, with the next round scheduled for Hidden Valley Raceway in the Northern Territory on 28 June-1 July following an extended two-month break.

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