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Walker makes shock switch to Sidecars for 2016 season

MCE British Superbike veteran Chris Walker will swap two wheels for three in the 2016 after agreeing to race in the Hyundai Heavy Industries British Sidecar Championship.

The housewives’ favourite Walker will make his racing debut in the Championship at Oulton Park in May with the experienced Santander Salt Kawasaki team and is already excited about the new challenge ahead - comparing it to the feeling he had when he first raced in the Superbike class back in 1995.

Walker will get his first taste of the sidecar in anger in six weeks’ time with his debut test as he prepares for ‘one of the biggest challenges’ he has faced during his distinguished career despite his huge experience in two wheel competition.

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“The BSB paddock feels like my home and so I am really excited by this completely new challenge, especially as the British Sidecar Championship is going from strength to strength. I have no knowledge of it so I am full of anticipation, although I have to say it is still a bit daunting,” said Walker.

“I guess the last time I had that kind of feeling of the complete unknown was my first Superbike race in 1995; Hizzy was out injured and I got called up to replace him. I was up against the big hitters of BSB and the night before I was like a six year-old at Christmas; I think that was the last time I really experienced such a dramatic change. Even switching from motocross to road racing didn’t feel as big as I had been riding road bikes.

“There is so much bright talent emerging in BSB right now and I have looked at the larger picture; I am a racer through and through, I always will be. This is a time for some of the young riders to get their chances while in my mid-40s I can still go racing and still get that feeling of a challenge, which is an amazing thing to be able to say.

“I really don’t know what to expect and that is what I think excites me the most. The Sdecar is completely different to a Superbike in terms of the gearing and braking so I am sure that will be something for me to get my head around, but the biggest draw for me is the new challenge.

“I have the security of some great team-mates and good people around me who I can learn from. I want to come out and chip away because I know that this is probably one of the biggest challenges of my career. With a Superbike I had ridden a bike since the age of three; I have only had a go in a sidecar once and that was in 1986 and a completely different animal!

“I have no preconceptions and I am realistic about the season. I will approach it like I did when I first raced Superbikes and that is to learn from my more experienced team-mates and use that as a gauge and just keep trying to improve. Hopefully the same thought process that worked for me in my Superbike career will replicate onto three wheels too! The team have shown faith in me by giving me this opportunity and I am just excited now to get started.”

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