MCE NEWS ARTICLE - 2024


Chris 'Stalker' Walker sensationally switches to sidecars!

MCE Insurance

Chris 'Stalker' Walker has today made a spectacular announcement, he will return to the MCE BSB paddock next year; however he will be racing on three wheels rather than three!

Walker will join the British Sidecar Championship in 2016, his first debut round will be at Oulton Park in May, racing for the Santander Salt Kawasaki team.

He first raced in the Superbike class back in 1995 and has become a fan favourite in the process, hailed by many as one of the nicest guys in the paddock.

He shows no sign of slowing down, however, as he hops aboard the vastly different machine capable of hitting speeds of up to 170mph.

Walker said: "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!

"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 whilst 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 sidecar 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."

13.01.2016 - Big Ed

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