Good progress for Chris Walker on debut World Superbike test

Chris Walker made a solid start to his revived WSB career onboard the Paul Bird Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade at Oulton Park today.

• Watch an interview with Chris Walker and see him in action

The popular Brit was able to get on the pace during a 30 minute closed track session this afternoon having been lapping in the fast group of a track day earlier in the day.

Walker remains on target to race at the Brands Hatch World Superbike race in ten days time and has used the test to try and reacquaint himself with the power of a Superbike.

Stalkers laps were affected by a rear wheel speed sensor failure, which meant that the traction control and anti wheelie electronics did not work.

Despite the small glitch the 36 year old managed to complete five flying laps in the low 1m38’s which compares favourably to the 1m 36 second fastest lap at the BSB race last weekend given the amount of track time.

Speaking exclusively to MCN, Walker said:

“It’s going well. The bike feel really fast especially around a track like Oulton Park and with the amount of laps we’ve had I’m happy enough with the lap time.”

Having spent his 2008 season to date racing in World Supersport, Walker knows that one of the big challenges will be getting his body prepared for two WSB races at Brands Hatch.

He said:

“It’s certainly a lot more physical and I’m still trying to get my head around how much kick it’s got as I exit the corners. Riding five laps around here on a Superbike feels like doing a whole race on a Supersport bike.”

For an exclusive insight into Walkers first test and his thoughts on Brands Hatch check out MCN’s Free 12 page Brands Hatch supplement out Wednesday 30 July.