Former MCE British Superbike star Chris Walker has started the cnext hapter in his career for 2016, racing a sidecar under the Santander Salt/L&W Contractors banner and has begun testing at the Val De Vienne in France. 

Walker, with passenger Jed Pimoor-Brady, first took their LCR Kawasaki on track yesterday; with sunny conditions it was just perfect for the rookie driver.  The track is quite tight and technical, so ideal to get to grips with the sidecar.

With the testing sessions consisting of 30 minutes it is ideal for good track time and good time in the paddock for adjusting the machine for Chris and Jed.

“I was really nervous about going out on track at first, but really looking forward to it, it was a totally new challenge for me.  The thing that I find hard is that the racing line is so different to racing a solo bike, but every time I am out on track it is getting better. Also the braking on these machines is awesome; they stop so fast when you really stand on the brake pedal,” said Walker.

“I still have a lot to learn but I am getting there, another thing I don’t seem to be getting right at the moment is, I am sitting to high in the machine, trying to steer the bike like I would a solo, instead of relaxing on my arms and steering that way.  But hey it is early days and I am really enjoying it. And the help and advice I am getting is great, Jed is doing a great job and helping me out loads.”

Passenger Brady added: “Things are going great, Chris is doing a great job considering he has never driven a sidecar before, I am really looking forward to the season.”