Kawasaki has announced that Chris Walker will return to racing this year with the manufacturer in the Endurance World Championship.
Walker, who raced World Endurance over two decades ago, will ride for the ADSS97 Kawasaki team aboard their Kawasaki ZX-10R.
Since his previous EWC days, Walker has become one of the stalwarts of British motorcycle racing, and been a key player in dramatic title showdowns in British Superbikes with the likes of Neil Hodgson, and the protagonist of one of the most unlikely victories in the history of WorldSBK in the pouring rain of Assen in 2006.
On his return to racing, Walker will be lined-up alongside Levi Day - who spent a few years competing on the same grid as Walker when the ‘Stalker’ raced the Ducati TriOptions Cup, in which class Day has been a race winner himself - and Chris Platt, who is also the team owner. Craig Currie, who will also be racing the Sidecar World Championship, as well as in the Sidecar class at the 2023 Isle of Man TT, is the team’s reserve.
The ADSS97 team will run K-Tech suspension, and as part of that deal their team truck will be the K-Tech Suspension Service Centre for the entire EWC paddock.
Chris Walker said: “What an opportunity! To race within a team full of my pals on a proven bike, the ADSS97 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R, and at the Le Mans 24hr again after a 24-year gap is mega! I had always hoped my career would head me back in the direction of endurance racing as it reached its latter years, having enjoyed it so much in the past, but it didn’t quite pan out.
“A few years in Sidecars and TriOptions Cup, coupled with old age and obesity, sent me down a different path, so I’ve been Zip testing for RST for a while now, but the chance to go and ride the 24hr EWC series in the stock class is something I couldn’t turn down.
“So with the help of a few of my old sponsors coming along and supporting the team, I’m back on track, back on a Kwak, back to Le Mans and back on a racers regime of training and eating properly. Testing starts in Spain in a matter of Days, and I can’t wait!”
Levi Day said: “I’m really looking forward to the Endurance World Championship this year, and it’s something I’ve been keen to get into over the last few years. I’ve had the pleasure of doing Suzuka and an eight-hour [race] at Estoril a few years ago, so doing the three 24-hour races this year really excites me!
“It will be something very different to what I’m used to, but I will be working hard to do the best for the team, and I’m looking forward to teaming up with Chris Platt and Chris Walker on the ZX-10R and working together with the team to do our very best. There is a great crew involved, and I’m excited to get going!”
