World Supersport: Chris Walker positive after first day of testing

Chris Walker made a solid start to his new World Supersport campaign with a successful first day of testing in Calafat, Spain onboard the factory backed Gil Kawasaki ZX6-R.

Walker had limited track time due to heavy winds, but still managed to get a feel for the Supersport bike and ended up lapping faster than his new team-mate Katsuaki Fujiwara.

Fujiwara is a Supersport veteran and finished fourth in the worlds this year so was expected to show Chris Walker the way round, but the 35-year-old British rider found the transition to the 600 easier than expected.

Chris Walker said: “I’ve really enjoyed it and after an hour on the bike I had a big smile on my face. The track is tight and twisty so the bike didn’t feel real slow compared with what I’ve been used to.

“The power difference wasn’t as big as I thought it was going to be and at the same time it didn’t feel as nimble and small as I thought it would.

“The engine feels good and it’s prepared by Akira who were the same people we used when I rode for PSG-1 Kawasaki. I wasn’t sure what to expect but it still wheelies.

“I was putting the back brake on which works better than a Superbike one because it’s bigger and I thought I’d run out of fuel. On a Superbike you have a little Brembo calliper and you have to press it so hard to stop yourself going off the back.

“It’s still very different to ride, but probably not as big a change as I thought. At this stage I just need to more laps, I’ve got a lot to learn, but I’m enjoying it.

“We don’t really know what a good lap time is around here on a World Supersport bike with Pirellis’.

“Altea Honda are also at the test so we’ll be able to use them as a benchmark and my team mate, Fujiwara is here and I was a fair bit faster than him so for a first day it’s gone pretty well.”