Veteran racer Chris Walker doesn’t feel his age despite being the oldest on the British Superbike Championship grid.

Walker is now the senior man in the British Superbike Championship and with a lot of young riders out there it becomes tougher to maintain the standards to be at the top of your game, Chris has done that for several years now.

He said: “What is weird now about being the oldest on the grid is that is has been a flash since I was McKenzie’s teammate and I was the youngest on the grid and McKenzie was my teammate who was the older guard. Now I am Danny Buchan’s teammate he is probably one of the youngest on the grid and I am the older guy.

“The time in between there isn’t a great deal, you’re a rookie and before you know it you are a veteran. For me training wise I have never stopped training and so that has kind of kept me fit really. I don’t really stop training over the winter anymore, I relax my diet a little bit between the end of the season and Christmas.

“I don’t stop training and I think because of that I manage to keep my fitness ok, I touchwood I still manage to recover from injuries fairly quickly. Like you say it does get tougher but you have to get your mind set right and get in the right place. When I have got my helmet and leathers on I look just the same as a 20-year old.

“To be honest when the lights go from red to green or nowadays just go out I feel like a 20-year-old, I don’t feel any different to what I did but I have got a lot more experience and if you are lacking a bit of bravery, ultimately you have that bit more experience and you should have a better bike under you on a Sunday because of the experience you have gleaned over the years.

“There are pros and cons really and I do know that I have got more races behind me than I have got in front of me. When I go racing now I still approach the weekend exactly the same as I have always. I make sure that I enjoy it even more so just in case I am not going to have many more to come.”

With Kent’s very own Shane Byrne having won the Superbike title last season, we asked Stalker if he was still going to be the man to beat this season.

He added: “Without putting ourselves down as a team, I do think the title contenders are going to be pretty much similar to 2014 realistically over the championship. Shakey has got to be one of the favourites if not the favourite. The way that Kiyo went last year, same team and same bike just like Shakey he is going to be another contender.

“If the Yamaha comes out of the box as good as everyone is saying that it is Brookes is going to be incredible and we have a couple of good riders, I think it was Tommy’s teammate Michael Laverty he is back in the championship and back with a competitive team. It is going to be the same three or four guys. The same three guys from everybody’s point of view tick the box as a contender and then there will be a few surprises.

“Like I have just mentioned I think Laverty is going to go well and I think Tommy Bridewell on the BMW could go well. Kawasaki have got even more bikes on the grid this year than last year and there are teams like ours and GB Moto that are making a step so who knows. The showdown is beckoning but it is not a foregone conclusion that any of those riders are going to get in.

“You only have to see what happened to James Ellison last year, he deserved to be in it but then missed a slot through injuries.”

The 2015 season is underway now with the World Superbikes having got underway last weekend at Phillip Island and that gets Chris excited that it is nearly time to go racing.

“Absolutely, you know when you mentioned the difference between young and old. What I tend to do now is try not to think too much about the new season until it gets a bit nearer. I don’t want to peak to soon is the kind of saying that I use within the household.

“Once Christmas is out of the way and in January you start digging in and getting your diet back on track and then step your training up again. February is my month for absolutely knuckling down and getting your body in top shape, your body fat where it should be and hydration where it should be.

“Then like you say you start seeing the World Superbike tests starting and you see a few of the Brits sneaking off to Spain to get some early testing in. Then you watch the races at the weekend, I set the alarm I got up and I watched the races and I now I feel like the season has started because of that. It does feel a bit early for World Superbikes having a race in February but for us it is the signal of the start really. I am buzzing just talking to you about it I really am.”