Carl Fogarty was provided with immediate proof of the value of new signing Chris Walker during his Foggy PETRONAS Racing team’s two-day test at Valencia.

Chris was in action on the FP1 for the first time since signing for FPR and joined team-mate Troy Corser in the first chance to test the Pirelli tyres that all World Superbike championship teams will be using for the 2004 season.

But the focus of four-times world champion Foggy was firmly on his new man, who has replaced fellow Brit James Haydon.

Carl said: “This has been one of the best tests I have been to and the atmosphere within the team has been really positive. Chris had a few mechanical problems on the second day but the first day went very well. He loved the bike from the word go, especially the way it handled in the corners. And I was very surprised to see that he was nearly as fast as Troy at such an early stage. Chris did not really have much of a chance to test the Pirelli tyres, but Troy went very well on them on the second day.

“I was very impressed with Troy’s performance. He did around 16 laps on the same tyre, with his last lap quicker than the first. I don’t think I ever saw that with our Michelins. We still have a bit of work to find the perfect tyre for our bike but Troy said the Pirelli tyres gave good consistent grip throughout. So everything looks good for exciting racing and close competition in the championship next year.”

Chris had finished the first day with a best time of 1:38.2, just half a second down on his team-mate. But, while Troy broke into the 1:36s, mechanical problems prevented Chris from making progress with lap times on the second day.

Chris commented: “I spent the first day familiarising with the bike and the way the team works, but I was unable to make much progress on the second day because of a few problems with the bike. But I already know that the bike does certain things very well. All I can do at this early stage is use Troy as a benchmark and I was only half a second behind him on the first day which was very encouraging. I didn’t get much chance to test the new tyres but there will be time for that.”

Troy said: “I was doing lap times today as good as the ones at our last test here, with similar engine performance. It is still early days in our selection but the signs are that the one-tyre rule is going to work well for the championship.”

Commenting on the new Pirelli tyres, Chief Engineer, Steve Thompson explained: “We have found a good combination of tyres and we are cautiously optimistic that we will be able to maintain our advantage in the corners. The levels of grip and endurance are good but we are still trying to narrow down the best construction. We have provided Pirelli with plenty of information and they will now produce a new tyre in time for our test in Australia in January. They are also going to produce a new qualifier, with a harder casing.

"Chris made an immediate impact and settled in very quickly. He had a frustrating day today but I am very pleased with his lap times, his attitude and his riding skills. I’m really looking forward to developing this relationship with him into some positive results.”