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Callum Walker will make his Dunlop Super2 Series debut this weekend in a switch of disciplines inspired by breaking his back twice.
The 24-year-old will line up in Newcastle in a ZB Commodore leased from PremiAir Racing, being the chassis driven last year by Garry Jacobson and subsequently James Golding.
However, Walker was previously a sprintcar driver, until he decided to give it up after breaking five separate vertebrae in the space of three years.
“I had two big accidents and twice broke my back – five vertebrae in all,” he explained.
“I wasn’t prepared for round three. That motivated the decision to go circuit racing and we arrived at the Dunlop Super2 Series.
“This weekend is our first weekend at Newcastle – we literally picked the car up last Monday and my first time sitting in a Supercar was Tuesday at Queensland Raceway.”
Walker’s father and grandfather both raced in speedway and while he is not a complete stranger to competing on tar, it was some time ago.
“We’re looking to get through Newcastle unscathed then head over to Perth for the second round where we should be in better shape,” he added.
“Aside from karts, I’ve done no circuit racing, so for sure, heading to a narrow street track like Newcastle is a vertical learning curve, it’s huge.
“We’re not going there to be setting lap records – for our team it is an opportunity to get accustomed with the systems and how everything works, not just on track, but with Supercars and what is required of Walker Racing as a team.”
The Walker Racing entry will be engineered by Nick Ashwin, whose credits include rallying with Possum Bourne Motorsport, and is part of a 29-car Super2/Super3 field.
Practice 1 at the Newcastle East Street Circuit starts on Friday at 10:10 local time/AEDT, with a pair of 21-lap races to be held across the weekend.
