Rizla confirms Walker capture.

Having been ousted from his World Superbike ride with the PSG-1 Kawasaki squad, Chris Walker will return to the Bennetts British Superbike Championship for the first time since 2000 after concluding a deal to join Rizla Suzuki.

Despite taking a dramatic victory at Assen, his maiden WSBK win, Walker was unable to retain his ride with the PSG-1 team when the downsizing squad elected to re-sign Fonsi Nieto and Regis Laconi, with the Briton switching his focus to securing one of the vacant Rizla seats following the departure of Shane Bryne and James Haydon.

Walker earned his place alongside Cal Crutchlow in the new look line-up on the back of a fine ride on the Suzuki GSX-R1000 during the Race of the Year at Mallory Park earlier this month, when he stormed to victory ahead of Crutchlow in his first race on the bike.

With a deal now done for 2007 to spearhead the team's BSB challenge, the 34-year-old said he was thrilled to be back.

"I am absolutely made-up to have signed on the dotted line to be a Rizla Suzuki BSB rider in 2007," the 'stalker' said. "I think just about everyone knew how much I wanted the ride, it was number one on my wish list and I couldn't be any happier than I am right now.

"The Rizla Suzuki team was exceptional at Mallory Park, providing me with the platform to win the race despite years away from the circuit and having to get used to a new bike and Dunlop tyres. The performance of the 2006 GSX-R1000 I rode was mind blowing and just made me want to be a part of the team even more.

"I had a nervous week after Mallory Park waiting for the phone to ring but now it is all confirmed and it is a huge relief. My heartfelt thanks go to the team, Crescent Suzuki - and to Suzuki GB in particular - for their faith in me."

Prior to making the move into MotoGP with the Shell Advance Honda team in 2001, Walker finished second in the BSB standings for four successive seasons and he will aim to fight at the front once again on his return.

However, he was quick to point out the challenges that lie ahead, and said that his new BSB ride would be equally as hard as competing on the World stage.

"The scale of the task before me and Rizla Suzuki is immense," he continued. "I have watched the BSB championship during the last couple of years and the competition is fierce and of extremely high quality. Given the level of riders and factory-backed machinery, I'd say it could be every bit as difficult as winning in World Superbikes.

"The big difference for me is I will be with Rizla Suzuki on a factory bike and that gives me great hope. The hard work starts now in preparation for the 2007 British Superbike Championship with a test at Valencia next week. We have a new bike to develop before the season starts.

"To all the Stalker fans in the UK: I'm coming home and can't wait to be racing in front of you, I hope you are looking forward to joining me on the next step of the adventure with Rizla Suzuki."

The decision to partner Walker and Crutchlow for the new season sees Rizla elect to go for a mixture of youth and experience, with team manager Simon Buckmaster confident that his outfit have secured the correct line-up for 2007 after a difficult year of competition that yielded just one win, when Byrne won race two at Knockhill.

"Chris really wanted to race for Rizla Suzuki and his positive, hard-riding, never-give-up attitude at Mallory Park's Race of the Year convinced us he was the right person for the job," Buckmaster said.

"With his experience and ability matched with Cal's raw enthusiasm and talent, we have what we believe is a very strong team for 2007."