Walker offered Honda GP ride.

British Superbike rider Chris Walker is hotly tipped to land a MotoGP seat next season, after an approach from the Shell Advance team.

The 28-year old was cruelly robbed of the BSB title when his engine blew up at the final round, leaving him to trudge disconsolately back to the pits and contemplate his future in the domestic championship. A podium finish at the Brands Hatch WSBK finale the following weekend persuaded the Suzuki rider that his next campaign had to lie on the international stage, but most experts believed that this would mean the WSBK rather than MotoGP.

Now, however, it has emerged that the Shell Advance team, currently in the throes of moving up from GP250 to GP500, has offered Walker a seat alongside Tohru Ukawa - at the expense of Japanese favourite Tetsuya Harada. Honda racing advisor - and five-times world champion - Mick Doohan has been campaigning hard for a Briton to be given a top line ride in the grand prix series and, although Walker is keeping his options open at the moment, is hoping that a deal can be arranged between the two parties.

Walker is keen to hear what Suzuki is prepared to offer him for 2001, having spent the past season campaigning one of its machines in the UK. A move to the world stage is one possibility, with his National Tyres-backed team having spoken about potential graduation alongside the GSE Ducati outfit next year.

Walker is also understood to have received offers from the Red Bull WSBK team, and an unidentified team in the US Superbike series, but is thought to have narrowed his options to those from Honda and Suzuki.