Walker replaced by Shell Advance.

Further to the earlier story that Chris Walker was to miss the German Grand Prix for health reasons, it now transpires that the British rider has been stood down by his Shell Advance Honda team.

A brief statement from Walker's management team last night claimed that the former superbike rider had been replaced in the team for this weekend's Sachsenring round - and possibly for the rest of the season - after struggling to come to terms with the switch to 500cc GP machines. Walker has not been able to race with full fitness for the entire first half of the year, and suffered a severe concussion at Assen just three weeks ago.

The announcement that he would not be riding in Germany has come as something of a shock to the rider, who feels now that he has not been treated fairly by the team which tempted him away from a works Suzuki ride in superbikes.

The full statement from Walker's manager reads as follows:

"In a continuation of his torrid debut GP season, Chris Walker has been replaced in the Shell Advance Honda team for this weekend's German GP.

Despite his injury-hit first half of the season, Chris was feeling 100 per cent fit and ready for the weekend when he received a call from Jeff Hardwick just hours before setting off for the Sachsenring.

Chris is enormously disappointed with the team's decision, especially considering the fact that he negotiated a two-year contract in order to be able to use the first season as a 'learning year', without the added pressure of having to produce immediate results. He feels that the team has not supported him through what has been a very difficult period with injuries suffered in Suzuka, Barcelona and Assen, the lack of testing time available to him, and the very limited range of set-up changes he is able to make on the bike. He also feels that he has been made to suffer for the poor financial position of the team and its lack of experience at the highest level.

Chris commented "I knew it would be very hard for me to come into MotoGP and make an impact in a year when records are being broken at every circuit and I was having to learn to ride a new bike on new tyres at a new circuit every week. However, with right support from my team I knew that it would only be a matter of time before I was riding at a competitive level. Unfortunately, the team have not been true to their word and have decided to replace me without really giving me the time to adapt to riding a 500, which was an agreed part of my original deal. I?m devastated. I?m going to go away for a few days, think about my options and come back ready to face some new challenges".

Negotiations are already underway with a number of teams who are keen to utilise his experience on 4-stroke machines, and we expect to be able to make an announcement about his future in MotoGP very soon."

Australian teenager Brett Clarke has been mooted as a possible replacement for Walker this weekend, while the Briton's young team-mate Leon Haslam was spotted testing Walker's V4 bike at both Donington and Snetterton recently.