Walker, 23 from London, will line up on the grid at the wheel of an SR1 entered by the Matthew Bentley Racing team. Walker only began racing an Elise in the Lotus Cup UK last year, and soon switched to Radicals with a one-off outing in the SR1 Cup season finale at Brands Hatch. He impressed with his pace and ease of adaption to the 182bhp SR1. After qualifying fifth overall in his first timed session, he went on to take a best finish of fourth place.
Mackenzie comes from a prodigious racing family, with the legacy of competition stretching back to his grandfather, Ian Walker, whose eponymous racing organisation was considered as the ‘B team’ to the Lotus factory under the reign of marque founder Colin Chapman. Ian Walker would run several iterations of Lotus sports cars for drivers like Graham Hill, Jim Clark and Peter Arundell, and once even sold Chapman his house.
Mackenzie’s father, Sean Walker, competed in single-seaters, most notably British Formula 3, before graduating into the British Touring Car Championship, and later, historic classes. Being a third-generation racer, Mackenzie Walker is excited to get underway and has identified a fresh opportunity to make his mark in the sport.
“I’m really quite proud to be racing with Radical full-time this year, and to continue the family history of competing in this sport,” he said.
“I did a bit of karting when I was younger, but decided to pursue rugby instead, but I broke my shoulder three times and opted to try something else. Ian Flux [long-time Radical instructor] is a good family friend and suggested I had a test day with him, so I did and I just loved it and I’ve been pursing the sport since then.
“I enjoyed the Lotus, but the Radical SR1 really appealed to me and my end goal is to compete at the Le Mans 24 Hours because it’s pretty much the only big race left that nobody in my family has competed in yet. It’s sort of this glaring box that needs ticking.
“I learned a lot from my first SR1 race last year. It’s similar in layout to the Lotus, but the SR1 is much lighter, has more power-to-weight and also the downforce to learn about. In the wet it felt familiar to the Lotus, but in the dry the speed and grip is immense.
“The lads at Matthew Bentley Racing looked after my Lotus last year and I trust them, so I’m very happy to stay with them for the SR1. I’m new to it, and they’re new to it, but we’re confident we can get our heads around the car quickly and be competitive. I want to be fighting for podiums this year, and then we’ll see where we can get to in the championship.”
The opening round of the Radical SR1 Cup takes place at Oulton Park on Saturday, April 20, with two races in support of the prestigious British GT and Formula 3 championships.