Jeremy McWilliams on the Harris Yamaha at the Phillip Island Classic meeting in January

McWilliams, who is gearing up for another tilt at Supertwin glory at the North West 200 with Ryan Farquhar’s KMR/SGS Kawasaki team, needs no introduction as a former 250cc Grand Prix winner who has shared the rostrum with the great Valentino Rossi after finishing third in the 500cc British GP in 2000.

He proved his versatility by sealing his maiden road racing victory at the North West in 2013 and earned more respect from the roads diehards by tackling an Irish national meeting on the country roads around Armoy later the same year, finishing second in the Supertwin race behind Jamie Hamilton.

Yet McWilliams’ decision to compete at Tandragee is perhaps the most surprising of all, with the notorious 5.3-mile County Armagh circuit earning a deserved reputation as the most challenging track on the national calendar.

The Glengormley man, though, is typically pragmatic in his approach as he prepares to join Farquhar on Roger Winfield’s 1300cc Harris F1 Yamaha machines in the Forgotten Era race at Tandragee.

“I’m going there with the bike that we race at the Phillip Island Classic meeting, so the idea is that we’ll use Tandragee as a bit of a test because we’d experienced some problems with the bike in Australia,” he told the News Letter.

“I’ve kind of talked about doing Tandragee for the past couple of years and Ryan has been coaxing me to come along and he speaks very highly of the event, otherwise I wouldn’t even consider it. He’s telling me how good it is so I’ll have to go and experience it.

“I’m not really going there with any expectations or any views of approaching it with a view of taking it on as a future event or anything, but Roger Winfield is bringing the Yamahas over that Ryan and I use at the Phillip Island Classic.

“Obviously Ryan has had talks going on between the organisers to showcase the bikes that we use at Phillip Island and to see those bikes - 1300cc air-cooled Yamahas - out there will be a big draw for people to come and see them first hand.”

McWilliams may also use the opportunity to ride the KMR/SGS Kawasaki Supertwin at Tandragee as a test before the North West.

“There’s nothing planned at the moment on the twin [at Tandragee] but we’ll see how things go,” he said.

“I’ve got time on my hands some weekends now compared to previous years and it’s great because I can experience different things and have some fun.”

A terrific line-up at Tandragee also includes Keith Amor on the Rig Deluge BMW, new Wilson Craig Honda signing Derek McGee and Jamie Hamilton on John Burrows’ B.E. Racing machines.

Entries for the event, which takes place on Saturday, May 2, close on Good Friday.

Kyle White