Ballyclare’s Jamie Hamilton has set up a Pitbike race team to help fill his time as he continues the long road to recovery following his crash at the Isle of Man TT.

Hamilton will run Conor Parkhill and Glenn McCormick in the MMRCI GP winter series, with the team in action at Saturday’s second round of the five-round mini-championship at Aghadowey.

The 24-year-old was seriously hurt in a crash at the end of the Cronk-y-Voddy straight near the 11th Milestone in the Senior TT in June, which caused the race to be red-flagged.

Hamilton is making steady progress after suffering head injuries plus a badly broken arm and leg but admitted he had been ‘feeling down’ lately as he contemplates a lengthy lay-off from the sport.

“I’ve been a bit down lately after not being about racing and after chatting with a few friends they suggested that I run someone in the winter GP Pitbike series,” Hamilton said.

“Instead of running a single rider I thought that as I’ve a couple of bikes lying in the garage I could run two riders.

“So I contacted Connor Parkhill and Glenn McCormick and both agreed immediately. There could very well be a third bike on the grid in my colours as there’s a possibility of either Glenn Irwin or Andy Reid joining the team for future rounds of the series,” added Hamilton, who competed in the series himself last year.

“For me this is an exciting time and I can’t wait until Saturday to get the whole thing underway.”

The entry at Aghadowey includes Carrick man Glenn Irwin, BJ Toal, Kevin Keyes, Eugene McManus, Seamus Elliott and Jordan McCord, who won last time out.

Practice starts at 10am with racing from 12 noon. Four races each are scheduled for the Pitbikes and Mini GP machines. Admission is free.

Kyle White