Jeremy McWilliams secured two top ten positions for Mar-Train Racing at this year’s North West 200 after standing in at the last minute for injured Dan Kneen.

McWilliams improved significantly with every session and qualified all three bikes (supersport, superstock and superbike) in the front group for the races, itself an impressive effort given the limited miles he had on the bikes.

In the first superstock race the fifty-two-year-old fought off the attentions of former lap record holder Horst Saiger for the duration of the race to finish in a fine eighth place with a fastest lap of 119.185mph. In the following superbike race the former grand prix rider joined the North West 200 200mph club when he went through the speed trap on his YZF-R1M Yamaha at 201.6mph on his way to securing his second top ten of the day in tenth place.

Team Principal – Tim Martin

“We never seem to have any luck for the North West 200 and this year was no different with Dan’s injury on Friday. Thankfully Jeremy was able to step in and he has given a very good account of himself given the lack of practice. He proved our bikes are strong which was the main aim, two top ten results and some fantastic speed trap times on all three machines give us confidence that our package is good going to the TT. I would like to thank Jeremy for standing in and doing a good job for us, there are not too many riders who could have done this for us.

Rider – Jeremy McWilliams

“I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to run inside the top ten without stepping outside my comfort zone on the Mar-Train bikes. It was a case of chipping away and we did that in each session making big improvements every time. I was building up for the races later in the day where I was hoping to get away with the lead group and try for a top six finish in the feature race, obviously that didn’t happen with the very unfortunate incident in the Supertwin race, I would have liked to have given the team a better result. I have enjoyed my week with the team, the bikes are really strong and I hope they have a good TT with Dan. The news at the end of the day was of course terribly sad, Malachi was a very talented young rider who had a bright future in the sport and will be sorely missed. My thoughts are with his family circle, John, Rachael and all involved with the BE Engineering team at this time.”

Everyone at Mar-Train racing would like to express their sympathy regarding the announcement following this afternoon’s crash. 

All our thoughts are with Malachi’s family and friends as well as the entire Burrows Engineering race team at this time.