Jeremy McWilliams 'under no illusions' as former Grand Prix winner prepares for full season in Ulster Superbike Championship

The former 250 and MotoGP star will continue riding for Jason McCaw’s J McC Roofing Racing Team this season, with the North West 200 in May also top priority for the Glengormley man.

McWilliams has a number of machines at his disposal, including a stunning Ducati Panigale V2, and remains as motivated as ever to achieve the best results he can against his younger rivals.

“What we’ll do is we’ll look at the first couple of rounds and see what’s best,” said McWilliams ahead of the first USBK round at Bishopscourt on April 5.

“There’s a number of bikes at our disposal and we’ve got the Ducati Panigale V2 and a Supertwin is on its way, mainly for the North West 200.

“We’ve also three days’ testing with J McC Racing also before the second round which will help, and that will determine what the priority is.

“But of course Ulster Superbikes is a priority and there’s a number of good riders in there, and it’s a case of me slotting into that championship again.

“It’s been a year since I’ve been in a full-time championship; I was in MotoAmerica in 2023, so it’s just picking two classes and seeing what we can make of that.

“And of course it helps me because it’s good preparation for the North West in April and the idea is to take part in all those Ulster Superbike races before then.”

McWilliams, who will be 61 in April, became the first British rider in 15 years to clinch a GP victory in any of the solo classes when he triumphed in the 250 race at Assen in the Netherlands in 2001.

The vastly experienced Ulster rider boasts a world-class racing pedigree but at this remarkable stage in his career, McWilliams says he will be ‘pretty pleased’ if he is challenging around the top three in the domestic championship for McCaw’s Bangor-based team.

“It’s a while since I’ve been around all of those rounds so I’m not sure what to expect just yet,” he said.

“In the last couple of years I’ve been taking part in maybe one or two of them, just dipping in and dipping out, so I think obviously finding my feet and getting up to speed early on is paramount to try to have a couple of good championships out of this.

“There’s some very, very talented young riders and I’m under no illusions on how difficult it’s going to be to try and get up around that top three. If that’s possible, then I’ll be pretty pleased.

“The Sunflower was well attended and it seemed to be very, very competitive racing, so I’m looking forward to getting stuck back into that.”

On his return to the North West 200, McWilliams says he is lured back each year by the event’s unique appeal and because he remains competitive at Northern Ireland’s top road race.

“I’ve had a couple of good wins on Supertwins and I can’t remember how many podiums, but that’s what kept me coming back: it’s knowing that you can be competitive and enjoy the racing,” said the three-time winner.

“As soon as you stop enjoying it you’ll ever come back, but I thoroughly enjoy it as do the other riders who compete at the North West 200.

“It’s a very special place to race at and over the whole week, with the way it works out with the amount of time we have on track and gaps in between for service work and preparation, really seems to work – or it does for us anyway.

“I’m just looking forward to getting back to it again and it would be lovely to be on that V2 Ducati that J McC Racing have bought, which would hopefully be a step up again from where we were at last year in the Supersport category.

“We’ve something nice coming along for the Supertwin category too and I guess the idea is to be competitive in both.”