Jeremy McWilliams’s career started for serious in 1990, 18 years ago! Not many riders last as long as McWill, and particularly not when he as a 42 year old rode for Ilmor in the premium MotoGP class only last year. Jezza have over the years sacrificed his ring-finger, broken every rib in his body, femur, both collar bones twice and the list is endless… All in the name of motorcycle sport. In 2008 McWill will work with two young riders competing in the Junior SSK600 championship and as a road tester with Tor Sagen.
Interview by Tor Sagen
1. Highlights from the 250GP, 500GP, 990 MotoGP and 800 MotoGP? What will you never forget?
JM: Too many highlights to recall but '98 German 250GP, fin 2nd to Harada. Rossi and Cap were 3rd and 4th and I had to come from a long way back on a privateer 250 Optimum Power sponsored Honda. 500GP (Aprilia 500 twin) leading the British GP for '12laps' over Rossi and finished 3rd - Dunlop’s went away on last couple of laps and KR jr. slipped through, but I enjoyed that race. Pole position on the KR3 at Phillip Island came close and it still holds the outright lap record for 2 strokes at more than one circuit and for fastest stroker over race distance, so that bike was pretty special to me. The most difficult bike ever to ride was the 990Aprilia 3-cylinder Cube, that was brutal! I should really mention the 250 GP win at Assen in 2001 as well. Good tyre choice and against the team’s wishes I stayed with Intermediates...
2. Where do you see yourself in 10 years from now?
JM: In ten years I hope to still be working in the industry, I'm working with two young riders this year that’ll be competing in the European Junior SSK 600 championship. So if that works out we hope to build on success.
3. Now that all the MotoGP teams have started testing again, are you aching to ride a MotoGP bike again?
JM: There's nothing that comes close to riding MotoGP, but at some stage we have to accept that the time comes to do other things - unfortunately!
4. How is the test schedule of a MotoGP bike? Is everything tested by the teams and their top riders, or do the factories do pre-testing on their own circuits with anonymous riders?
JM: All the teams I’ve worked with do all the testing with the top riders, which is pretty hectic, some of the factories have designated test teams but mainly to test alongside the official ones. It's hard to tell exactly how much some of the Japanese factories actually get up to but it's probably day in day out on tracks and rolling road dyno's.
JM: Every team I've worked or tested for always had something others hadn't, Buell was pretty unique in their own way, I had lots of fun racing and testing for them. Erik and the guys work hard and know how to enjoy themselves doing that.
6. In 2008 you have agreed to do some launch work with me. The Ducati 1098R launch coming up, what are your thoughts about this side of the motorcycle industry? From the road testers point of view rather than the MotoGP star?
JM: To work as a columnist I know that the piece has got to be different, I won’t read something that doesn't jump out of the page and I think an article needs to be honest. I don’t always believe everything I read, it's more important to be impartial than to make a test sound better than it actually was! I'll need to ride the bike like it will be ridden daily, difficult for me, but I'll also be riding the wheels of it to get a perspective of what the 1098R is really capable of.
7. Can you give me a statement ahead of the 1098R launch?
JM: Looking forward to trying the R as I was impressed with the standard 1098 when I rode it.
8. Your wife and children must think that you are unbreakable, or?
JM: Injury was part of the job, I get over it without too much fuss as I don’t get much sympathy!
9. Tell us about your snowboard crash recently? What happened and where?
JM: I just smashed my face up snowboarding in Italy, it was the last run of the week and I was trying to beat some mates who've been skiing for 40 years (I'm relatively new to snow), just as I caught them I caught an edge and face planted - pic attached. (Taken in Courmayuer, the guy in other pic is Giacamo who's a big race fan and we drank a few bottles of his best red at his restaurant and had a burn on his Arctic Cat - 160hp)
10. You are an extremely fit 44 year-old. How long can you keep up the action lifestyle before the injuries catch up with you?
JM: Not 44 until April but I've been very lucky with fitness levels and injuries that haven't compromised my lifestyle, still ride enduro, trials or whatever most Sundays, we'll stay out for most of the day and carry enough fuel for about 3 fills-not for the light hearted. More extreme…
11. Injury CV:
JM: This sounds like I've had a hard time but I've been racing since 1990!
Femur (broken and pinned), collar bone - both x2(one plate), ribs - (most of them), shoulder blade, knee cartridge, various finger dislocations, breaks, grafts and one amputation and some other minor ones that aren't worth mentioning.
TS: That amputation was your ring finger... The Missus alright with that?
JM: No problem, I never wore that ring anyhow!!
12. Apart from being a MotoGP rider and testing exotic new superbikes at world launches, what is your dream job at present?
JM: Professional footballer/manager, over paid and good health care!!
Exclusive: Jeremy McWilliams rates the KTM RC8 1190 on film!
Watch the ex-MotoGP hero from Belfast rate the 2008 KTM RC8 1190 from the Ascari circuit in Spain. Jezza analyses the RC8. Watch what he had to say below. TS
The Ultimate Ducati 1098R film! Jezza does a 1:49.5 on Jerez!
Our man, Ex-MotoGP god Jeremy McWilliams impressed everyone at Jerez when he lapped the brand new Ducati 1098R in the 1:50's on standard tyres. He even did a 1:49.50 in traffic before flying back to Belfast writing his copy. In the below video you can witness two consecutive 1:51's battling it out with Ducati Xerox factory rider Michel Fabrizio. Jezza was on treaded Pirelli's whilst Fabrizio was on slicks. Enjoy!
