Ilmor signs Jezza and Pitt

Jeremy McWilliams got an early Christmas present and a huge lift after his broken leg nightmare, when it was confirmed that he will definitely make a shock return to the MotoGP  championship in 2007.

The 42-year-old has signed a deal with the Northamptonshire-based Ilmor squad to partner Andrew Pitt on the new X3 V4 800cc machine when the new season kicks off in Qatar on March 10.

McWilliams has tested twice for the team – run by Formula One engineer Mario Illien – and has secured a full-time return to MotoGP for the first time since 2004, despite suffering multiple injuries, including a broken left femur, in Jerez last month.

McWilliams impressed Illien and was seen as a key element in helping develop and move the Ilmor project forward as a host of riders were linked with a ride on the X3, including other British riders Chaz Davies, Leon Haslam and Shane Byrne.

McWilliams said: “I feel ecstatic. It’s an unbelievable chance and one that I really aim to make the most of.  I started to doubt whether I’d ever be in MotoGP again and that’s why I’m so over the moon.”

Pitt secured the second ride having been bombed out of Yamaha’s World Superbike squad, leaving Garry McCoy out in the cold, even though he raced the X3 into the points as a wildcard in Estoril and Valencia.