Keith’s first race was at Knockhill with a 7th and 8th in the two Scottish Championship races. At the second round he claimed a couple of third places and by mid season at East Fortune Keith took his first win and by the end of the season he had won the ACU Clubmans Championship. For the next three years he was working in South Africa so it wasn’t till 2005 that Keith started again winning the Scottish Sports Production Championship but even more impressive was finishing 9th in the Superstock race at the North West 200 as a newcomer.

In 2006 at the North West 200 in only Keith’s third racing season he qualified 3^rd in practice with a 6th in the race, followed by a 10th in the second Superbike race riding his Superstock bike. Keith’s passion for the roads continued as he secured a win in the Thursday Dundrod 150 Challenge and a 10th in the Superbike race. Then a 5th in the UGP Superstock race, finishing in the top ten in the feature Superbike race, claiming a fastest race lap (126.272mph) making him the fastest newcomer ever to have lapped the 7.4mile Dundrod circuit.

For 2007 Keith joined Uel Duncan’s Honda Racing team and at the first road race of the season, Cookstown 100, Keith took the win in the Open race with a close second in the Supersport 600cc race and then a commendable second in the Grand Final. He followed up with two 3^rd places at Tandragee in the Open and Supersport 600cc races. The North West 200 brought a 9th in the first Superbike race, 5th in the Supersport race and a 6th place in the Superbike race.

Keith made his Isle of Man TT debut in 2007 and by the end of practice he had lapped just under 122mph. In the opening Superbike race he finished 14^th and 18th in the Superstock with which he won his second bronze replica and a superb 12^th place in the Supersport race achieving his first silver replica. In the final race of the week (Senior) Keith set an opening lap of 124.856mph which made him the second fastest newcomer ever, it ended disappointedly when the clutch gave way as he exited the pits while in 9th place.

A few weeks later Keith and the Uel Duncan Racing team went there separate ways, so Keith funded a 600cc Honda rented off Padgett’s for a couple of the British Supersport rounds but it wasn’t long before he was snapped up by the AIM Racing team for the Ulster Grand Prix.

At Dundrod he qualified on the front row for all of his races and he started well with a seventh place in the Dundrod 150 Superbike race where he finished a good 5th in the Supersport race and in the Superbike race Keith was in 8^th position when it was red flagged due to terrible weather.

2008 Keith signed for the Wilson Craig Honda team. At the first meeting the Cookstown 100 with only his 600 to ride he finished 3rd in both Open 1000cc races and a start to finish win in the Supersport 600 class beating the class lap record by over 2 seconds and even more remarkably, he broke the outright lap record for the circuit.

At the North West 200 and after a practice crash, he concentrated on the Superstock and 600cc Honda’s where he qualified 1st and 2nd respectively and he was also inside the top ten in the Superbike class despite being up against the more powerful factory machines.

Keith’s finished 10^th in the first Superbike race of the day followed by a 5th in both Supersport 600cc races and Superstock race and only 1.4 seconds behind the winner. Then a 7th in the Superbike race on the same Superstock machine lapping at 122.381mph, beating the Superstock lap record.

During the TT, Keith’s fortnight didn’t quite go to plan with machine problems but he did manage a 7th in the opening Superbike and a fantastic 3rd in the first Supersport 600 race. Wins continued to follow at Knockhill, Athea, Kells and Faugheen Killane. He finished off his highly successful season with a victory in the 600cc class of the Macau Grand Prix riding the AIM Racing 600 Yamaha by a convincing 25 seconds to claim his first ever International race win.

As you can see, after only racing for five seasons, Keith has shown he can ride with the best of them and has certainly got what the sport requires. We caught up with him before his 2009 season starts at Mondello Park:-

What have you been doing during the off season?

In the off season I was in Oz with Cameron Donald for a bit, we had a great track day at Philip Island - saw the New Year in in Sydney and went to California to start training after that.

Have you done any fitness training to support your racing?

I was motocross training with Billy Mackenzie and Tommy Searle in California. .

What type of training have you been doing?

For fitness training as such I do motocross, gym work and running

Are you happy with your present level of fitness?

Pretty happy with the present level of fitness, having said that, my 'off' at Cartagena a couple of weeks ago - landing on my head - didn't really help!

Were you happy with your 2008 season?

I was reasonably pleased with the 2008 season but disappointed not to have had better results at the internationals.

Who are your sponsors for the season?

Sponsors are: Wilson Craig (the team is Wilson Craig Racing), Honda, Annandale Engineering, Macleay Motor Engineering, Kojak Racing, Dunlop, Leo Vince, Scott Leathers, Blytheswood Group, Arai, UTAG, Regina Chains, Pazzo, B+C Express, Powerbronze, TCX, Speedycom, VanTech, Site Sealants, BPE, Terrapin Awnings

What bike(s) are you riding?

Bikes are 2009 Honda’s - Superbike, Superstock and 600.

What and when is your first outing?

First outing is this weekend at Mondello for the Masters series.

What are top priority meetings for 2009?

Priorities for this season are the NW 200, TT, Ulster GP, Kells and possibly the Southern 100.

Runner up spots in both the Open and Supersport Irish National Road Race Championships, in your first full season on the public roads and with more circuit knowledge, how confident are you of winning your first Irish Road Race title this year?

Irish titles for this year?… I feel reasonably confident that I can do a good job, but there is always the element of luck in the racing game.

After a good North West 200 in 08, a practice crash on the Tuesday night and finishing three races in the top six, what are your expectations for this year?

Expectations for the NW200 - Having qualified on the front row last year it was disappointing not to convert that into podium finishes. This year I would hope for some serious results.

At the TT with a rostrum finish in only your second time there you must be confident to add to rostrum finishes, what would you be happy with this year?

The TT - well, a couple of wins and a couple of podiums would be good!

Winning the 600cc class at Macau, what are the chance’s we will see you on a Superbike there this year?

Macau - really enjoyed the time there last year, as for this year - watch this space!

What are your aims for the future?

For the future - well, at this point my primary objective is to win the internationals and I would like to consider World Endurance also in the future.

Are you a close follower of Motogp or World Superbikes, if so who do you tip for the titles this year?

For WSB - I would tip Ben Spies and possibly one J Rea for the Superbikes and Eugene, possibly Andrew Pitt for the 600s.

For MotoGP - Rossi.

Paddock gossip would like to thank Keith for taking the time to talk with us. We wish him lots of success in the future.

Photographs supplied by Alan Armstrong Photography