Northern Ireland's Jeremy McWilliams recovered from a poor star to finish an impressive seventh in Sunday's Czech Republic Moto Grand Prix at Brno.

The Proton rider qualified 12th for the race but a bad start saw him dropping to 17th by the end of the opening lap.

However, McWilliams recovered brilliantly to move steadily up the field and equal his best finish of the season - just over 24 seconds behind winner Max Biaggi.

The Northern Ireland man also came in seventh in the previous race in Germany.

McWilliams' Proton team-mate Nobuatsu Aoki crashed out midway through the race.

Biaggi claimed victory to give Yamaha their first win of a season that has been dominated by Honda.

Daijiro Katoh, riding a Honda, took second while his compatriot Tohru Ukawa was third.

Championship leader Valentino Rossi was in second place during the race when he had to retire because of a tyre problem.