Bermuda's Antoine Richards saw his professional motorcycle racing debut end in a crash at the famed Daytona International Speedway yesterday when he went down after coming out of a corner on the third lap of the 12-lap race in the East Coast Top Gun SuperSport class.

But Richards, who has just been taken on by the Celtic Racing Team, said he has put the crash behind him and is ready to go in his second race at Daytona today.

Taking the crash in his stride, Richards said: "Everyone crashes at some point no matter how good you are."

Before the crash Richards was going very well around the speedway which is famed for its high-banks which can see bikes reach breathtaking speeds.

Richards said: "I was going around and I was in the top 10 – I think I was in ninth place – when I crashed. It was a pretty bad crash but I walked away.

"However the bike is not bad – we have another race tomorrow and the bike will be ready for that race."

The race was over 12 laps and Richards said: "I crashed on the third lap. I was going about 70 mph and I had gassed ita little early coming out of a corner and the rear wheel came out."

While he may have been a little shaken immediately after the crash, Richards said later: "Right now I wish I had another session (on the track) – go out and do the laps. I am thinking about how I can adjust tomorrow so what happened today doesn't happen tomorrow. I am glad I walked away today but I am no more fearful because the crash happened. I just want to make sure I do better tomorrow.

"Mentally I feel strong – I didn't get that shaken up. I have been there before – I have crashed before. It is something that happens in this sport. You just have to accept it and get on with it. If anything I am a little bit positive going into tomorrow because I know where I stand. I know that I am fast enough to be in the top ten. My lap times were in the top 10 and tomorrow it is a matter of making it through the race."

Richards said the track measures 2.9 miles and his lap times were 1.48 minutes.

Before setting out for Daytona, Richards, who has only been racing seriously for a few years, spoke of his happiness of being taken on by the Celtic Racing Team which has a reputation of developing top road racing talent.

The team have two entries at Daytona – Richards and American P.J. Jacobsen who is in the Daytona SportBike class. Jacobsen is a talented 16-year old from upstate New York and like Richards this year marks his first full season of professional competition.

Richards said: "Racing in the United States for a team like Celtic Racing is exactly where I want to be right now. The level of talent in the States is very high and I'm here to gauge myself against that talent and push myself to new levels. I recently got to test my new Suzuki GSX-R 600 and meet the team and it's made me even more anxious to get the season underway. The crew is great and the bike is fast so we'll get out there this week and get this season underway!