JOSH DAY capped a fine debut at the North West 200 with two top-20 finishes – but the event was marred by the death of rider Malachi Mitchell-Thomas.

The young British rider was killed in a Supertwin race on the Saturday and the remainder of the racing programme was cancelled.

Crank Racing rider Day had finished 19th in Saturday’s Supersport race and 16th in the Superstock race aboard two different bikes after a hectic week of road racing in Northern Ireland.

Day was piloting the team’s Kawasaki ZX10-R in Superstock and his own Yamaha R6 in the Supersport race.

Day had a frustrating start in Thursday evening's first Supersport race when his chain snapped on the opening lap forcing him to retire.

The Superstock race was postponed until Saturday morning giving Day's team all of Friday to work on various mechanical gremlins.

Day got a strong start in Saturday's Supersport race and worked his way through the field to finish 19th.

Jumping straight on to the bigger Kawasaki, Day rode a faultless Superstock race to cross the line in an impressive 16th.

However the day was tragically brought to an early close following the death of Mitchell-Thomas.

Swindon-based Day reflected: “It’s been an emotional week on many levels but it was also a fantastic experience.

“In the final two laps of Superstock I had an issue and I had to just nurse the bike home. I feel had that not happened a top-15 would definitely have been on the cards but I’m still happy with the results.

“This year was always going to be about learning the course, the event, and what we need to be competitive in the future. I will definitely be coming back next year, it’s been an amazing experience.”