North West 200: Kamil Holan ‘best man’ as tribute to Superbike rider after death

Belgian rider Laurent Hoffmann has paid tribute to a “good friend” of Camille Hollan, who died after crashing in the North West 200 on Thursday, describing him as “genuine, friendly and always kind”.

Holan, 48, crashed at Station Corner in the morning’s opening Superbike qualifier at the Northern Ireland event.

It makes him the first fatality in an international road race since Malachy Mitchell-Thomas was killed in the Supertwins race in 2016, and the 20th in the event’s 97-year history.

Hoffmann, who will compete in Saturday’s race schedule, contacted Holan’s family and explained that the late Czech rider was taking part in the event to honor his late father, who had recently passed away.

“He’s Czech and my wife is from the Czech Republic, so we were friends and got along great,” Hoffman said of Holan.

“He was genuine, friendly and always kind – a good friend with a good heart and a very good rider. I can’t say anything bad about him – he was just the best guy.

“He’s a friend but he was standing next to us in his awning (in the Northwest 200 paddock).

“Also since I brought a lorry here, we took a lot of Ryder’s stuff from Europe and his stuff was there too, so I heard it was a very bitter pill to swallow.”