Irish Road Racing [merged]

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The Cocoa Red TT 2012 "Joey" Milk Chocolate Bar will be available from April 16th
at all the usual outlets.
20p from the sale of each bar will go to the Joey Dunlop Foundation and supplies are limited.

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Ryan Farquhar won his first 650cc Supertwin race of the season at Bishopscourt race track 6/4/12
Killalane 2011 Practice / Qualifying - YouTube

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Monster Energy TT 2012 Launch - Ryan Farquhar, Michael Dunlop and Cameron Donald - YouTube

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Monster Energy TT 2012 Launch - Ryan Farquhar, Michael Dunlop and Cameron Donald - YouTube

If it ever stops raining
Ryan Farquhar Starts 2010 Cookstown 100 Supersport Race pt1/2 - YouTube
Race Day Sat 28 April
Ryan Farquhar Wins 2010 Cookstown 100 Open Race - YouTube

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Farquhar wins Four and a second place at Cookstown 1002012 Cookstown 100 Ryan Farquhar Wins 650cc Supersport - YouTube

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Fantastic Farquhar dominates again at Cookstown 100

Ryan Farquhar opened his Irish road racing season in fantastic style on Saturday when he again dominated the Cookstown 100 road races. The KMR Kawasaki rider was in scintillating form around the 2.1-mile Orritor circuit and took 4 wins during the day including the feature Superbike event, extending his record number of wins at the event to 27. Indeed, it was a great day all round for the team with Jamie Hamilton finishing in 2nd place, behind Ryan, in the Supertwins race and also claiming two top ten results in the Superbike races.

The meeting didn't get off to the greatest of starts for Ryan though as an incident in Friday evening's practice session saw him catch his knee on a sandbag and be pulled off the side of the bike. As he fought to keep control, he also clipped a recticel barrier and not only did he hurt his knee he also bent the bottom yoke of the bike, his 2009 Superstock machine. Fortunately, it didn't stop him from racing on Saturday and, once the organisers had resolved a dispute with a local farmer, the day got off to a good start with a solid second place in the opening Superbike race behind Guy Martin.

It would prove to be his only defeat of the day and after taking a comfortable win, and new lap record, in the Moto 450 race, he led from start to finish in the Supersport 600cc race to win from William Dunlop by 4.1s. Next up was the main event of the day, the Cookstown 100 Superbike race, and the early stages saw Ryan go head to head with Martin once more although this time Ryan led the way. At half race distance his Suzuki-mounted rival outbraked himself and that allowed Ryan to complete his hat-trick and take another four second win, this time ahead of Michael Dunlop.

The day then ended for Ryan with another start to finish victory, and another lap record, this time in the Supertwins race where his winning margin over team-mate Hamilton was 7.5s, another 1-2 for the team after the same result at Scarborough the previous weekend. Hamilton also took two ninth place finishes in the two Superbike races thus meaning it was another excellent circuit debut for the 21-year old.

Speaking afterwards a delighted Ryan said: "What can I say, it's been another great day and everything's gone to plan so it's a fantastic start to the Irish road racing season. I could have done without Friday's wee mishap but it didn't create any issue for race day and we started the day with a good second. I was slightly disappointed though as there were yellow flags being shown where the farmer had the dispute with the organisers about his land and it was here where Guy overtook me so that was a shame as the rest of us were all obeying the flags. I then got stuck for a bit behind William and by the time I'd got by him, Guy was too far ahead for me to be able to do anything about him. The 450cc race was faultless and then with a great start in the 600cc race I was never headed. William came by off the line but he overshot the first corner and after that I never saw anyone again. I got a really good start in the main event and had Guy right on my tail for a few laps. He tried to overtake on about lap 5 but I was braking as late as possible so when he came up the inside, I knew he was never going to make it. After that, I was able to bring the bike home and it's great to beat all the Superbikes once more. I decided to ride my '09 Superstock bike as I know it inside out and I feel so comfortable on it that I can put it where I want to out on track. I've won tons of races on it and it never lets me down so we'll get plenty more races out of it this season. Jamie had yet another great day too and he's impressing everyone with his results, not just on the Supertwin but also on the big bike. He's been a great addition to the team and it's been a great day all round for KMR Kawasaki. There's not much time now before Tandragee so there's a lot of work to be done on the bikes whilst I also hope to be out on my Superbike for the first time this year and get a good run on it before the North West 200."

The action now moves to the Tandragee 100 road races, the meeting taking place on Saturday May 5.


Words: Phil Wain - Freelance PR

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Fantastic Farquhar and KMR Kawasaki take superb 1-2-3 at North West 200

Ryan Farquhar took a superb victory in the inaugural Supertwins race at the international North West 200 on Thursday evening and it proved to be a superb day for his KMR Kawasaki team with team-mates Jeremy McWilliams and Michael Rutter completing the podium in second and third. With Jamie Hamilton finishing in sixth place, it was a monumentous achievement by Ryan and his team, arguably one of the finest moments of his illustrious career.

The 4-lap Supertwins race was the final race on Thursday evening and the rain that had plagued much of the day returned, making tyre choice a lottery and there were all manner of combinations as the field left the line. The early part of the opening lap saw Ryan exchange places with James Hillier (whose chassis had also been prepared by Ryan) but he hit the front for good at the Magic Roundabout and was never again headed. Pulling out enough of a gap to control the race, Ryan's lead was up to 5 seconds at one stage but he maintained a gap of 2-3 seconds for the majority of the race around the 8.9-mile circuit and eventually took the chequered flag 2.9s clear of former GP ace McWilliams for his third NW200 win.

McWilliams was making his public roads debut but it never showed and the class of the GP winner could clearly be seen as he battled hard with Adrian Archibald. There was never more than inches between the two riders but on the final lap, it became a four-way battle for second with both Rutter and Hillier closing in. The quartet changed places with frequent regularity but McWilliams grabbed second at Metropole and when Hillier ran wide, Rutter was able to seize third place. Despite running with dry tyres, Rutter closed in on McWilliams along the coast road but had to settle for third although with three KMR Kawasaki's on the podium, there was joy all round. Hamilton was also in close contention for the first part of the race but dropped back to sixth by the end, which was a still a superb race on his full NW200 debut.

Speaking later, a delighted, and emotional, Ryan commented; "This is without doubt one of the best moments of my career and to be sitting here with a 1-2-3 at the North West 200 is something special. People laughed at me when I first started riding in the class but here we are now with a clean sweep of the podium and with world class riders Jeremy and Michael riding KMR Kawasaki's - it's a very special feeling. I've obviously been heavily involved in the class and knew the potential of the bikes so to see them included at the NW200 and TT in itself was superb but for me to have won today and have Jeremy, Michael and Jamie in second, third and sixth is a dream come true - I'm absolutely over the moon.
I think we've really shown today how good the class is and I'd go as far as saying it's the best win I've ever had. It was a difficult race though with the weather conditions and tyre choice was very difficult but I was happy with what I went with and once I got to the front I was able to keep a decent gap and control the race as best I could. For Jeremy to finish 2nd on his debut is unbelievable whilst what Michael did on dry tyres was equally special. It just shows what a class rider he is and at the TT he's going to be the man to beat for sure. Jamie did another great job as well and is as much a part of today's success as everyone else so we'll savour the result and whatever happens on Saturday will be a bonus
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In the earlier 6-lap Superstock race, Ryan ran in second place for much of the race but as the track dried in the final third of the race he found himself in a frantic four-rider dice for the runners-up spot. There was little to choose between Ryan, Lee Johnston, Cameron Donald and Stefano Bonetti and on the final lap the positions changed at almost every corner, the quartet sometimes approaching them four abreast! On the final run along the coast road, Ryan was back in fourth and although he tried to ride around the outside of Donald as they headed to the chequered flag, he had to settle for fourth just 0.1s behind his Australian rival. Hamilton, meanwhile, had been running on the edge of the top 20 for much of the race but was unluckily forced to retire on the final lap.

Both Ryan and Jamie will be back in action on Saturday as they contest the two Superbike races and the second Superstock event.

Words: Phil Wain - Freelance PR

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Top five finishes for Farquhar at North West 2000

Ryan Farquhar's 2012 International North West 200 campaign finished on a positive note on Saturday when he took two top five finishes from his three races. The KMR Kawasaki rider was in contention for the podium places throughout and ended with 4th in the Superstock race and 5th in the opening Superbike race around the 8.9-mile circuit.

The Superbike race was Ryan's opening race of the day and with a good start, he completed the opening lap in fourth place, riding the bike that he'd only finished building in his workshop the week before! A lap later, race leader Alastair Seeley overshot Church Corner and Ryan was up to third and just 0.4s behind fellow Kawasaki rider Michael Rutter. There was little to choose between the dicing duo and by the end of lap 4, Ryan was running in a superb 2nd although Seeley had regrouped and was now tearing his way through the field. The Suzuki rider seized second on lap 5 and the remainder of the race saw Ryan, Rutter and Cameron Donald dispute the final podium spot with the latter going on to take third as Ryan crossed the line in a solid fifth place.

The following Superstock race was even more fraught with never more than a couple of seconds between Ryan, Seeley, James Hillier and John McGuinness at the head of the field. However, Rutter had started from the second wave and it would be he who eventually won the race on corrected time, the other four riders battling for second. Positions changed all the time between Ryan, Seeley and Hillier along both the straights and going into the corners and the result was in doubt right up until the end of the six laps. On the run in to the line along the coast road, Seeley and Hillier took second and third with Ryan in fourth place, just 1.8s separating 2nd to 5th.

Ryan's final race was the feature NW200 Superbike event but after making some changes to the ZX-10R after the earlier race, the set-up wasn't quite as good and so Ryan retired from sixth place on the 4th lap. Meanwhile, team-mate Jamie Hamilton put in a strong showing on his circuit debut and was unlucky to only take one finish from his three races as brake fade and an oil leak led to retirements in the NW200 and Superstock races. He did finish in a fine 19th though in the first Superbike race.

Speaking at the end of the day, a tired, but pleased, Ryan said; "It's been another good day for me and to be fighting it out for the rostrum positions in every race was very pleasing. To be honest, it was as big a shock to me as anyone else that I was so high up in the Superbike race as the bike hadn't even turned a wheel until Tuesday's practice session! Qualifying went well with it so I didn't take it out in the wet on Thursday and with a good start to the race I was up to 2nd and battling with Michael Rutter before I knew it. It's the best Superbike I've ever ridden and with a bit more time on it, I'll be able to get it dialled in more and really challenge. The only thing that let me down in the race was my personal fitness and that's essentially what allowed some of the boys to get me on the last lap. I've worked so hard getting all the bikes ready, especially for the Supertwins race, that I haven't had time to train but the Supertwins race was my priority this week so I've no regrets.
To be riding with people like Michael, who know their bikes inside out, was very pleasing indeed whilst the Superstock race went equally as well. Sure, it would have been nice to have finished on the podium but I gave it my all and couldn't have ridden any harder. I also think I proved that I could mix it with the short circuit riders like Alastair and James who certainly excel through the slower chicanes and I should be even stronger at the TT, a track that suits me better. All in all, I'm happy with how the day went and it bodes well for the TT. Jamie had a few niggling little issues but for his first North West 200, he gave a very good account of himself and was mixing it with a lot of vastly more experienced riders so the TT's looking good for him too. We're all hoping he gets plenty of mileage in, has some good finishes and enjoys himself.
On behalf of KMR Kawasaki and myself, I'd like to express my sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mark Buckley who sadly lost his life after a crash in Saturday's Superstock race. Mark was a great competitor and I owe my 2010 Southern 100 Championship win to him as he lent me a radiator for my bike which allowed me to take the victory. He'll be sadly missed."

Ryan now heads to the Isle of Man TT Races where he'll be looking for more success, particularly in the Superstock and Supertwins categories. Practice around the Mountain Course gets underway on Saturday 26 May.


Words: Phil Wain - Freelance PR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2t3_ECiY50&feature=plcp

[Andrewmcm]

Some great racing on Saturday at the NW200. The BBC's online coverage was impressive as always.