Farquhar takes Southern 100 Championship

Using Maxton's GP30 fork cartridges and GP10 rear shock, Ryan Farquhar’s tremendous 2010 road racing season continued this week when the Dungannon rider claimed the annual Southern 100 Championship title on the Isle of Man. Held on the 4.25-mile Billown course, Ryan took victory in Thursday’s feature race to get his name back on the trophy for the first time since 2003 whilst he also added three more victories to his account during the course of the four day festival.

The KMR Kawasaki rider opened his week with third place in Tuesday’s Senior race, which was held in wet weather, although he was lucky to stay on board after fellow countryman Michael Pearson crashed behind him on the final lap. The sliding machine forced Ryan to mount a kerb at around 70mph, breaking the front rim, and the race was subsequently red flagged, the result being taken at the end of the fifth lap.

Wednesday’s racing again started wet but dried up as the evening wore on and Ryan chalked up his first win of the week with a convincing win in the Mini Twins race. The race was held alongside the 250cc machines and, such was Ryan’s pace, he was able to finish third overall only beaten by the 250cc Hondas of William Dunlop and Chris Palmer! He was then back out on his Superstock Kawasaki for the second Senior race and he left the field trailing firmly in his wake eventually taking the chequered flag 23 seconds clear of his nearest rival! He rounded the evening off with 4th place in the 600cc race.

Thursday saw the final race action and Ryan was able to go one better in the second 600cc race as he took third place behind the Yamahas of Michael and William Dunlop. The second Mini Twins race was a lot closer this time around but Ryan had everything under control on his 650cc ER6 Kawasaki and came home ahead of Roy Richardson for his third win of the week. That just left the main Southern 100 Championship race and a good start saw Ryan running in the front pack with the Superbike machines of Michael Dunlop and Cameron Donald.

He soon fought his way through to the front and had opened up a near 3-second lead by lap 5 when the red flag came out for a crash involving Michael Dunlop, although the young Ulsterman was fortunately uninjured. That meant a two-part race, which was good news for Ryan as, when he pulled in after the red flag, he found out that there was a hole in the radiator which would never have lasted if the race had gone the full distance. With fellow rider Mark Buckley loaning him a new radiator, Ryan was able to make the second part of the Championship race and, rather than sit behind Donald, he decided to lead from the front once more and take the victory on the road as well as on the timesheets.

Speaking on Friday, a delighted Ryan said: "I’m well pleased with the results here at the Southern 100 and to win the main Championship race again is brilliant and I’m over the moon to get my name back on the trophy. Since I last won it in 2003, I seem to have always finished 2nd or 3rd but everything went my way this year. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to stay with the Superbikes but I got a good start and although they were quicker than me, they were holding me up in the corners so I made my way to the front and pulled away. When the red flag came out, I noticed there was a hole in the radiator and I thought that was me finished but I got talking to Mark Buckley who lent me his spare one and with the re-start taking place after the Sidecar race I had enough time to get it repaired,"

"I knew I had a bit of an advantage over Cameron and could have just sat behind him but I didn’t want to win the race like that and so got to the front and was able to take a really satisfying win – like I say, a big thank you to Mark for his generosity. The other races went well enough and with 4 wins, two thirds and a fourth, it’s been a really good week so a big thank you to everyone in the team for all their hard work and again to all my sponsors for their continued support. What with Scarborough, the Southern and now Kells, it’s certainly been a hectic week but let’s hope I can finish it off with some more wins."

Ryan headed back to Ireland immediately after the Southern 100 had finished and will now contest this weekend’s Kells Road Races.

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Lougher in the thick of the action at Scarborough

Using Maxton's GP30 fork cartridges and GP10 rear shock absorbers, Blackhorse Kawasaki team boss Ian Lougher was in the thick of the action at the annual two-day Cock o' the North Road Races at Oliver's Mount, Scarborough.

On the first of his two visits planned for the North Yorkshire venue this season, Ian came away with five third place finishes, a fourth and one fifth.

Clear blue skies and warm temperatures were in evidence on Saturday for the first days racing with practice commencing promptly at 9.00am followed by qualifying, with the first of nine races getting underway at 1.00pm.

The first two races were six lap heats for the 175cc-1300cc machines, the first nine in each progressing to the two eight-lap legs. It was a Kawasaki one-two-three in the opening heat with Ryan Farquhar first, Michael Pearson, second and Ian a comfortable third.

Ian's second outing of the day was race four on the programme, the first leg for the 600cc Supersport over eight laps and again the order was the same with Farquhar first followed by Michael Pearson and Ian on the ZX-6R, just 0.28 seconds behind in third. Ian was straight back out again for race five, the first leg of the combined 125GP and 400cc race, again over eight laps.

At the end of the opening lap it was Mick Goodings in front, followed by Leaning and Farquhar. On to the second lap and Ryan Farquhar had moved into second behind Mick Goodings, whose lead was down to 0.378 seconds on lap three, and a lap later he was in front by 0.893 seconds.

Lap five and Alistair Haworth took over third spot in the 400’s with positions the same at three quarters distance with Ian running in fifth position and he remained in fifth at the chequered flag. There was no rest for Ian as he brought the Blackhorse Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R to the line for the first leg of the National Superbikes. At the end of the first lap, Pearson had a 0.380 of a second lead over Farquhar with Ian third, 2 seconds down on the leader.

Lap two and Farquhar was half-a-second in front with Ian still third, Derek Shiels, Dave Hewson and Ivan Lintin completed the top six. At the chequered flag it was Farquhar from Michael Pearson with Ian bringing his first day's action to a close in third.

Blue skies and bright sunshine once again bathed Oliver’s Mount for the second day’s racing.

Ian's first race was Race 10 on the two day programme, the second leg of the Superbikes, over eight laps and there was disappointment when he retired at the end of the second lap. Undeterred he returned for Race 12 for 125’s and 400’s and managed a secure fifth.

The second leg of the 600’s was next up, at half distance it was Farquhar, Pearson and Lougher in the top three positions and it remained this way at the finish with Ian again close to a runner-up spot.

And so to Ian's final event of the meeting, the feature ten-lap Cock o’ the North Race. Michael Pearson, last year’s winner got the hole shot from Ryan Farquhar and was in front up Sheene’s Rise. At the end of the first lap Pearson still led the pack by 0.772 of a second with Farquhar second and Ian up to third from the second row of the grid.

Positions remained the same on lap two, but the gap was down to 0.429 of a second. Lap three and Farquhar took the lead by 0.831 of a second from Michael Pearson, with Ian still riding strongly in third.

On the fourth lap it was still Farquhar but behind him Lougher had closed on Pearson with only half a second between the two, a lap later positions were the same with Pearson slightly increasing his advantage over Ian by 0.1 seconds but Ian pulled this back on the following lap. On lap eight Pearson's advantage over Ian was just 7/10th of a second. At the flag it was Farquhar from Pearson with Ian a battling third, just 0.299 seconds down on Pearson.

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Victor Cox in the top six at Snetterton

Using Maxton's GP30 fork cartridges and GP10 rear shock absorbers, Victor Cox was the highest placed Kawasaki rider as he took the Blackhorse Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R to a great sixth place finish in Round Seven of the National Superstock 1000 Championship at Snetterton. Victor has quickly adapted to the Kawasaki and he finished the first qualifying session in 11th place and was confident of further improving on this, however emergency circuit repairs on Saturday meant the second session was cancelled and therefore Victor started the race from the third row of the grid. As the race got underway Victor was soon in the thick of things as he battled his way through to seventh only for the race to be red flagged after a couple of laps. In the re-start Victor again got quickly down to business and at the end of the opening lap he was holding 9th place and became involved in a real scrap with James Hillier and Dennis Hobbs with the three riding in close company for the next few laps. At the halfway point Victor was on the move and got past Hobbs and set his sights on Hillier whom he passed on the next lap, however Hobbs fought back and moved ahead of both Victor and Hillier a lap later. But Victor wasn't finished yet and showing great determination, he got past Hobbs on the next circuit to regain seventh place, by now Hillier had lost touch and it was left to Victor and Dennis to battle it out for the remaining three laps with Victor increasing his advantage to get the verdict at the flag. Afterwards it soon transpired that Scott Smart had been disqualified thus moving Victor up to sixth, a great result in what was only his second ride for the team. Ian Lougher: "A terrific ride from Victor which moves him into the top ten in the championship. He's a great guy to work with and we are really looking forward to his wild-card ride at Silverstone." Victor Cox: "That was a great race, I really enjoyed it and sixth in the end was excellent. I felt I could have ran with the leaders but got held up a bit in the early stages. Nevertheless I'm really pleased with sixth, I love the Ninja ZX-10R and can't wait until Silverstone for the World Superstocks."

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Behan on the podium at Silverstone WSB!

Using a Maxton GP10 rear shock absorber and the Maxton Big Diameter Piston ZX-6RR fork kit Connor Behan continued his excellent form in the Junior Superstock 600 Championship with a 3rd place finish.
This particular round of the championship was run at the British World Superbike Round at Silverstone. Connor was quick all weekend never outside the top three.
He was really enjoying the first time he had been round the new Silverstone circuit, its fast flowing turns really suiting Connors riding style.
The starting grid was the qualifying results from the cancelled Oulton Park round so Connor started 8th on the grid. Although after the Silverstone practice he was the second quickest rider. In the race Connor got a good start and quickly worked his way through the field, unfortunately due to his starting position he struggled to get right to the front, but never the less he was very happy with his first 600 podium.

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Behan on pole at Snetterton!

Using a Maxton GP10 rear shock absorber and the Maxton Big Diameter Piston ZX-6RR fork kit Connor Behan grabbed his first pole position of the year.
This is Connor's first year in the Junior Superstock 600 championship and he has been improving every round as he learns the bike. With a few top ten finishes already this year, it was only a matter of time before he converted these solid results in to something much better. Connor took Pole Position at the Snetterton round of the Junior Superstock 600 Championship breaking the existing lap record with a time of 1.09.714. Unfortunately Connor could not convert his excellent qualifying into a podium on race day but still finished the race a very credible 6th place.





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Farquhar's five-timer at Mid Antrim!

Ryan Farquhar's brilliant 2010 road racing season continued on Saturday when he dominated the Mid Antrim 150 road races. Competing on the 3.6-mile Clough circuit, the KMR Kawasaki rider won no less than five races, including the Grand Final, extending his tally for the season to 38 victories. The five wins also took him to a total of 22 at the Mid Antrim, comfortably the highest in the 64-year history of the event whilst he now has the unique distinction of holding five lap records, including the outright.

It was another wet day for competitors whilst they also had to contend with a surface that was wet in parts, damp in others and then dry elsewhere making tyre choice constantly tricky. Ryan opened his account for the day with victory in the Open race where, after leading at one stage by over 12 seconds, he eased back in the closing laps to lead Adrian Archibald home by 6 seconds. Next up was the Super Twins race where he was pressured in the early stages by fellow Dungannon man John Burrows. As the race wore on, the circuit, which had started fully wet, began to dry up in places but Ryan, despite struggling for grip, was able to edge clear for another comfortable win.

The 600cc race saw a repeat of the early Open encounter only this time Archibald led to begin with. Having sat behind him for a couple of laps, Ryan made his move and was able to take his third win of the day. His penultimate race was the 125/450 race where the 450s started in their own group and it was Seamus Elliott who led on his 450 Yamaha until the third lap when Ryan found his way through. Elliott pushed Ryan all the way but eventually pushed too hard and slid off, fortunately without injury, on the final lap and Ryan was not only able to take the 450 win but was also the fastest rider on corrected time. The final race of the day was the Grand Final and with conditions again tricky, it was another close race between Ryan and Archibald. There was little to choose between the two riders as Archibald sat on the rear wheel of Ryan but on the last lap he crahsed out at speed, again escaping injury, allowing Ryan to take an unprecedented fifth win of the day.

Speaking later, Ryan said, "It was really tough conditions out there today and very difficult to know what tyres to choose. Some parts of the track were wet, some dry and some were very dirty with mud running on to the course and stuff so it was really slippy out there. Adrian pushed me hard in the Superbike races none more so than in the Grand Final where I just couldn't shake him off. He was there all the way through and it's probably the toughest race I've ever had in those conditions. I've won in the wet before but have always had a bit of a buffer whereas this time he was on my bike wheel throughout and there was no let up. It was a real shame his race ended in a crash so I'm pleased he's ok."

"Seamus also pushed me hard in the 450cc race and our bikes were pretty evenly matched so that was another tough race although I was really chuffed to beat all the 125s on corrected time too. I've taken 22 wins now at the Mid Antrim and it's certainly a circuit that's been kind to me over the years, it's just a shame that today's been spoilt by the weather a bit. We've all got a mad dash now to get all the bikes, truck and the like all cleaned up before Armoy this weekend!"

Ryan now has just a few days before his next outing with the Armoy Road Races taking place on Saturday August 7th.

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