Five star Farquhar dominates again as TT preparations gather pace
TT winner Ryan Farquhar continued his perfect start to the road racing season with another string of victories, this time at the Cookstown 100.
With the 2011 Isle of Man TT fuelled by Monster Energy less than a month away, the Dungannon star has shown he should be among the frontrunners as 100 years of racing on the Mountain course is celebrated.
Farquhar started his 2011 campaign with seven wins from seven starts at the Spring Cup meeting, Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough. Last weekend he headed to the Cookstown 100 to start his Irish season.
The KMR Kawasaki racer was again in imperious form, taking five wins from five starts. He won the Grand Final, Open, Supersport 600, 450 and Super Twin races to retain his unbeaten status for the 2011 season.
The latest victories have moved Farquhar even further ahead in the 2011 Duke Road Race Rankings. His 520-point tally leaves him more than 300 points ahead of nearest rival Ian Lougher with just two rounds complete.
Farquhar looks like a strong favourite to retain the Geoff Duke Trophy he has won for the past three years.
With perfect conditions around the 2.1-mile Orritor circuit, Farquhar’s day got off to an ideal start when he led from start-to-finish for victory in the Open race, despite coming under pressure throughout from Cameron Donald, Guy Martin and Michael Dunlop.
That was immediately followed by a more comfortable victory in the combined 400/450 race.
Another close race followed in the Supersport 600cc race, where it was again Farquhar, Donald and Dunlop leading. Farquhar was able to keep the others at bay to take his third win of the day.
The Grand Final was Farquhar’s penultimate race of the day and he signalled his intentions as he took an early lead. A mistake at the first road end at mid-race distance allowed Dunlop to slip by but, determined not to be beaten, Farquhar shadowed his rival before making his move on the final lap and he held on to win.
To round off the perfect day, Farquhar took another start-to-finish victory in the Super Twins race to make it five wins from five starts.
It was also a good day for fellow team members and TT racers Sandor Bitter and Adrian Archibald. Bitter, making his debut at the circuit, got quicker and quicker as the day wore and ended with an excellent second in the Cookstown 100 B race, While Archibald took fourth in the Super Twins race despite being hampered by a blown head gasket.
Farquhar said:
“Five wins from five starts - it doesn't really get any better than that. And when you add in the wins at Scarborough, I couldn't have asked for a better start to the year.”
“The races were again very tough and I had to work extremely hard for them as all the top riders were here, which makes them even more satisfying. In the first Open race, Cameron got by me along the start and finish straight as his Superbike had a bit more speed than the Superstock bike, but I got by him soon after and just rode as hard as I could to keep him at bay.”
“In the Grand Final, I was leading the pack but then outbraked myself going into the first corner which allowed Michael Dunlop to overtake me, but I dug deep, followed him for a couple of laps and then made my move on the final lap holding him off until the end.”
“The Supersport race was also close between myself and Cameron, and I caught my knee on the grass at one stage, but, again, I just had enough to hold on. The 450 and Super Twin races were a bit more comfortable, whilst it was great to see Sandor take second in his final race of the day. I was well impressed with how he performed and he just got better and better as the day wore on.”
“Adrian's bike had a problem with the head gasket otherwise we could have had the team’s first 1-2, but we’ll get that sorted for Tandragee.”
“Like I say, it's been a brilliant day and I'll be looking for more of the same at Tandragee.”
Farquhar is back in action this weekend at the Tandragee 100.