Isle of Man TT winner recalls generosity of Mark Buckley
Isle of Man TT winner Ryan Farquhar has recalled the generous spirit of fellow Mountain course regular Mark Buckley.
Buckley died following a crash in Saturday’s North West 200 Superstock race.
Tributes have flooded in for the 35-year-old Scottish racer, and two-times TT winner Farquhar paid his personal tribute by recalling how Buckley helped him to a major victory in 2010.
The Dungannon racer said he owed his Southern 100 Championship win to Buckley’s generosity.
Farquhar said:
“On behalf of KMR Kawasaki and myself, I'd like to express my sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mark Buckley.”
“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."
The organisers of the Southern 100 also recalled the incident, which the organisers said was typical of the popular racer.
A spokesman said:
“Quiet and unassuming Mark always gave his best once the flag dropped and never hesitated to help his rivals as was shown in the Solo Championship race of 2010 when Ryan Farquhar holed a radiator on his 1000cc machine.”
“Mark offered him the loan of his – with the Ulsterman going on to take his second Solo Championship.”
“Southern 100 Racing expresses their deepest sympathy to his wife Jayne and their two children and his father Jimmy at this very sad time, we were all looking forward to welcoming back to the Manx Telecom Post TT Races and the Southern 100 in July.”
Buckley was due to race at the 2012 Isle of Man TT fuelled by Monster Energy for the Splitlath Redmond team.