TT winner Farquhar on course for fifth Duke Rankings title in a row
Ryan Farquhar, a race-winner at the 2012 Isle of Man TT fuelled by Monster Energy, is on course for a staggering 5th Duke Road Race Ranking win in a row.
The Dungannon star extended his lead at the top of the table with another five race wins at the Bush meeting last month.
Although there are more than a dozen rounds still to go, Farquhar holds a dominant lead over Michael Dunlop, with 2,022 points over Dunlop’s 582.
John McGuinness, who took two victories at the 2012 TT, is 3rd on 572 points, with Wilson Craig Honda teammates Cameron Donald and William Dunlop completing the top five, tied on 497 points.
Farquhar has been the man to beat in the Duke Road Race Rankings in recent years, winning four times in a row on top of his victories in 2003 and 2004. Ian Lougher has topped the table three times, with Manxman Conor Cummins raking the honours in 2007.
Farquhar extended his lead at the Bush meeting with, for the second successive weekend, five Irish National road race wins in a day.
The KMR Kawasaki rider was in imperious form and won every race he started - the 125cc/450cc, Supersport, Supertwins, Superbike and Grand Final - to move onto 26 wins for the season.
After practice was wiped out due to rain, the riders receiving just a handful of controlled laps instead, Farquhar's day started in fine style with a start-to-finish victory in the SuperTwins race.
Another start-to-finish victory followed for Farquhar as he dominated the Supersport race, his eventual winning margin a commanding 16 seconds.
The first Superbike race was a lot closer as Farquhar had to see off a last lap charge by Derek Sheils. With his lead over Sheils less than he thought, Farquhar was overtaken on the final lap, but he was able to fight back and complete his hat-trick with a 0.463 second victory.
Keen to make no mistakes in the Grand Final, Farquhar grabbed the lead straight away and promptly pulled away from the rest of the field for another win. The gap this time was 15 seconds, with John Burrows taking second.
That just left the 125cc/450cc race for Farquhar, and he not only led the 450cc class, but also the 125cc class when the red flag came out due to rain after four laps. The result was taken, so Farquhar wrapped up yet another five timer.
It was also a great day for KMR teammate Jamie Hamilton, a star newcomer at the 2012 TT. He finished 2nd in the SuperTwin, 7th in the first Superbike and 3rd in the Grand Final, his first podium finish in the Superbike class.
Farquhar said:
“It's been another great day for me and the team and although conditions were again tricky, the club did a good job in getting every race run so to come away with five more wins is superb.”
“The weather was very up and down, so I opted to ride my 600 in the two big bike races as it was a lot more manageable in the conditions. Everything went to plan except for the first Superbike where there was a bit of a hiccup with my pitboard. Going into the final lap, I was given a '+12' board so backed right off and cruised round the first part of the lap.”
“Needless to say, it was a huge shock when Derek came flying by!”
“It was certainly a wake up call and so I tucked in behind him and got by as soon as I could. Luckily, there was enough of the lap to find a way by and I was able to take the win once more - it was a good last lap for the spectators but not for me!”
He added:
“The rain had been on and off during the day, but it was only in the final race of the day, the 125/400, that it really came on heavy, so it was a good decision to end it early.”
“I was obviously delighted with the wins, but also very pleased for Jamie and Paul (Cranston). Jamie was over the moon with 2nd in the Supertwins race, but when he got 3rd in the Grand Final he was even more chuffed and it was a great result, particularly given the lack of track time he'd had.”
“I loaned Paul the bike as a thank you to him for letting us use his yard, rather than the wet field, and it was a good result for him in his first ever ride on the bike and in the class.”
“Our other team member, Conor Parkhill, also won his race at the Mondello Masters so it really has been a great day for KMR Kawasaki.”
The next round of the Duke Road Race Rankings is the Skerries meeting, which Farquhar will be racing at.