Ryan Farquhar ended his 2011 road racing season in magnificent style at the weekend when he won all seven of his races at the International Gold Cup at Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough, the highlight of which was getting his name on the feature trophy for the very first time. It was also the first time an Irishman had won the Gold Cup in its 60-year history and Ryan also added the David Jefferies, Darran Lindsay and Phil Mellor trophies to his haul of silverware.

Saturday’s race action around the 2.43-mile public road course saw fine, sunny conditions and, after winning his two heats, Ryan’s first race was the opening leg of the Darran Lindsay Superbike Trophy event, reduced to four laps after an incident. It was John McGuinness who led in the early stages but Ryan was able to squeeze through at Mountside Hairpin on the third lap and hold on by just under a second for his first victory. Next up was the first leg of the Phil Mellor Supertwins Trophy and it was again tight as Ryan this time had to overcome the challenge of Ivan Lintin Overtaking him at the Memorial, Ryan began to pull away and, aided by a new lap record, he eventually took the chequered flag by 3.1s. His final race of the day was the first leg for the David Jefferies Trophy and although he had a three-second lead by the end of lap 3, regular rivals Michael and William Dunlop gradually began to reel him and the trio were soon nose to tail. However, Ryan was able to keep them at the bay and grab the win from William by 0.838s.

Sunday saw the riders greeted by vastly different conditions, firstly fog and secondly rain, and so it was a wet race for the second leg of the Darran Lindsay Trophy. Again it was McGuinness who grabbed the holeshot and the TT legend led for three quarters of the race before Ryan was finally able to take over at the front. He duly did so on lap 6 to take the win and the trophy and it was a similar outcome of the second Supertwins race although this time he led the race from start to finish.

In the feature Gold Cup race, Ryan’s chances of becoming the first ever Irish victor had never been better but it was no foregone conclusion and it was again a two-horse race between him and McGuinness. There was little to choose between the two but, just after half race distance, Ryan broke the tow and was able to pull away to finally add his name to the highly prestigious trophy. He completed his day with another start to finish victory in the second leg of the 600cc event to regain the David Jefferies Trophy.

Indeed, it was a successful day all round for the KMR Kawasaki team with Jamie Hamilton taking third and fourth in the two Supertwins races, which included beating Ian Lougher, the most successful man ever at Scarborough, excellent results for the 20-year old on his circuit debut.

Speaking afterwards, a delighted Ryan said:

“To have a 100% winning record this weekend is absolutely brilliant and to finally win the Gold Cup is the icing on the cake. I’ve been 2nd and 3rd in the past and it’s been the one trophy to elude me here at Oliver’s Mount but to win it at last is great and to become the first Irishman to get my name on the trophy makes it even more special. None of the races this weekend were easy though and John pushed me hard in all of the Superbike races. It’s probably the best I’ve ever seen him ride round here and I really enjoyed our battles, he’s such a good rider to race with.

“Sunday was especially hard with the weather conditions and it was really slippery out there, especially under the trees, but we had the right tyres in each race and it all came together perfectly. Like I say to win 7 out of 7 is superb and it really doesn’t get much better than that. I was again really pleased with the efforts of Jamie this weekend too and it’s a pleasure to have him in the team. It wasn’t the easiest weekend for a circuit newcomer but he did a great job and to get on the podium, and ahead of Ian Lougher, is no mean achievement and something to be proud of.”

“It’s the end of the season for me and, overall, it’s been a good year. There’ve been a few ups and downs along the way but we’ve taken some wins and been competitive so I can’t complain so a big thank you to all my sponsors and to all the fans who’ve supported me during the year.”

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