Ryan Farquhar suffered mixed fortunes at the Ulster Grand Prix Bikeweek and although he was able to take two wins and a podium, this was offset by a number of machinery problems that caused him to miss all three Superbike races as well as retire from the second Supersport 600cc race. However, the KMR Kawasaki rider did manage to chalk up a brace of victories in the two Super Twins races as well as take a hard earned podium in the Superstock race.

Thursday's Dundrod 150 races saw Ryan's day get off to the worst possible start when the engine broke on his Superstock machine and he had to miss both the Ulster GP practice and the Dundrod 150 Superbike race. However, he bounced back from this disappointment with a comfortable 14.9s win in the Super Twin race also setting a new lap record of 116.118mph. The good fortune didn't last long though when he was forced to retire from the Classic race after a wire broke on the 500cc Paton whilst involved in a great dice with similarly mounted Olie Linsdell.

Saturday's Ulster GP race day dawned dry and bright and up first was the 7-lap Superstock race, which was expected to be one of Ryan best races. Sure enough, he slotted in to third place at the end of the first lap and although he was lapping in excess of 131mph, he was unable to stay with Ian Hutchinson and Keith Amor due to an oil leak that was steadily putting more and more oil on to his footpegs. As he was forced to ease the pace, he was overhauled by Ian Lougher and Gary Johnson but, just as he had been pushed back to fifth, the red flag came out on the sixth lap due to an incident and with results taken at the end of the fifth lap, he was awarded the 3rd position.

In the opening Supersport 600cc race, Ryan was mired back in the pack on the opening lap but was up to 7th second time around and for the rest of the race he was involved in a terrific tussle with the two Relentless by TAS Suzuki's of Bruce Anstey and Cameron Donald. After exchanging places throughout, he eventually got the better of Anstey on the fifth lap but Donald overhauled the pair of them to take over in sixth going in to the final lap. However, he retired on the final lap handing the position back to Ryan.

It was then the 6-lap Super Twin race and it was a race Ryan, quite simply, dominated. Leading from start to finish, he eventually took the chequered flag by over 40 seconds, also breaking his own two-day lap record with a new speed of 116.683mph. Forced to miss both of the Superbike races due to the aforementioned oil leak, Ryan's final race of the day was the second Supersport 600cc but, down on speed, he pulled in at the end of the opening lap.


Speaking later, Ryan said:

"It's been an up and down meeting for me and after going really well during Wednesday's opening practice sessions, Thursday couldn't have been more different. When I started the big bike up, I heard a horrible rattle so had little option but to park it for the day and, aside from a comfortable victory in the Super Twins race, the whole team's efforts were concentrated on sorting the big bike out. It put me on the back foot quite a bit as it meant I missed out on about an hour and half's practice compared to the other riders. Nick Morgan sent over the Superstock engine I'd used at the NW200 and TT and I got a flier of a start in the Superstock race but my feet started to slip off the pegs quite early on and I simply had to ride as steady as I could. When I looked down a couple of times, I could see oil on both sides so luck was definitely on my side when the red flag came out and I was pleased to get 3rd given the circumstances. At the same time, I was a bit disappointed as I had to park the bike for the rest of the day and we've finished nearly every race on the big bike for the last two years so it was a shame to miss the two big bike races."


"The Super Twin race was shaping up to be a real close race between myself and Dan Kneen but when he went out, it gave me some clear road and I was just able to enjoy the race. The ER6 is a fantastic wee bike and I was delighted to take another Ulster GP win so a big thank you to Kawasaki and everyone else that's helped me along the way with it. As for the Supersport races, I was simply struggling for speed and we need to do a fair bit of work over the winter to get back on terms with the Hondas and Yamahas. I'm just looking forward to the end of the season now and then, hopefully, get hold of one of the all new ZX-10 machines so we can have a real good go again next year. Like I say, it's been an up and down meeting for me but it could have been a lot worse so thanks to all the team and to the fans for cheering me on."


Ryan now plans to head to the new Cork road race meeting, which takes place next weekend August 21-22.




Words: Phil Wain - Freelance PR