This year’s Spirit of the Manx award was presented to regular Manx Grand Prix compeititor Bob Farrington from Rawcliffe in East Yorkshire.

Bob has been a visitor to the Manx Grand Prix for the past 21 years and is well known around the paddock for his distinctive pink lorry, satellite dish, tent and garden fence which surrounds the whole structure which the family shares with their three dogs. The complete structure is jokingly known to many of the regulars as Farringtown.

This year he was riding in the Classic TT as well as in the Manx Grand Prix Lightweight, Junior and Senior races.

‘What started off as a mediocre Manx turned in to a really amazing one,’ said Bob who spent a month in the Isle of Man and has just returned home to his job as a health and safety consultant.

‘I had planned to ride my GPz600 in the Formula II classic race but it wasn’t running right so that was a disappointment. But then I got replicas for the Junior and Lightweight races. I broke my collar bone seven weeks ago but I still managed to sneak in with the last replica on the Junior so I was made up with that then to get the Spirit of the Manx Award too was fantastic.’

The award was also a complete surprise for Bob who celebrates his 60th birthday next month.

‘We heard them introducing it in the Villa Marina (at the awards ceremony after the races). We were only half listening but then I heard him say it was someone who had been coming to the Isle of Man for 21 years...just before he announced the name, we twigged. I had no idea!’




Picture by Dave Kneen/ManxPhotosOnline
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