For the second successive weekend, Ryan Farquhar won five Irish National road races in a day when he dominated proceedings at Saturday's Bush meeting. The KMR Kawasaki rider was again 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, Ryan's day started in fine style with a start to finish victory in the Supertwins race, and there was further joy for the team with Jamie Hamilton taking second and Paul Cranston in sixth on a third KMR Kawasaki. Another start to finish victory then followed for Ryan as he dominated the Supersport race, his eventual winning margin being a commanding 16 seconds.
The first Superbike race was a lot closer affair though as Ryan had to see off a last lap charge by Derek Sheils. With his lead over Sheils being less than he thought, Ryan got overtaken on the final lap but he was able to fight back and complete his hat-trick with a 0.463s victory whilst Hamilton crossed the line in seventh.
Keen to make no mostakes in the Grand Final, Ryan grabbed the lead from the start and promptly pulled away from the rest of the field as he swept to yet another win. The gap on this occasion was 15 seconds with John Burrows taking second as Hamilton claimed a brilliant third, his first podium in the Superbike class. That just left the 125cc/450cc race for Ryan 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 and so Ryan wrapped up yet another five timer.
Speaking later, a delighted Ryan 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, a bit like last weekend's Mid Antrim meeting and 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!"
"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. Jamie was over the moon with second in the Supertwins race but when he got third 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. I've got a weekend off now from racing but all the bikes need a good service so I'll be working hard to get them all fully prepared for Skerries in a fortnight's time."
