Ryan Farquhar took three more victories on Saturday when he claimed the Open, Supersport and Supertwins races at the inaugural Armoy Road Races.
Home to the famous 'Armoy Armada, Farquhar also claimed the lap record in each, to move on to 52 wins for the season with the results also seeing him clinch the Irish Road Race and Ulster Road Race Championships for each class.
In addition, he clinched the Duke Road Race Championship but his joy was overshadowed by a tragic accident in the final Grand Final race that claimed the life of a spectator.
With the three-mile circuit brand new to all competitors, practice was untimed and grid positions determined by Championship position with the Supersport 600cc race kicking things off. The five-lap race saw Farquhar lead from start to finish for his first win of the day and he immediately followed this up with another dominant performance in the Open race. With the fastest lap of the day, 107.897mph, he was able to take the chequred flag by five seconds once more.
Farquhar was then due to have another 250cc outing but with a few spots of rain in the air, he opted to take out his Supertwin instead and he finished in a remarkable fifth place! Using the same machine he then blitzed the opposition in the Supertwins race by almost 20 seconds to complete his hat-trick leaving just the Grand Final to go. Farquhar led Guy Martin going into the second lap but the race was stopped due to the aforementioned accident, which happened further back in the pack, and the meeting was subsequently abandoned.
"It took a while to get dialled in to the circuit but I followed both Guy and William Dunlop in practice and was able to suss a few lines out so I went away in the evening and really did my homework on how to tackle the course," said Farquhar.
"The left hander after the start and finish is without doubt the fastest corner in road racing - on the big bikes we were going through there flat out in top at about 170mph - and it's a great course to ride. There's a bit of work needed to improve the course further but the club did a great job and it was a very well run meeting. All the riders were made to feel very welcome and even when you were racing you could feel the atmosphere in the village. With all the history of the Armoy Armada it's been a very special day.
"I was really impressed with the circuit and it's definitely one of my favourites out of all the ones we visit. It had been a really good day up until the Grand Final and the accident that happened really marred the day and meeting so my deepest sympathies go out to all the family and friends of the person who lost their life. Up until then I'd taken 3 wins and 3 lap records and the day was going perfectly. I'd got the lead in the Grand Final and with Guy right on my back wheel it was shaping up to be a great race but we'll obviously never know what would have happened. Three more wins for the season is great and to have clinched all the Championships at this stage of the season is simply superb."
Farquhar now turns his attention to the Ulster Grand Prix, where he will be hoping his superb National form carries over to the International stage with the meeting taking place on the famous Dundrod circuit from August 12-15.
