Dungannon’s Ryan Farquhar who was sizzling in the Cookstown sunshine on Saturday when he grabbed a hat trick of victories in the opening Irish Road Race of the season, which incidentally was also the first round of the Ulster Road Racing Championship which has been reintroduced for 2009.

Farquhar who got his 09 road racing season off to a winning start last week at Scarborough took two victories in the Superbike class along with a win in the Supertwins and a second place in the Supersport. His first of his two Superbike victories came in the Cookstown District Council Superbike race run over eight laps and saw him take the chequered flag ahead of Manx man Conor Cumins who was freshly back from his first trip to the Le Mans 24-Hour race. Scots man Keith Amor was pushed back to third place having lead for most of the race before running wide and allowing Farquhar and Cummins to slip through, with Lincolnshire’s Gary Johnston in fourth place ahead of Coleraine man Adrian Archibald.

In the big race of the day the Royal Hotel and Braeside Cookstown 100 race A it was Farquhar who grabbed the glory when Amor crashed out with only a couple of laps in the ten lap race remaining, thankfully he was uninjured, but this left the way clear for McAdoo Racing rider Cummins to take second ahead of Johnston and Archibald. Incidentally it was at McAdoo’s that Amor crashed out (not the racing McAdoos, but McAdoo’s Farm). Local rider John Burrows was also another disappointed non finisher.

The hat trick for Farquhar came in the Conway Snooker Supertwins (otherwise known as the tractor race!!) when he took the win ahead of Richard McCartney and Lee Hill, who just narrowly beat Darren Gilpin. In the Cookstown Town Centre Forum Lightweight 125 race it was Michael Dunlop who took the win but the cheers of the day went to Darren Burns who made a successful comeback from his horrific injuries sustained at the North West 200 last year, in the same incident which claimed the life of Robert Dunlop. Burns who was expected to race again after the accident was delighted to take second place ahead of Mark Young with Andrew Neill in fourth and Lincolnshire visitor Ivan Linton in fifth ahead of Barry Davidson, in the race which was red flagged twice.

The Dunlop brothers were again at the front in the Royal Hotel and Braeside Junior 250 / 400cc race when it was William who beat Michael at the front in the five lap race ahead of Barry Davidson, with English man Ollie Linsdell in fourth ahead of Saintfield man Davy Morgan.

Morgan was again in action in the R & M Greenkeeper Open B Superbike race when he finished second placed behind the winner Andrew Courtney with James Redpath in third. All three were again in the top six in the S. P. Harkness Construction Cookstown 100 B race where Tim Poole was the victor ahead of Courtney with Dwyer Agnew third ahead of Redpath and Morgan.

Morgan sporting the new Action Cancer bright pink helmet was also second placed behind Moneyreagh’s Michael Pearson in the Bill Eastwood Contracts Supersport B race over five laps which saw Pearson take the win ahead of Morgan with Michael Weldon third and Courtney again figuring in the results in fourth place. Ian Morrell took the win in the Hayes Fuels Junior B & 125 B race ahead of Paul Hedson and Dave Walsh.

In the Support races it was William Davidson who won ahead of Benny Smith and Caoith Lawless in the Loanends MRRC Senior Support A, whilst in the B’s sponsored by S. P. Harkness Construction it was Anthony Redmond who snatched victory ahead of Gerry Daniel and Reuben McPhee.

Loanends MRRC also backed the Junior Support A which was red flagged after a minor incident in the opening lap, Paul Hedson was the eventual winner from Ciaran Donnelly and Mark Shiels. Richard Ford took victory in the Warehouse Direct Junior Support B, ahead of local photographer Baylon McCaughey with Gary Fowler third.

Local man John Burrows, also had a run out in the Reid Bros Junior Classic A where he had better luck taking the win ahead of Denis Gallagher and Geoff McMullan.
Tim Stephenson was the winner ahead of Gary Jamison in the B group, backed by R & M Greenkeeper. Mark McGow got the better of Steve Linsdell and Neill McWhirter in the Hayes Fuel Senior Classic.

The next round of the Ulster Road Racing Championship is next Saturday at Tandragee where Farquhar and Amor will be hoping to continue their domination in the Superbike and Supersport Championships.
CLICK HERE FOR RESULTS