Dungannon's Ryan Farquhar enjoyed one of his best weeks' of racing ever at the Southern 100 this week taking four wins and a second from his five races to improve his haul of wins for the season to a hugely impressive 37. In some of the best racing ever seen around the 4.25-mile circuit, the KMR Kawasaki rider won both Superbike races and the two Supersport races whilst he also finished a close second in the feature Championship race.
With largely good conditions throughout the week, Farquhar opend his account in the Superbike race on Tuesday evening when, in a race long duel with Guy Martin and Conor Cummins, he got the verdict on the run to the line by three tenths of a second, also lapping in excess of 112mph.
On Wednesday evening, Farquhar went toe to toe with Michael Dunlop and Ian Lougher in the first 600cc race but in another last lap climax, he was again in front when it mattered, this time defeating Dunlop by 0.047s! It was then back on to his Superstock machine for the second Superbike race where he was again embroiled in a fierce battle with Martin and Cummins. It again came down to a last lap shoot out but Farquhar overhauled Martin at Cross Four Ways to take his third win in a row, this time by 0.154s!
Conditions were again ideal for the final day of racing on Thursday and it was slightly more comfortable for Farquhar in the second Supersport 600cc race as he led from start to finish to come home ahead of Cummins, Dunlop and Lougher whilst he also set a new lap record of 108.728mph.
That just left the feature Southern 100 Championship race and the thousands of race fans were treated to a thriller as Farquhar, Martin, Cummins and Dunlop exchanged places on each and every lap. On this occasion, he had to give second best to Martin but only by 0.163s and only three quarters of a second separated the quartet at the chequered flag. Farquhar also set the fastest lap of the race at 112.169mph.
"It's been a fantastic week for me here on the Island and I'm over the moon with the results. The pace was incredibly hot in every race but I was well pleased with both of the bikes especially with the 1000cc machine. We were a wee bit down on top speed to the Superbikes, especially Michael's which was a missile, so I hung in there as best I could and used a bit of racecraft to overtake where I knew they weren't expecting it," said Farquhar
"I managed to get by Guy in the first two Superbike races on the last lap, firstly at Castletown Corner and then at Cross Four Ways, so to win those two races was extremely satisfying. In the first Supersport race, Michael came by at Stadium Corner on the last lap but I took a wide, sweeping line at the final corner to get better drive along the start and finish and the better momentum allowed me to take another win.
We made a few changes to the chassis for the second Supersport race and it was a bit more comfortable for me - the wee bike was working brilliantly and the handling is simply superb.
"In the final Championship race it was a ding-dong all the way through. Michael was holding me up a bit in the corners and that allowed Guy to edge away slightly but although I was able to close right in on the last lap, a backmarker just got in the way slightly on the last corner and it was enough to stop me from trying to overtake.
"I was still pleased with second though and I've got to say a big thank you to Kawasaki UK and to Nick Morgan for giving me two great bikes that we've got working really well now. The Dunlop tyres were again perfect for the job and, as always, special thanks to all my loyal sponsors for making it all possible - it's been a fantastic week."
There's no let-up for Farquhar and his hectic schedule now sees him head to Southern Ireland once more for this weekend's Kells Road Races.
