Ryan Farquhar's 2012 International North West 200 campaign finished on a positive note on Saturday when he took two top five finishes from his three races. The KMR Kawasaki rider was in contention for the podium places throughout and ended with 4th in the Superstock race and 5th in the opening Superbike race around the 8.9-mile circuit.
The Superbike race was Ryan's opening race of the day and with a good start, he completed the opening lap in fourth place, riding the bike that he'd only finished building in his workshop the week before! A lap later, race leader Alastair Seeley overshot Church Corner and Ryan was up to third and just 0.4s behind fellow Kawasaki rider Michael Rutter. There was little to choose between the dicing duo and by the end of lap 4, Ryan was running in a superb 2nd although Seeley had regrouped and was now tearing his way through the field. The Suzuki rider seized second on lap 5 and the remainder of the race saw Ryan, Rutter and Cameron Donald dispute the final podium spot with the latter going on to take third as Ryan crossed the line in a solid fifth place.
The following Superstock race was even more fraught with never more than a couple of seconds between Ryan, Seeley, James Hillier and John McGuinness at the head of the field. However, Rutter had started from the second wave and it would be he who eventually won the race on corrected time, the other four riders battling for second. Positions changed all the time between Ryan, Seeley and Hillier along both the straights and going into the corners and the result was in doubt right up until the end of the six laps. On the run in to the line along the coast road, Seeley and Hillier took second and third with Ryan in fourth place, just 1.8s separating 2nd to 5th.
Ryan's final race was the feature NW200 Superbike event but after making some changes to the ZX-10R after the earlier race, the set-up wasn't quite as good and so Ryan retired from sixth place on the 4th lap. Meanwhile, team-mate Jamie Hamilton put in a strong showing on his circuit debut and was unlucky to only take one finish from his three races as brake fade and an oil leak led to retirements in the NW200 and Superstock races. He did finish in a fine 19th though in the first Superbike race.
Speaking at the end of the day, a tired, but pleased, Ryan said; "It's been another good day for me and to be fighting it out for the rostrum positions in every race was very pleasing. To be honest, it was as big a shock to me as anyone else that I was so high up in the Superbike race as the bike hadn't even turned a wheel until Tuesday's practice session! Qualifying went well with it so I didn't take it out in the wet on Thursday and with a good start to the race I was up to 2nd and battling with Michael Rutter before I knew it. It's the best Superbike I've ever ridden and with a bit more time on it, I'll be able to get it dialled in more and really challenge. The only thing that let me down in the race was my personal fitness and that's essentially what allowed some of the boys to get me on the last lap. I've worked so hard getting all the bikes ready, especially for the Supertwins race, that I haven't had time to train but the Supertwins race was my priority this week so I've no regrets."
"To be riding with people like Michael, who know their bikes inside out, was very pleasing indeed whilst the Superstock race went equally as well. Sure, it would have been nice to have finished on the podium but I gave it my all and couldn't have ridden any harder. I also think I proved that I could mix it with the short circuit riders like Alastair and James who certainly excel through the slower chicanes and I should be even stronger at the TT, a track that suits me better. All in all, I'm happy with how the day went and it bodes well for the TT. Jamie had a few niggling little issues but for his first North West 200, he gave a very good account of himself and was mixing it with a lot of vastly more experienced riders so the TT's looking good for him too. We're all hoping he gets plenty of mileage in, has some good finishes and enjoys himself."
"On behalf of KMR Kawasaki and myself, I'd like to express my sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mark Buckley who sadly lost his life after a crash in Saturday's Superstock race. Mark was a great competitor and I owe my 2010 Southern 100 Championship win to him as he lent me a radiator for my bike which allowed me to take the victory. He'll be sadly missed."
Ryan now heads to the Isle of Man TT Races where he'll be looking for more success, particularly in the Superstock and Supertwins categories. Practice around the Mountain Course gets underway on Saturday 26 May.
Pictures by Stephen Davison - Pacemaker Press International
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