RYAN Farquhar has won his 8th Manx Grand Prix race after victory in the Okells 500 Class race this morning, but it was touch-and-go for the Irish rider on his final lap.

A misfire on his Paton caused lots of anxiety for Farquhar and his team, and the bike sounded off-colour at slower corners such as the Hairpin. But the bike managed to last the 4-lap distance for Farquhar to take his second victory of the week.

“No matter what bike you’re on, you have to ride it hard,” he said. “I really want to thank my team for all their hard work getting the bike in such fantastic condition. It’s their victory as much as mine.”

Farquhar’s Paton was always favourite to win the race, having much more horsepower than all other bikes in the class, and he quickly established a good lead on the opening lap.

His tactics meant a “splash and dash” at the end of the first lap which saw Palmer briefly take the lead, but by the end of lap two Farquhar was back in front and held on to win by a comfortable margin at the end of the four laps.

Palmer held second throughout and fought a race-long battle with Roy Richardson but his Aermacchi let him down on the final lap, allowing Mark Herbertson the chance to claim the third podium spot, to his delight.

The winner of the Formula Classic was well known TT competitor Mark Parrett, taking over Barry Davidson’s BSA Rocket 3, to take victory. 

Parrett was the only finisher in a class of just five entries, with all the others failing to complete the 4-lap distance, making it a very rare occasion when just one rider stood on the winner’s podium in front of the TT Grandstand.

RESULTS:

Okells 500 Classic:

1)  Ryan Farquhar (499 Paton)

2)  Chris Palmer (499 Matchless)

3)  Mark Herbertson (Matchless G50)

Formula Classic:

1)  Mark Parrett (850 BSA Rocket 3)

(the only finisher)