RYAN Farquhar made up for the disappointment of the TT by claiming an emphatic victory in the Manx Grand Prix this morning.
The Irish rider, who had all sorts of problems at the TT in June, including a major accident and collarbone injury, led from start to finish in the 4-lap Classic 350 race.
“I’m just delighted to get a win on the 350,” said Farquhar. “The wee bike never missed a beat.”
He said that the conditions had been better than he initially expected, but described the third lap as “really bad”. He added, “It was really breezy up on the mountain. I just rode as steady as I could.”
Ryan Farquhar led the race from the flag, chased hard - but some way behind - by Chris Palmer, Roy Richardson and Bill Swallow.
The race started in difficult conditions with damp patches all around the course, particularly in the sheltered parts such as the Glen Helen and Sulby sections.
In fact, there hardly a glimpse of August sunshine throughout the 4-lap race, with overcast skies dominating, making conditions very tricky for everyone - with dry roads in some parts and very damp in others, including a heavy shower of rain over Ramsey and the mountain half way through the race.
It was also probably the coldest day of August so far, which didn’t help the reliability of the classic machines, causing a number of retirements, including riders who were amongst the pre-race podium favourites such as Davy Morgan, Meredith Owen, Chris McGahn, Chris Petty, Alan Brew,
The 250 Classic race resulted in a close battle between Barry Davidson and Pete Wakefield, followed by Maria Costello. However, there was a surprise when Costello decided not to take a pit stop at the end of the second lap, and she took the lead at Glen Helen on lap three.
But there was no way she would complete all four laps without a pitstop and when she pulled in at the end of lap three for fuel the chasers charged through the Grandstand and Davidson resumed his position at the front of the field, followed more than 30 seconds behind by Wakefield with Costello almost 30 seconds further back in third, but closing the gap all the time.
Davidson held on to take the win, comfortably ahead of Wakefield, but there was drama when Costello’s Suzuki machine ran out of fuel and she had to push the bike all the way from Governor’s Bridge and along Glencrutchery Road.
With a lead of more than seven minutes over 4th placed Dave Edwards, Costello just managed to hold onto the third podium spot - an amazing achievement which saw her greeted at the Grandstand by rapturous applause from spectators.
She had to be treated for exhaustion by medics at the finishing line, but recovered quickly. “I wasn’t going to give up,” she said. “My legs were like jelly - thank goodness she wasn’t any heavier . . let’s go to the beer tent!”
RESULT: 250 LIGHTWEIGHT CLASSIC:
1) Barry Davidson 1-42-30.89 (88.331mph)
2) Pete Wakefield 1-43-8.50 (87.794mph)
3) Maria Costello 1-47-31.88 (84.210mph)
Fastest lap: Davidson
RESULT: 350 CLASSIC:
1) Ryan Farquhar 1-32-36.10 (97.787mph)
2) Chris Palmer 1-33-19.13 (97.035mph)
3) Roy Richardson 1-35-20.16 (94.982 mph)
Fastest lap: Farquhar
