'Gutted' Farquhar to quit motorcycling

Published Friday, 31 August 2012

Dungannon motorcyclist Ryan Farquhar is to quit racing completely, following the death of his uncle at the Manx Grand Prix - saying he can't risk putting his family through more tragedy.

Ryan Farquhar with his uncle Trevor Ferguson (right). (© Pacemaker)

Trevor Ferguson, 48, was racing in the Supertwins event on one of Farquhar's KMR Kawasakis when the fatal crash happened.

"His wife and girls are in pieces," Farquhar told the Newsletter.

"I don't ever want Karen and my two girls to ever have to go through something like that.

"This is a sport I love, but I can't risk putting my family through something like that anymore - I have to think of them."

I'm finished with racing. I've lost a lot of friends, but it's different when it comes to your own doorstep.
Ryan Farquhar

Farquhar, who has been to the crash site to lay flowers in memory of his uncle, added that he wasn't sure he could even run a team in the future.

"I keep thinking if I hadn't offered him the bike and he'd been on his own bike, then maybe it wouldn't have happened - but life is all ifs and buts," he said.

Meanwhile, Ballymoney's Michael Dunlop dedicated his win in Friday's Superbike race on the Mountain circuit to Trevor Ferguson.

Dunlop pushed his Suzuki to an average speed of 112.54mph over the four-lap race.

Antrim rider John Simpson worked his way up from ninth on his Triumph to win the main race of the week, the Senior Manx Grand Prix.

Comments

1 Comments

charles in lisbellaw wrote (261 days ago):

As I symphasise with you on the death of your uncle, I congratulate you Ryan Farquhar, on your exceptional career on racing bikes, but more importantly, on your decision to put your family first, something which I always feel the majority of bike racers never do. I find the presence of motorbikes (the machines of death) at funeral processions of deceased riders to be quite distasteful, as if to "glorify" the bikes in the eyes of God. Their presence removes all semblance of reverence from the occasion. Of course, this is merely my humble opinion, but an opinion I hold very firmly.

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'Gutted' Farquhar to quit motorcycling

Dungannon motorcyclist Ryan Farquhar is to quit racing completely, following the death of his uncle at the Manx Grand Prix - saying he can't risk putting his family through more tragedy.