FARQUHAR WINS RE-INTRODUCED BIKERPETITION.CO.UK LIGHTWEIGHT TT CLASS Ryan Farquhar took his third TT win on Saturday evening when he took the re-introduced Lightweight TT on the KMR Kawasaki. Farquhar overcame an early challenge from James Hillier and, once the pit stop strategies had balanced themselves out, was over 20 seconds clear of his fellow Kawasaki rival and eventually took the win by 28.99s. To round out a really good day for Farquhar, Michael Rutter completed the podium on a second KMR Kawasaki. After weather problems caused numerous delays to the day’s schedule, which resulted in the first ever cancellation of the Senior race, the Lightweight race, for Supertwin-spec machines, got underway at 6.30pm over the full 3-lap distance. With riders warned of the damp, particularly over the Mountain section, it was Hillier who led the field away but at Glen Helen it was Farquhar who led the Bournemouth Kawasaki rider by 2 seconds. Rutter was a further second back in third whilst Russ Mountford was putting in a sterling ride in fourth. William Dunlop and Cameron Donald completed the top six. As the lap progressed, Farquhar was reducing the ten-second starting gap deficit to Hillier and by Ramsey Hairpin, he’d caught him on the road with Rutter now in second. The gap was ten seconds but Hillier was only 0.2s adrift of Rutter in third whilst Mountford was still riding excellently in fourth. With an opening lap of 115.088mph, Farquhar led Hillier by 14.1s as Rutter dropped back to third with Mountford, Dunlop and Ian Lougher completing the top six. However, pitstop strategies now came into play and Hillier, Lougher, Mountford and Ivan Lintin all carried on whilst the other leaderboard men refuelled. That meant the top six was somewhat shuffled around at Glen Helen on lap two and Hillier now led, his margin over Mountford 19 seconds. Farquhar was still in third with Lintin up to fourth and Lougher fifth. Rutter was in sixth and lost time at the pits when he struggled to get the machine fired up. Hillier led for the entire lap but Farquhar was eating into his advantage all the time and it was clear he’d retake the lead on corrected time when Hillier stopped. The gap at the end of the second lap was just 6.76s and as Hillier had his tank topped up, the Ulsterman sped by. Mountford and Lintin were still in third and fourth with Rutter overhauling Lougher for fifth. As the riders swept through Glen Helen for the third and final lap, the race settled down and Farquhar’s lead was a more than healthy 28 seconds. Hillier was 11 seconds up on Rutter with Mountford still in fourth although he was only 0.8s up on Donald who in turn was only four seconds ahead of William Dunlop, Lintin having slipped back to seventh. Farquhar duly completed the lap for his third podium of the week and his first win on the Mountain Course since 2005 and his eventually winning margin over Hillier was 28.99s, the latter taking his debut podium to complete an excellent week of results. Rutter took third and claimed the fastest lap of the race at 115.554mph. He’d caught Donald on the road and the Australian was able to take fourth and get the better of Mountford, the Wigan rider still taking his best ever TT result though. William Dunlop took sixth with Lintin, Lougher, Olie Linsdell and Jamie Hamilton rounding out the top ten. Hamilton was also mounted on a KMR Kawasaki with his result giving him the Newcomers Trophy for 2012. More, from a press release issued by KMR Kawasaki: Farquhar ends TT with brilliant Lightweight race win Ryan Farquhar completed his 2012 Isle of Man TT campaign with a brilliant victory in the re-introduced Lightweight TT race on Saturday. Having already taken third in the Superstock and second Supersport races, the KMR Kawasaki rider overcame a strong challenge from James Hillier and, having led on the first lap, a difference in pit stop strategies meant that he had to wait until the start of the third lap before re-taking the lead. His eventual winning margin though was almost 30 seconds as he swept to the third TT win of his career. Adverse weather conditions on the Island meant that the race was postponed from Friday and also delayed heavily on Saturday but it eventually got underway at 6.25pm and over the full 3-lap distance. The gap between Ryan and Hillier at Glen Helen, 9 miles into the race, was just two seconds but Ryan continually extended his lead and with an opening lap of 115.088mph, he led the race by 14.11s. However, he opted to pit for fuel at the end of the lap whilst Hillier went stright through and that meant positions changed. Indeed, Hillier now led by over 20 seconds although this would probably be not enough of a cushion when it was his turn to pit. Ryan made sure it was immaterial though as he again reeled in his younger rival over the course of the lap and the deficit was down to just 6.76s as Hillier refuelled. Through Glen Helen on the third lap, the race finally settled down again and it meant that Ryan was leading James by 28 seconds whilst fellow KMR Kawasaki rider Michael Rutter was up to third. Positions remained the same for the remainder of the lap and Ryan came home 28.99s clear of Hillier with Rutter setting the fastest lap of the race, 115.554mph, to take third. It was Ryan’s first TT win since 2005, his third in total and also his 13th TT podium. There was also a brilliant end to the week for Jamie Hamilton as he finished in a superb 10th place, to win his first silver replica. He also lapped at 112.149mph and the result earned him the coveted Newcomers Trophy. Speaking after the race, a delighted Ryan said: “I’ve worked so hard for this and am absolutely over the moon to have won the race. I was pretty nervous before the race as a lot of people were saying I was the clear favourite whilst I was also putting myself under a fair bit of pressure so to actually get the win is superb. Conditions weren’t too bad and I expected it to be worse than what it was so I took it steady to begin with, sussed out where the damp conditions were and then rode as fast and as steady as I could. The bike never missed a beat and once I could see James in the distance, I knew I was catching him up on time. The strategy went like a dream and the whole race went like clockwork. I’ve tried to push the class as much as I could and whilst everyone said I was the favourite, it’s never as simple as that. There’s always pressure so to be sitting here with a 1-3 for the team is unreal. I did a lot of work on James’ bike so I’ll take some credit for that as well!” “It was also very pleasing to see Jamie finish his TT week on a high. A few silly little problems have prevented him getting a finish so to come 10th and win the Newcomers Trophy is a brilliant end to his week. He’s ridden very well and enjoyed it immensely, which is exactly what we all wanted so it bodes well for the years ahead. I’d also like to say a big thank you to Kawasaki who continue to be 100% behind me and also to all the team sponsors who’s support is invaluable – if it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be here today. It was a shame I struggled with the Superbike and couldn’t get it to handle but, overall, all the other races have gone well and it’s been a good 2012 TT for me.” More, from a press release issued by Bournemouth Kawasaki Pr1mo Racing: Hillier claims brilliant Lightweight TT podium James Hillier finished this year’s Isle of Man TT Races in superb style when he claimed his first ever podium with second place in Saturday’s Lightweight TT. The Ringwood rider had set the second fastest lap during practice week on the 650cc Kawasaki and, as expected, the race became a battle between James and race favourite Ryan Farquhar. The latter eventually prevailed but it was yet another brilliant ride by James and crowned a brilliant week for the Bournemouth Kawasaki Pr1mo Racing team. Torrential rain on the Island wiped out all of Friday’s race schedule and so the Lightweight and Senior races were moved back to Saturday but with parts of the circuit remaining damp, it meant further delays and, indeed, cancellation of the Blue Riband Senior race, the first time in the 105-year history of the event this had occurred. However, the 3-lap Lightweight race, re-introduced for 2012, did take place although it wasn’t until 6.25pm that it finally got underway. Starting at number 1, a strong start saw James lie in second place at Glen Helen on the opening lap, just two seconds behind Farquhar but the KMR Kawasaki rider, so influential in the class being held at the TT, was reeling him in and by Ramsey Hairpin, they were together on the road. At the end of the lap, Farquhar led by 14 seconds but as he pitted for fuel, James continued and so took over at the head of the field. At one stage, his lead was up to 25 seconds but having to pit at the end of the second lap, it would be the third lap before we would know the true running order. Lapping slightly slower than he had done during practice, James’ lead when he stopped to refuel was down to 7 seconds and after his stop, Farquhar was now clear in the lead. However, James was secure in second and he duly completed the third and final lap to take a dream debut podium. On Wednesday, Hillier finished in seventh place in the second Supersport TT race thus ensuring he finished in the top seven of all five of the solo races held this year. Sixth for the majority of the race, James got pushed back a place on the final lap but he set his best ever lap on a 600cc machine, 122.082mph, and the results meant he finished 5th overall in the Joey Dunlop TT Championship. Speaking later, a delighted James said: I’ve been building up year on year so to get a podium is like a dream come true. I’ve been getting faster and my results have been improving and this just rounds off a brilliant week for me. I was getting a bit emotional over the last few miles when the reality of getting a podium began to sink in but I kept it going until the end and brought the bike home. It was a bit damp to begin with but not too bad so I read the flags and the road and conditions got better and better throughout so it was definitely the right call to run the race and it was good to see so many fans still lining the course. Overall, it’s been a superb week for me and I’ve just been chipping away all fortnight. My aim was to build on last year and although I didn’t improve my lap times as much as I would have liked, my results did improve and every race has gone faultlessly. I’m learning all the time, with each and every lap, so we’ll get there and, hopefully, the podium this week, is the first of many. The team have been brilliant this week and I can’t thank them enough – it’s simply been a great fortnight.” Team owner Pete Extance added: “To finish second in the re-introduced Lightweight race is a fantastic result for both James and the team. I think it’s fair to say Ryan was the firm favourite for the race but James made sure he didn’t have it all his own way and we’re all delighted that he’s taken his first TT podium. He rode sensibly on the first lap and took care on the damp parts but he was always quite secure in second and it was a quite superb ride. Overall, James has had a fantastic TT and his results – finishing in the top 7 in all of his races – have been very, very pleasing. The whole team has worked so hard and with no mechanical issues, their efforts have been duly rewarded and it’s been great for everyone involved. Since we joined forces with James, our aim was to bring him to the forefront of road racing and the results this week have been exactly what we’ve been working towards. We’ll be back for more in 2013 where we hope to improve further still so all it leaves me to say is a big, big thank you to everyone at Pr1mo and to all of our sponsors as they’ve played a massive part in making it happen.” James now returns to short circuit duty and will line up with regular team-mate Chris Walker at Knockhill, Scotland for the next round of the British Superbike Championship. The meeting takes place on June 22-24.