For the third successive weekend, Ryan Farquhar scored a double race win as he picked up both the Superbike and 600cc victories at the Skerries 100 road races in Southern Ireland on Saturday. Held on the 2.92-mile circuit on the outskirts of Dublin, Ryan was in superb form as he led both races from start to finish, also smashing the 600cc lap record in the process. Overnight and morning rain eventually gave way to sunny skies and clear conditions and Ryan’s day got off to the perfect start on the Harker Kawasaki as he led the 8-lap Superbike race from start to finish, eventually taking the victory by 6.761seconds. A quick change of both leathers and machine saw Ryan take a close third in the Junior race on board Roy Hanna’s 250cc Honda before heading out on the 600cc Harker Kawasaki for the Supersport 600cc race. The Dungannon ace was again in imperious form over the 8 laps, leading from start to finish once more and his fastest lap of 107.196mph was not only a new class lap record but also the fastest lap of the day. Ryan’s hopes of a hat trick were dashed though when the Grand Final was abandoned after an incident on the opening lap. Speaking afterwards, Ryan commented: ‘It’s been another good day and with two more wins and another lap record, I’m really happy with how things are going. Keith Amor wasn’t too far behind me on the opening laps of the Open race but I just watched my pit boards and bit by bit pulled away for a good win. The little 250cc Honda wasn’t quite quick enough to challenge William and Michael (Dunlop) but it was still a solid result.’ ‘As for the 600cc race, the bike was working really well and I’ve got to say thanks to MSS for giving me a new engine and to John O’Grady for doing a great job on getting it set up perfectly. I managed to break the lap record on the final lap and actually went quicker than what I did on the big bike although I felt confident of going quicker in the Grand Final. It’s a real shame the day ended on a low note and my best wishes go to those injured. It’s a real busy time of the year for me but the bikes are working well and I’m looking forward to more of the same, next time out.’ Ryan now heads to the Isle of Man for the annual Southern 100 road races, which take place from July 7th-10th on the 4.25-mile Billown Circuit.

More, from a press release issued by Damian Cudlin’s publicist:

CUDLIN KING AT THE SALZBURGRING

Australian Damian Cudlin scored his first win in the German IDM Supersport Championship, snatching victory on the last lap in a thrilling race at the Salzburgring on the weekend.

Starting from 4th on the grid, Cudlin made the most of his first front row start of the season, surging to 3rd place on the opening lap. Wedged in an eight bike freight train for the first 7 laps, Cudlin swiftly moved into the lead at the halfway point, attempting to make a break on the pursuing pack.

Lifting the pace, Cudlin stretched a small gap over his rivals, shaking off the advances of Tode and Diss. However experienced team mate Rico Penzkofer matched Cudlin’s every move and stormed into contention with a strong pass for the lead with 5 laps to go.

From then on it was formation flying for the SKM/Bike Promotion Yamaha squad, as Cudlin and Penzkofer rode within inches of each other through the 280kph Stein Curve, battling for supremacy.

Trailing Penzkofer on the final lap, Cudlin set up a last lap lunge in the final complex section, sliding underneath the German under brakes and holding his nerve to steal victory by 0.018 of a second.

“This feels unreal” Cudlin beamed at the finish. “Penz and I had a great fight at the end of the race, but I put myself in the right place on the last lap to make my move on the brakes into the complex. I knew if I didn’t make a mistake in the last turn I’d win the race, thankfully it all worked out.”

Cudlin’s win came at a perfect time, as championship leader Arne Tode struggled to a 6th place finish. The young Aussie now sits just 29 points adrift of the German in the title chase.

“I’ve put so much effort into it this year, and now the hard work is really paying off.” Cudlin explained. “I’m still not thinking about a championship, I’m just here to win races. No one expected me to be where I am right now, so I don’t feel any pressure at all. I think the pressure is resting on Arne’s shoulders now”¦”

“I want to take the chance to thank everyone who has supported me this year, especially my SKM/Bike Promotion team members and Dunlop. I hope we can keep this momentum going now and finish the year strong.”

Cudlin will now turn his attentions to the World Endurance Championship and the Suzuka 8 Hour race, before returning to the Supersport class for the next round of the IDM series in Schleiz.

More, from a press release written by Mike Solis and issued by AFM:

AFM Round 4 at Thunderhill

After a strong start to the season with two wins and a second place finish, it looked like James Randolph and his Santa Cruz Cycle Imports Suzuki had firm grasp on the 2008 Kal Gard Formula Pacific championship. At Thunderhill last weekend, David Stanton let everyone know that he and the Mach 1 Motorsports Yamaha were not to be counted out, taking his first Formula Pacific win of the season after coming out on top of a heated battle with second place finisher Cory Call.

At the start of the race, it was Call in front after Pacific Tracktime’s Michael Earnest crashed out in Turn 2 attempting to make a pass on Stanton. With his head down and his eyes on the front, Stanton took the lead from Call into Turn 11, only to have Call retake the lead on the front straight heading into Turn 1. Together, Call and Stanton began to pull away from the rest of the field as points leader James Randolph went backwards, riding his Production bike after experiencing mechanical problems on his Superbike earlier in the day.

On the last lap of the race Stanton made his move, taking the lead from Call with an assertive pass into Turn 6. Call was unable to counterattack as Stanton went on to take his first Formula Pacific win of the season. Call finished second, with Nicky Moore third.

“Riding with Cory is so comfortable,” said Stanton, “I don’t worry about him making any kinds of moves. When he passed me, he’d have both ends moving, I’d come back by and I’d have both ends moving — my hat is off to both Nicky and Cory for doing such phenomenal jobs. I have to thank both Kenny and Lisa Norman, and to KC from BRG. This motor is still stock from when we blew one up at the last round, but KC was able to get some more power from it. It’s unbelievably fast!”

Before the race, many thought Call would be the man to beat in the Formula Pacific race, having finished ahead of Stanton by a comfortable margin in the Open Superbike race earlier in the day.

“I told myself I had to leave the throttle open longer than Dave, but I forgot to tell myself I had to pick it up earlier than him too,” said Call in the winners circle. “My first race today went good, and I thought I’d have Dave covered in this one — a little overconfidence kills! I have to thank MDK Motorsports, Race Ready Motorsports, and Dunlop tires. Terry said they had a new sick compound for today, that I should use a DOT instead of a slick on the back. It worked well in the first race so I went with it again in the second, and it held up! Slick front and DOT rear — that new 211 is the one to have.”

After spending some time on the AMA national circuit, Nicky Moore scored an impressive third place finish in his first AFM event of the season. Towards the end of the race, Martin Szwarc closed the gap on Moore in an attempt to challenge for the final podium position, but his charge fell short after a vicious highside in Turn 11.

“This Stockton Moto Suzuki and Pirelli Tires was working really good,” said Moore, “it’s only my second time on it! I saw Martin getting closer and I thought we were gonna have a little battle at the end. I’m not sure what happened to him.”

Once again, Australian David Anthony took more wins than any other rider over the course of the weekend, with first place finishes in Open Production, 750 Production, and 600 Production. The Keigwins@theTrack 600 race was seen by many as the race of the day, with a race-long, five-rider battle for the lead between Anthony, Lenny Hale, and Tony “The Tiger” Meiring, as well up-and-comers Jimmy Wood and Garrett Willis.

Despite almost highsiding out of Turn 4 on the last lap on his Wyotech Suzuki, Anthony was able to hold on to take the win, with Hale second and Meiring third.

“These Pirellis — wow — they’re really good, with me and Garrett both on em!” said Anthony. “That last lap in Turn 4, I was doing it in second gear but I was losing some drive up the hill. So I said ‘let’s try first’ and it kinda locked up on me. Those boys drove out of the corners a lot harder than me so I lost a little there and they were kinda hard to pass. I just had a bit more corner speed.”

The next round of AFM action is scheduled to take place August 16th-17th at Infineon Raceway.

AFM Round 4 July 6-7, 2008 Thunderhill Park Unofficial Results

Kal-Gard Formula Pacific 1. David Stanton (Yam 1000) 2. Cory Call (Suz 1000) 3. Nicky Moore (Suz 1000) 4. David Anthony (Suz 1000) 5. James Randolph (Suz 1000) 6. Mike Sullivan (Suz 1000)

Foremost Insurance Open Superbike 1. Cory Call (Suz 1000) 2. David Stanton (Yam 1000) 3. Martin Szwarc (Suz 1000) 4. David Bell (Suz 1000) 5. David Kunzelman (Suz 1000) 6. Jeff Hagan (Suz 1000)

R Tech Fuels 750 Superbike 1. Lenny Hale (Yam 600) 2. Matthew Green (Duc 750) 3. Neil O’Reilly (Suz 600) 4. Peter O’Sullivan (Suz 750) 5. Scott Schwanbeck (Duc 750) 6. Brian Parriott (BMW 1170)

Pacific Track Time 600 Superbike 1. Jeffrey Tigert (Hon 600) 2. Garrett Willis (Hon 600) 3. Jimmy Wood (Yam 600) 4. Lenny Hale (Yam 600) 5. Tony Meiring (Yam 600) 6. Mike Sullivan (Yam 600)

Alpine RV 450 Superbike 1. Michael Lohmeyer (Hon) 2. Erick Crabtree (Yam) 3. Liko Miles (Suz 750) 4. Jon Forman (Suz) 5. Ed Haazer (Hon) 6. Andrew Silva (Hon)

250 Superbike 1. Martin Ayala (Hus) 2. Mohammed Kahium (Kaw 250) 4. Kelly Winkelbauer (Yam 250)

The Track Club Open Production 1. David Anthony (Suz 1000) 2. Cory Call (Suz 1000) 2. James Randolph (Suz 1000) 4. Nicky Moore (Suz 1000) 5. Martin Szwarc (Suz 1000) 6. Mike Sullivan (Suz 1000)

750 Production 1. David Anthony (Suz 600) 2. Jimmy Wood (Suz 750) 3. Lenny Hale (Yam 600) 4. Brian Parriott (BMW 1170) 5. Liko Miles (Suz 750) 6. Stan Riner (Suz 750)

Keigwins@theTrack 600 Production 1. David Anthony (Suz 600) 2. Lenny Hale (Yam 600) 3. Tony Meiring (Yam 600) 4. Garrett Willis (Hon 600) 5. Jimmy Wood (Yam 600) 6. Brant Wiwi (Yam 600)

650 Twins Production 1. David Raff (Suz 650) 2. Alex Florea (Suz 650) 3. James Barker (Suz 650) 4. Brian Davis (Suz 650) 5. Roger Gonzalez (Suz 650) 6. Andrew Silva (Hon)

250 Production 1. Mohammed Kahium (Kaw 250) 2. Kelly Winkelbauer (Kaw 250) 3. Brendan Hanley (Suz 400) 4. Daniel Lucero (Kaw 250) 5. Ben Martinek (Kaw 250) 6. Pete Demas (Kaw 250)

GP Frame and Wheel Open Grand Prix 1. David Bell (Suz 1000) 2. Justin Mastalka (Suz 1000) 3. Craig Smith (Suz 1000) 4. Harley Barnes (Suz 1000) 5. Gabriel San Coloma (Hon 1000) 6. Justin Givens (Suz 1000)

Scuderia West Formula 1 1. Neil O’Reilly (Suz 600) 2. Peter O’Sullivan (Suz 750) 3. Gabriel San Coloma (Yam 600) 4. Matt Eccleston (Yam 600) 5. Stan Riner (Suz 750) 6. Andy Allen (Yam 600)

Formula 2 1. Jeff Leggit (Yam 250) 2. Carlos Neves (Hon 250) 3. Kelly Winkelbauer (Yam 250) 4. Richard Reynolds (Yam 250) 5. Richard Denman (Hon 250) 6. Brian Hoffman (Hon 250)

Formula 3 1. Deion Campbell (Hon 125) 2, Marcus Henderson (Hon 1250) 3. Kevin Murray 4. Jess Ganuelas (Hon 125) 5. Phillip Krenn (Hon 125) 6. John Kreidle (Hon 125)

Race-Oil.com AMSOIL Formula 4 1. Dan Sewell (Suz 650) 2. David Raff (Suz 650) 3. Jay Avansino (Suz 650) 4. William Fox (Suz 650) 5. Brian Harp (Suz 650) 6. Michael Lohmeyer (Hon)

Desmoto Sport Open Twins 1. Thomas Montano (Duc 1098) 2. Matt Green (Duc 750) 3. Brian Parriott (BMW 1170) 4. Scott Schwanbeck (Duc 750) 5. Craig McLean (Duc 1098) 6. Sherwick Min (Duc 1098)

650 Twins 1. David Raff (Suz 650) 2. Dan Sewell (Suz 650) 3. Jay Avansino (Suz 650) 4. William Fox (Suz 650) 5. Brian Harp (Suz 650) 6. Jose QUintanar (Suz 650)

500 Twins 1. Jonathan Forman (Suz 500) 2. Robert Clifford (Kaw 500) 3. Robin Geenen (Kaw 500) 4. Eric Karl Schiller (Kaw 500) 5. Mohammed Kahium (Kaw 250) 6. Michael Emmons (Kaw 500)

Formula Singles 1. Jim Hoogerhyde (Hon) 2. Martin Ayala (Hus) 3. Todd Thompson (KTM) 4. Edward Lloyd (Hus) 5. Brendan Hanley (Suz 400) 6. Gerry Piazza (Yam)

Super Dinosaur 1. Guy Hyder (Hon) 2. Mark Woodlief (Kaw) 3. Ed Haazer (Hon) 4. Brian Mitchell (Duc) 5. David Crussel (Kaw) 6. Cary Hilt (Yam)

Teresa McKinney Realtor Formula 40 1. Jeff Hagan (Suz 1000) 2. Patrick Blackburn (Duc 1098) 3. Peter O’SUllivan (Suz 749) 4. Pete Demas (Tri 675) 5. Steve Engelbrecht (Suz 1000) 6. Nick Hayman (Duc 750)

Vintage 1. Timothy Silva (Yam) 2. Richard Haas (Duc) 3. Charles Sexton (Bul)

Clubman Lightweight 1. Deion Campbell (Hon 125) 2. Jess Ganuelas (Hon 125) 3. Todd Thompson (KTM) 4. Stephan Babuljak (Suz 650) 5. Christie Cooley (Suz 650) 6. Ricky Brown (Suz 650)

Clubman Middleweight 1. Wyatt King (Suz 750) 2. Jeff Greenberg (Suz 600) 3. James Strauch (Suz 750) 4. Jason Weiser (Yam 600) 5. Alex Littlewood (Suz 600) 6. Derek Adelman (Hon 250)

Clubman Heavyweight 1. Rob Pilgreen (Hon 1000) 2. Robert Kenny (Yam 1000) 3. Miles Scott (Duc 1000) 4. Jeffrey Walters (Yam 1000) 5. Darren Carroll (Hon 1000)