Irish road racer chats to MCN

Ryan Farquhar is one of the top Irish racers on the roads.

His 2006 season was wrecked by an arm injury at the very start of the season but now he is fully fit and plans to bounce back in style in 2007 at the Centenary TT.

MCN met up with him recently to discuss his plans

MCN: What are you doing next year?

Farquhar: I’m riding a Mark Johns Honda in the superbike class. I’ve also get backing from Kenny Parker in the Superstock and Supersport classes but we’re still making our minds up which bikes to go for.

MCN: Is there any truth that you’re going to cut back on the amount of Irish road races you do in 2007?

Farquhar: It’s true. It’s too much of a commitment to do all the Irish races. I want to do some BSB rounds instead.

MCN: Why is that when you’ve always concentrated on the roads before? 
 
Farquhar: You’ve got guys like Ian Hutchinson and Guy Martin doing the major short circuit races in whatever class at BSB rounds and they come to the roads and they are really sharp.

The BSB rounds give you plenty of time on the bike so not only does it give you a better focus you also get time to set the bike up better. I’d also like to do Daytona in 2007 to get on a bike nice and early in decent weather.

MCN: Isn’t there an element of self-preservation in your change of direction too?

Farquhar: I’m not giving up the roads entirely but yes, I had my big crash at the start of the year.

I was also almost caught up in the crash that cost Darran Lindsay his life so I have started to look at the roads in a different light. I’ll pick and choose the events I do in future.