Nutts Corner Circuit, Co.Antrim made a welcome return to the Irish supermoto calender after nearly four years away due to noise issues this past weekend for Round 4 of the Ulster Supermoto Championship.
To mark this occasion the organisers invited Multiple Irish Champion now British & World Championship rider Keith Farmer and semi retired multiple Irish champion David Mckee to compete against all the Ulster championship regulars in front of a good crowd and invited media.
With bright weather to start the day things looked to be gearing up nicely until a heavy 30 minute shower turned everything around. With last minute tyre changes practice got underway with no real dramas and with all eyes on Farmer & Mckee. As timed qualifying rolled around Farmers team showed its experience gained at World Championship level and despite only a small dry line Farmer headed the group almost 3 seconds quicker than his rivals due to opting for a full rear slick. However this was short lived as most of the field pitted for the same rear tyre choice, meanwhile cruel luck fated the SMRacing Rocket Centre Aprilia UK rider as a foreign object was thrown up into the rear wheel of the Aprilia and almost instantly destroyed it. With very little of the session left Farmer retired and regrouped for the races and fell to third on the grid. Farmers older brother David, current leader of the Ulster championship showed great speed and maturity to gain pole in the closing seconds from the returning Mckee aboard a Factory KTM and British & National championship regular and another SMRacing supported rider Chris Babbitt aboard his Husaberg rounded out the front row.
Dry skies and warm sun prevailed for race one and with Farmer in determined mood as the lights changed he rode round the outside of McKee in turn two before setting his sights on his older brother. Again misfortune was to strike Farmer as he attempted the pass for the lead entering the dirt section, blinded by thick dust the Aprilia spun out and high sided Farmer who was then repeatedly ran over by a large portion of the field also blinded by the dust. As the dust settled it was evident the race had to be stopped with eight riders and bikes strewn all over the dirt, Farmer although winded and bruised returned to the pits to have his bike repaired whilst the officials met and subsequently removed the whole section from the rest of the day on safety grounds.
Race one restart showed Farmers true grit with strong passes within the first lap to gain a lead of considerable seconds that he would never relinquish. David Farmer rode strong a despite another good start off pole had to settle for second, Mckee went out on lap one with machine trouble, the highly strung factory KTM refusing to see the lap out and he retired for the day. This left Chris Babbitt to fend off the Ulster championship regulars for a well deserved third on his first ride in Ireland this season.
Race two was much of the same with the Farmer brothers play riding until Keith decided to push the pace and again dominate the race for an easy win. David Farmer held off Babbitt to equal his race one result.
Race three saw Keith Farmer burst to the front before turn one, his VDB replica Aprilia 550 easily out sprinted everyone to the first corner and with blistering pace he held a massive lead to the flag, David Farmer and Babbitt resumed their battle with the pair finishing in the same order as before.
With three dominant wins on what is perhaps his only appearance in Ireland until he defends his Winter title, Keith Farmer topped the podium with his brother David in second, possibly the first time in Irish supermoto that brothers have finished 1-2 and another dominant performance for the Aprilia mounted pair. Chris Babbitt scored a well deserved and solid third aboard yet another SMRacing supported machine.
With two free weekends to recover the Teams next outing will be Round 4 of the British Supermoto Championship at Crail in Scotland, Farmer starts second in the standings behind aprilia factory rider Christian Iddon and will be looking to further his challenge to Iddon after taking two race wins off him last time out.
2008 Team Sponsors:
SMRacing, Rocket Centre, Aprilia UK, WULFSPORT Clothing, Helmets & Boots, MOTUL Oils & Lubricants, RST Leathers & Gloves, ARIETE Goggles & Grips, RK Racing Chain, NGK Sparkplugs, RDH Motorhome Centre, Reflex Racing Titanium Products, R&G Crash Protectors, Sports Suppliments Supplies.
