FANS are set for some pure road racing come next weekend’s Armoy Road Races, that’s according to Chairman and Clerk of the Course of the Armoy Motorcycling Road Racing Club, Bill Kennedy MBE.
Announcing some of the key riders, Bill Kennedy was enthused with the quality of entries including straight from the Southern 100, Davey Todd.
The Yorkshireman dominated the races on the Isle of Man with five wins from his seven starts including a thrilling battle in the Solo Championship race, finishing just 0.06 seconds ahead of Dean Harrison in second and Michael Dunlop in third. Riding as part of Milenco by the Padgett’s Motorcycles team, Todd has now turned his focus to Armoy.
Bill Kennedy MBE said:
“Davey Todd is a favourite of Armoy Road Races and has been very supportive of the Club. Last year saw him third in the Hilton Car Sales Supersport on the Friday Night and then second in the Bayview Hotel Races of Legends on Saturday. This year he’s riding for Clive Padgett, who has, over the years, supported and helped various top riders.
“I had a quick conversation with Clive [Padgett] as Davey was keen to come to Armoy. What I didn’t realise was that Clive and my late brother, Frank, were great friends – he also thought that the Club has been doing a tremendous job. So, it was relatively easy to get Clive to agree to Davey to come to Armoy.”
When asked about the other riders Bill was “delighted with not just the quantity of entries but the quality”.
He continued; “We’ve the favourite and very popular Guy Martin back to renew his rivalry with Ian Lougher, in the Tilesplus Senior Classics, although on this occasion they are both teammates riding John Chapman’s MV Augusta.
“I know one question that most local people will want answered and that is, will Michael [Dunlop] be there and all I know is, is that he has an entry in, however he is still sorting a bike out. I’ve no doubt if Michael gets that sorted, he’ll be there. He knows that this is his local race and that he has a loyal and large fan base who will be hoping to see him back to defend the Race of Legends title for the 10th year in a row.”
Other riders also include Derek Shiels, Derek McGee, Paul Jordan, Adam McClean, Jamie Coward, Michael Sweeney, Darryl Tweed and Dominic Herbertson, who has entered late with Davis Motorsport on a 600 Kawasaki. In addition to Wilson Craig’s French rider, Pierre Yves Bian there is Austrian Julian Trummer. We’ve also Michal “Indi” Dokoupil and Veronica Hankocyova back this year from the Czech Republic.
“There are so many good riders, the likes of Forest Dunn is riding in the 350cc Classic and team mates, Paul Gartland and Maria Costello will also be at Armoy, all supported by local man Hugh Murphy. We’ve also Philip Crowe back, who will be looking forward to improve upon his position.
“Then there’s Mike Browne, Scottish rider Donald McFayden, and Thomas Maxwell. There’s just too many to mention at this stage. The quantity of riders also means we will have two B races. With only 27 places on the grid the Euro Autospares 600 Open and the Galgorm 650 Supertwin will both have B races. Then the MJF Construction Junior Classics will see two separate races: the 250 classic and 350 classic as we’ve that many entries. This ensures that everyone gets a race.
“I’ve no doubt that next weekend will see some of the best road racing ever at Armoy. “We are also delighted to see Greenlight Television back filming all the action, so we hope to have dates very soon on when BBC Northern Ireland will be airing coverage from next weekend’s racing.”
This year, Bike Week runs from Sunday 24th July until Saturday 30th July with the races taking place on Friday 29th July and Saturday 30th July 2022 culminating in the Bayview Hotel ‘Race of Legends’. The Armoy Road Races event is enabled by funding from Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council.
For more information on Armoy Road Races, visit www.armoyroadraces.com or search for ‘AMRRC’ on Facebook or follow on twitter @ArmoyRoadRaces.
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