EXCLUSIVE: Ryan Farquhar - Q&A Interview

Crash.net
What made you decide to return to the Superbike class for 2015 on the roads?

Ryan Farquhar:
I'll never go back to the level of racing I did a few years back when I was running to every race week in, week out, but after last year I knew there was no point in coming back with just one bike at the likes of the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT. I was really on the back foot because I was missing out on a lot of track time by just focusing on the Supertwin. At the TT I think I managed about 11 laps in total - some riders were probably doing 11 laps in a single day. When it came to the race the other riders were jumping on the wee twin and riding it like it was a toy, whereas I wasn't fully dialled in like they were and plus I wasn't really bike fit either. It would be a waste of time to do the same thing again this year so I decided to come back and ride a Kawasaki Superbike and my old 'Stocker as well.

Crash.net
Looking back at last year, it seemed as though some of your rivals bridged the gap to the KMR Kawasaki Supertwin machines in the class, with riders like Ivan Lintin, Dean Harrison and Lee Johnston all enjoying success at the international meetings. Were you disappointed with how the season panned out?

Ryan Farquhar:
We were a bit unlucky last year in the Supertwin races because Keith Amor had a new lap record at the North West and set the fastest lap at the TT, but we just didn't quite get the results. I'm not saying his bike is the fastest out there, but I've been working hard on development and we have made some forward steps over the past few months, so I'm pretty confident the bikes will be good. But like I said, the main thing for me was a lack of track time and it wouldn't have mattered whether I'd been riding the best bike on the grid, the race at the TT was a struggle to be honest.

Crash.net
What plans do you have regarding running other riders in your KMR Kawasaki team this year?

Ryan Farquhar:
Young Connor Behan will ride a Supertwin for me again as well as his own Supersport machine. At this stage Jeremy McWilliams will be doing the North West 200 and possibly Armoy in July. Jeremy had talked about racing a 600 at the North West but he's keeping his cards close to his chest, so I'm not sure what his plans are on that! I've got backing once more from SGS International and this year Manx Gas are giving me extra support compared to last season, plus all my other loyal sponsors are on board. We'll look to get some testing done in March, although I don't think we'll be going to Spain because of the expense involved, so we'll probably just get a few tests done locally at Kirkistown. Connor will do the same as he did last year and ride at all the Irish national meetings as well as the internationals, but my plan is to start off at the Tandragee 100 and then the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT. I've been asked to go back to the Southern 100 this year as a past winner because they're celebrating an anniversary, so I'll either be taking part in a parade there or possibly I'll do a race or two as well. After that, I'll do Armoy along with Jeremy. I'm undecided yet whether or not to do the Scarborough events, so I'll have a think about that over the next few weeks.

Crash.net
Your last race in anger on the bigger bikes was a few years ago in 2012; do you think you can come back and be as competitive as you were then at the Isle of Man TT?

Ryan Farquhar:
I've heard people saying I'm finished and that my best days are behind me - all the usual stuff. But if you look at the Irish national races, no-one has been able to really trouble Michael Dunlop in the big races since I stopped riding the big bikes in 2012. I was the only one able to really push Michael and none of the younger up and coming riders have been able to do that. Time will tell, but I'm going all out with the Superbike to build the best one that I can and I'm still confident I'll be there or thereabouts at the TT. When you look at the lap times, not many riders have managed to lap at over 130mph on a Superstock machine at the TT [which Farquhar achieved when he finished as the runner-up to Ian Hutchinson in 2010]. I've been running and exercising again, which I haven't done for a few years, plus I've bought myself a new mountain bike and I'll be out training on that once I get back from Australia [where Farquhar is competing in the International Island Classic meeting at Phillip Island] at the beginning of February.

Crash.net
Have you set yourself any goals this year?

Ryan Farquhar:
Not really. Right now all I'm worried about is getting the bikes prepared and making sure I get myself back into the best possible shape. After that, we'll just take things as they come. I'm not going to bother running a Supersport bike, I'll just focus on the big bikes and the twin. We'll see what happens, but I'm not finished just yet.

Crash.net
Thanks for your time Ryan.

Ryan Farquhar:
No bother, cheers.