Farmer family ‘honoured’ to receive special accolade

THE late Keith Farmer was honoured at Friday night’s Adelaide Motorcycle Insurance Irish Motorbike Awards.

The Clogher Bullet, who passed away suddenly in November last year, was highly regarded in Irish and British motorcycle racing circles and that showed with the standing ovation his brother David and sisters, Wendy Forsythe and Kathy Valentine, received when making their way to the stage to collect the Emporio Bathrooms Special Recognition Award on his behalf at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Belfast.

For the Farmer family, receiving the award on Keith’s behalf was a bitter-sweet experience.

“It was tough [to receive the award],” admitted Keith’s older brother, David.

“The warmth of the reception was something else and we were honoured that the Irish Motorbike Awards were thinking of him and that people still had him in their thoughts.

“It was very, very tough because it was such a shame that he couldn’t be there to lift it himself, but we were very happy to do it for him.”

Keith, who was only 35 at the time of his tragic passing, was a four-time British short-circuit champion, winning the British Junior Superstock title in 2011 and the National Superstock 1000 Championship the following year after joining Paul Bird’s Kawasaki team. He then went on to prove his class by winning the British Supersport crown in 2017 on the Appleyard/Macadam Yamaha before winning the Superstock 1000 title for a second time in 2018, when he rode for Moneymore’s Tyco BMW team.

Prior to his success on tarmac, Keith was a champion in the mixed surface discipline of Supermoto racing where he honed his considerable skills before moving onto the short circuits where he made his name and cemented his reputation as one of the most versatile and talented riders ever to emerge from these shores.

And it was that ability on two wheels as well as his sparkling personality and cheery smile that endeared him to so many, which was evident on Friday night, as his friend, former MotoGP racer, Jeremy McWilliams, explained.

“My memory of Keith was a gentleman with an ever-lasting smile,” he said. ” Every time you saw him anywhere, he had a huge smile on his face.

“Anywhere he went, anywhere we went together, he was just met with the utmost respect. He was a gentleman and a competitor who won four Championships in three different categories, which I don’t think has been done by anyone else.

“The one thing I have to say about Keith is he was the nicest, most gentle, down to earth person you could ever meet, but a completely fierce contender.

“He was a man with a big heart and we miss him dearly.”

Meanwhile, several other local riders and teams were nominated for awards on the night. Castlederg teenager Cole McCullagh was commended in both the off road rider of the year category and the young rider section alongside title holder, Killyman’s Cameron Dawson, and 12-year-old Cookstown High School pupil, Jack Burrows. Ballinamallard’s Josh Elliott was shortlisted in the Irish short circuits rider of the year award and Cork’s Mike Browne, who races for Dungannon-based Burrows Engineering/RK Racing was in the running for the road racer of the year award after a stellar year. The Burrows team, Cookstown’s McAdoo Kawasaki Racing and Moneymore’s TAS Racing were all shortlisted in the team of the year award too.