Farmer’s set for a brief comeback

IT wasn’t an opportunity he was seeking but when Jason McCaw suggested Keith Farmer dust off his leathers and race for the JMcC Roofing Racing Team at two rounds of the Ulster Superbike Championship and at the prestigious Sunflower meeting, the Clogher ace couldn’t refuse.

Having decided to bring an end to his glittering short circuit racing career during a round of the British Superbike Championship at Silverstone last September, the four-time British champion has been enjoying his retirement as a mentor to Omagh’s Jamie Lyons in the Pirelli National Junior Superstock Championship and hadn’t given any thought to a racing return.

However, when McCaw phoned him out of the blue on Wednesday night of last week about another matter, the conversation soon turned to racing and it was then the surprise offer of a comeback ride was made and quickly accepted by the Tyrone native.

“It’s just to have a bit of fun because it just came out of the woodwork,” Farmer explained.

“Jason rang about another thing and then he asked if I had thought about coming out of retirement and I said ‘no, not really, I’m not that bothered because I’m not missing it that much’.

“So he asked about riding in Ireland, which I had never really thought about and the next thing he asked if I’d be interested in riding a bike for him and I said ‘probably’ and that was it!”

Farmer’s first comeback will take place on the weekend of July 16th and 17th at the double-header, Neil and Donny Robinson Memorial races at Bishopscourt on the JMcC Roofing Racing Superbike, which he will also race at the season-ending Sunflower.

And while Farmer is adamant that this isn’t a fully-fledged comeback, he is looking forward to the cut and thrust of racing once more.

“The first one will be about getting on the bike and seeing how it feels,” Farmer explained. “We’ll be trying to get the bike set up for the Sunflower mainly but also we’ll have to see how I feel back on a bike again.

“I’m looking forward to it because I will be nice to be getting back on a bike with no pressure because I haven’t really ridden much in Northern Ireland.

“It’ll be nice to be riding back home, to be able to go out to enjoy riding a bike again.”