Tributes paid to racing champion ‘Clogher Bullet’

A FOUR-TIME British motorbike racing champion, originally from Clogher, has died at the age of just 35.

Short circuit racer, Keith Farmer, who lived in Penrith, Cumbria, is survived by dad Alan, brother David, sisters Wendy and Kathy, daughters, Sophie, Khloe and Addison. He was predeceased by his mother, Barbara.

Widely known as the ‘Clogher Bullet’, he died suddenly early last Thursday morning.

Prodigiously talented on two wheels, Farmer won the Irish Supermoto crown at the age of 17 and went on to finish as runner-up in the British series before decided, through father Alan’s purchase of a Yamaha R6, to make the switch to short circuit racing.

Having made the move at a relatively late age, the then 24-year-old, backed by his dad, older brother David and Darren Gawley under the Farmer Racing banner, entered the 2011 British National 600 Superstock Championship.

Despite competing on a fairly-antiquated machine and with little to no experience, Farmer’s natural talent propelled him to victory overall on the back of six race wins and the following year, under the wing of Paul Bird, he won the 1000 Championship thanks to another five victories and three podiums.

After delivering his second consecutive title in 2012, he was elevated into Bennetts BSB with PBM, but after achieving a best result of fourth he parted ways with the team. He returned to the Superbike class a year later where he claimed his first and only main category podium in tricky conditions at Brands Hatch with the PR Racing team.

Keith then turned his attention back to the support classes, competing in both the British Supersport and National Superstock Championships.

His time with the Appleyard/Macadam team in 2017 proved to be a winning combination as they celebrated title victory after nine wins and a further five podiums, impressively making him a champion across three different classes.

In 2018, Keith joined the Tyco BMW team and he superbly claimed a second National Superstock 1000 Championship title.

A year later Keith was back on the BSB grid with the Tyco BMW team, but a mid-season injury curtailed his campaign. He then switched to Buildbase Suzuki a year later. Keith subsequently made occasional appearances in both the Superstock and Superbike classes, before he officially announced his retirement from the sport in 2021.

Since then he has been a regular mentor to both Aughnacloy’s Andrew Smyth and Omagh’s Jamie Lyons, keen to pass on his knowledge to the next generation of local track stars.

And it was that generous nature, infectious enthusiasm and contagious smile that ensures he will be terribly missed by all who had the pleasure of meeting him throughout his career. He was a brilliant and successful rider on track, who will be fondly remembered by his rivals, colleagues and fans after his tragic passing.