Safety boost at 'road racing's fastest corners'

By Cathal Hills

PLANS have been approved for a new chicane to improve safety on the Armoy Road Race course which contains “two of the fastest corners in road racing.”

Armoy Motorcycle Club applied for the chicane “to improve course safety” and a new paddock area on the Hillside Road in Armoy.

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The chicane has been welcomed by many, as the two corners had given rise to safety concerns.

At a Moyle Council meeting, Sinn Fein councillor Paudie McShane said the chicane will be a very important feature of the Armoy races.

He added: “Those corners are two of the fastest in road racing throughout these islands.”

He said speeds of “170mph” have been reached around the corners and the Armoy Motorcycle Club sees safety as an important part of road racing.

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Council Vice-Chairperson, Cllr Robert McIlroy (DUP) agreed, saying the race organisers “are very conscious of safety.”

Last year after a tragedy in which a spectator was killed at the Armoy races, top biker, Ryan Farquhar, commented in a newspaper column that the corners on the course needed to be examined.

He said: “Those two left hand corners after the paddock are really fast. The first corner has to be the fastest corner on any circuit anywhere I’ve ever raced.

“The second corner, where the crash happened, is tighter,” he added.

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