'Man of the Meeting' award clarified

Farquhar is said to have felt put out expecially as he won four races with William getting two chequered flags. However, this week, Mr. Kennedy made it clear that the verdict was in accordance with clear and precise rules.

On page 67 of the programme the points available for riders finishing up to tenth spot were from 10 down to 1. Farquhar ended up with 39 points and William Dunlop 40.

These were broken down as follows: 125cc - Dunlop 10 points, Farquhar 0. 600 - Dunlop 8 points, Farquhar 0. Open race - Dunlop 6 points, Farquhar 10 points. 250 - Dunlop 10 points, Farquhar 0 points. 650 - Dunlop 0 points, Farquhar 10. Race of Legends - Dunlop 6, Farquhar 10, leaving Dunlop the winner by one point.

The ‘Man of the Meeting’ was sponsored by Paul McAuley (500) of PMA Contracts, Coolkeeran Road, Armoy.

Mr. Kennedy said: Last year Ryan and Michael tied for first place, but because Ryan had the fastest lap he got the nod and that’s in accordance with the rules.

“Michael took it on the chin then and Ryan should have done the same this year. As far as I’m concerned we value all the riders from first to last. We favour none,” he said.

Mr. Kennedy added that in his opinion Keith Amor was the man of the meeting.

“Keith came here for the first time and denied Ryan Farquhar a clean sweep. He provided us with thrills and we can only thank him for that.”

Mr. Kennedy responsed to criticism from some members of the public including K. Gault who, in a letter to the Times, questioned why one rider who had two wins and another who had four got the award.

“She said: “Surely this was very biased and spoiled the end of a good day’s races. Genuine race fans will have been disappointed by the club in their choice of ‘Man of the Meeting.’

Mr. Kennedy has also responded to comments on the chicane which, some said, was too narrow.

He said it wouldn’t be changed because it conformed with rules and was exactly the same width of the road.