Armoy Road Races: Club 'on a high' after successful weekend at final Irish road race of year
Armoy Clerk of the Course William Munnis is still ‘on a high’ after a successful weekend of racing at the final Irish road race of the year.
Saturday’s main programme was concluded by 3:30pm and the large crowds went home happy after witnessing some memorable action around the three-mile course in Co Antrim, where English rider Davey Todd clinched a treble, including his second Bayview Hotel ‘Race of Legends’ victory on the Milwaukee BMW.
Munnis, who is also chairman of the Armoy Club, said: “I think most of us are still on a high today as we are very happy that the two days went so well.
“What I noticed was that everyone was on point and worked seamlessly together, from the guys on the dummy grid, the race officials and marshals, to those in race control as well as the external agencies.
“On Friday, we managed to get all the practice races completed before the rain came. We waited an hour and having consulted with some of the riders and my colleagues, we went ahead with the Supertwins and the Supersport races on Friday night.
“They were two great races, and it was a very tight Supertwin race with a photo finish between Mike Browne and Jamie Coward,” he added.
“Come Saturday, the weather definitely helped and with only a few red flags, we managed to quickly move through the eleven races.
“I’m not sure we’ve ever finished before 3.30pm with a Saturday’s racing programme.”
Munnis highlighted a record-breaking climax to the weekend on Saturday, when Todd set a new absolute lap record at over 109mph in the ‘Race of Legends’ finale while Jamie Coward narrowly squeezed out Mike Browne to secure a Supertwin double.
He said: “The finale, the Bayview Hotel Race of Legends did not disappoint with a win for Davey Todd, and Philip Crowe and Dominic Herbertson battling with Jamie Coward for a place on the podium, even the Man of the Meeting was hotly contested with it going to Jamie Coward in the end.
“All in all, the races were thrilling, where lap records were broken continually throughout the day. I’d like to thank all the riders for their professionalism and assistance throughout.
“I’d also like to say thank you to the fans. I was delighted to see the viewing points full of people, relaxing and having a good time, while watching the races – there really was such a good atmosphere, particularly on Saturday.
“I noticed a few people throughout Race Week from Spain, Germany and America, as well as those from down South and Scotland, Wales and England. It was a fantastic turn out.
“Lastly thank you to the Club, including the Supporters’ Club – I could not have asked for a better team, everyone knew their roles and completed their jobs to the very best of their ability.
“Thank you. We had a fabulous weekend of racing.”