Conor Cummins hails 'brilliant' maiden podium at Armoy Road Races after runner-up finish in Open race
Manx rider Conor Cummins earned his first podium result at the Bayview Hotel Armoy Road Races after securing the runner-up spot in challenging conditions in the Open race.
Mike Browne cleared off at the front and won by more than 16 seconds, while Cummins reeled in Dominic Herbertson (KTS Racing BMW), making a pass for second place and pulling away on his Conrod Racing BMW to cement his position.
The Ramsey man is running his own team in 2026 after riding for Northern Ireland’s Burrows Engineering/RK Racing outfit last season.
Cummins returned to Armoy in 2024 after an 11-year absence and rode for the FHO Racing BMW team after parting company from Clive Padgett’s Honda squad during the Isle of Man TT.
He also competed in the Supersport class on a Honda for TH Racing.
The 40-year-old was making his third consecutive appearance at Armoy over the weekend and Cummins was delighted to finally make it onto the podium in the Open race, which started in wet conditions before the course began to dry out.
“There was plenty of slides going on but I think that was the same for everyone really,” Cummins said.
“When you go from wet conditions to greasy, to dry it’s a bit of a lottery with what tyre to go for.
“It was clear at the start of that race that it was wets [tyres], but as you can see the roads are really drying out. If we’d had a pit-stop halfway around the race I think would’ve changed!
“We ended up with a 50 percent dry track and we’re on a full wet tyre, which is going to move around and that’s what I was feeling,” he added.
“The bike was working perfect and it’s brilliant because I’ve never been on the podium here, so it’s a first for me and my team, Conrod Motorsport.
“It’s taken a lot of effort to get here, but we’re here.”
Several prominent names opted to sit out the race, including Phil Crowe, who qualified third fastest on the front row, plus Skerries man Michael Sweeney, Daracore Racing’s Kevin Keyes and newcomer Nathan Harrison.
Cummins later finished fourth in the feature ‘Race of Legends’ Superbike finale and was fifth in Saturday’s Supersport race, when he rode the Madbros Racing Suzuki.