Keith Farmer: Inquest finds four-time British champion took his own life

The 35-year-old tragically passed away on November 10 at the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle.

One of Northern Ireland’s leading motorcycle racers, Mr Farmer was originally from Clogher in Co Tyrone, but was living in Greystoke in Cumbria after moving to England to further his racing career.

At the inquest on Thursday, Dr Nicholas Shaw, Assistant Coroner, said contributing factors to his sudden passing included the breakdown of a relationship and his retirement from racing.

“The outcome was unpredictable,” said Dr Shaw. “There were two major factors, difficulty at home and his retirement from motorcycling.

“My belief that the combination of those two things snapped on that particular evening.”

Mr Farmer had been with his partner, Sam Ritchie, for eight years and they had two daughters together. He also had a daughter from a previous relationship.

However, the couple had “drifted apart” and he had moved out of their home, the inquest was told.

Ms Ritchie said that he had struggled with the break-up and “felt lost” after quitting motorcycle racing in September 2021 after a number of injury setbacks in the British Superbike Championship.

A post-mortem revealed there were no drugs or alcohol detected in his system at the time of death.

A gifted motorcycle racer, he burst onto the scene in 2011, winning the British Junior Superstock title at his first attempt aged 24, less than a year after making his short circuit debut.

The ‘Clogher Bullet’ – a former Irish Supermoto champion – caught the eye of prominent British Superbike team owner Paul Bird, who granted him the opportunity to ride for his Kawasaki team in the 2012 Superstock 1000 championship. And he grasped the chance with both hands, winning five races on his way to the title.

The following season, he made the step up to the British Superbike class alongside champion Shane Byrne. Keith achieved a best result of fourth but later parted company from Bird’s team.

The Tyrone man claimed his best BSB result in 2014 with a podium in tricky conditions at Brands Hatch on the PR Racing Kawasaki.

A hugely talented and versatile racer, he clinched a third British championship in 2017 after securing the Supersport 600 title on the Appleyard/Macadam Yamaha.

The next year he won the Superstock 1000 Championship for a second time, riding for Northern Ireland’s Tyco BMW team, before progressing to the British Superbike class in 2019. Unfortunately, a crash at Knockhill in Scotland ruled him out for almost a year.

An arm injury in 2020 thwarted his prospects after he signed for the Buildbase Suzuki team and following a challenging season in 2021, he announced his retirement from racing later in the year.

Mr Farmer was the youngest sibling of four children to Alan and the late Barbara Farmer.

The famous Farmer motorcycle racing family has been struck down by tragedy in the past, with Stephen Farmer losing his life in a work-related accident while Mark Farmer died after crashing during practice for the Isle of Man TT races in 1994.