Retro Rewind: Ryan Farquhar and Michael Dunlop serve up a thriller at the 2012 Tandragee 100

Sadly, the coronavirus pandemic has put the brakes on sport for the foreseeable future and it remains doubtful whether or not any road races will go ahead this year.

Here, we delve into the road racing archives and take a retrospective look at the 2012 Tandragee 100, when Ryan Farquhar and Michael Dunlop served up a treat around the spectacular 5.3-mile course.

On a dry and sunny but unseasonably cool day, it was Farquhar who started on a winning note in the Open Superbike race, which he controlled on his KMR Kawasaki to win by 3.2 seconds from Dunlop (Hunts/McAdoo Honda).

Dungannon’s John Burrows finished in third on the Cookstown/BE Racing Suzuki, 19 seconds back on Farquhar, with Adrian Archibald from Ballymoney next ahead of Derek Sheils.

A thrilling Supersport race went to Dunlop (Ard Na Mara Homes/McAdoo Suzuki) after five searing laps as he battled all the way to the finish with Farquhar (KMR Kawasaki).

They were separated by only 0.096s on the line in one of the closest finishes ever at Tandragee in a race that set up a grandstand finale in the feature Superbike race, with both riders sharing a victory apiece.

Sheils took third, 37 seconds behind, with Burrows, Derek McGee and Michael Sweeney the top six.

Dunlop told me: “In the 600 race I passed Ryan around the back of the course going over the jumps. We were side by side but I was on the inside for the left-hander afterwards and was able to make it stick.

“I made a move in the last Superbike race at the same place and it was a hot and heavy pace, but that’s what you’ve got to do to win races nowadays.”

The scene was set for the final race of the day and it didn’t disappoint, as Dunlop and Farquhar once again engaged in a blistering duel on their respective Honda and Kawasaki machines.

Both riders exchanged passes but it was Dunlop who held on for his second victory of the day, taking the chequered flag by just under one second, with Burrows again filling out the rostrum positions, over half-a-minute in arrears.

There was plenty of mutual respect between Dunlop and Farquhar, with the Co Tyrone man admitting his young rival was a cut above the rest of the opposition.

“For me personally, and I don’t want to offend anybody, but there’s not too many riders coming through that are going to be in a position to challenge Michael whenever I knock it on the head,” he said.

“Jamie Hamilton is one rider I think can come through, maybe two or three years down the line, but I don’t see too many riders around who will be able to ride at that level.

“It’s taken Michael around five years to get to the level he’s at now and he’s been riding the roads since he was 18, so he’s coming of age now.

“But I still love road racing and I’m enjoying it more probably than I ever have done,” Farquhar added.

“My bikes are competitive, I’m running at the front and there was less than one hundredth of a second between myself and Michael in the 600 race, and less than a second between us in the Superbike race.”

Farquhar also won the Supertwin 650 race, coming home 15 seconds in front of Burrows, with Jamie Hamilton third on the second of the KMR Kawasaki machines

William Dunlop won the 250cc race on his brother Michael’s Honda, while fellow Ballymoney man Paul Robinson was victorious in the 125cc race.

Farquhar also picked up a win on his Moto450 Kawasaki to complete a treble on the day.

Farquhar added: “I won three races and people might say, ‘Dunlop beat you’, and yes – he beat me. But it’s not as if I’m half-a-minute behind him.

“If I went to Tandragee and had five wins and was 40 seconds in front of a lesser-known rider, I’d take no pleasure in that.

“I get as much pleasure out of giving Michael a run and pushing him to the limit than I would out of getting an easy win.”

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