Ryan Farquhar says Richard Cooper's North West 200 disqualification and successful appeal saga has 'left a bad taste'

Ryan Farquhar said the disqualification of Richard Cooper from the Supertwin races at the 2022 North West 200 has ‘left a bad taste’ after the English rider was reinstated as the winner following a successful appeal.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Nottingham’s Cooper won both races on a Kawasaki machine built by Farquhar for the J McC Roofing Racing team last year.

However, the 40-year-old was excluded from the results on a technical infringement relating to a fairing bracket fitted to the frame.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad
Richard Cooper and Ryan Farquhar with the J McC Roofing Racing team at the North West 200 in 2022Richard Cooper and Ryan Farquhar with the J McC Roofing Racing team at the North West 200 in 2022
Richard Cooper and Ryan Farquhar with the J McC Roofing Racing team at the North West 200 in 2022

The sport’s governing body in Northern Ireland, the MCUI (Ulster Centre), said the appeal was “unfortunately… not held in a timely manner.”

Farquhar is satisfied that “justice has been done” but the five-time NW200 winner said the fiasco had overshadowed what should have been a memorable day in 2022.

“I’ve put so much into this sport and done it year in, year out, and even when I was racing myself I was putting other bikes on the grid – especially in the Supertwin class, which was a class that I was involved in right from the very start,” he said.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“In many ways I’ve probably become a victim of my own success because of how the class has grown into what it is today and it’s pretty much known across the world.

“We can’t turn the clock back now but justice has been done and Richard Cooper now has four wins on bikes that I have built, worked on and tuned.

“Jeremy McWilliams has got three North West 200 wins all on my ‘babies’, and Michael Rutter’s last North West 200 win was on my bike too.

“So, that’s eight NW200 wins achieved on bikes that I have put together,” he added.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I have five wins myself but I’ve also helped riders get eight other wins too. I just want to go racing and to have fair play, but it just seems to be a struggle to do that.”

Farquhar himself was previously disqualified at the North West 200 in 2003 when he was deemed to have overtaken Ian Lougher under a yellow flag in the 600cc race.

He appealed successfully but had to wait until November of that year to be reinstated as the winner.

Farquhar said: “It’s happened before, firstly when I myself was disqualified as a rider at the North West 200 in 2003, when we appealed and won our case. It took six months to get justice on that occasion.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“They said I had made a pass under a yellow flag and a protest was put in against me, but the whole thing wasn’t handled as it should have been and I had to wait six months before I was given my win back.

“There’s only so much you can take. I’ve been called a cheat and all sorts on social media, but people don’t know the facts. It’s taken all this time to prove that we did nothing wrong and it’s just disgusting to tell you the truth.”

Farquhar and Cooper teamed up again at the North West 200 in May, winning both Supertwin races and setting a new lap record.

See Also: