Ryan Farquhar enters Guinness Book of World Records for most road racing victories

The Dungannon man said he never imagined receiving such a prestigious acknowledgement of his achievements ‘in my wildest dreams’.

Farquhar won a staggering 357 races during his career and hinted that he may yet return in an effort to add to his remarkable tally.

The 43-year-old, who runs the hugely successful KMR Kawasaki team, said: “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d win the amount of races that I did and win more than people like Joey Dunlop, so it’s pretty special for me to have entered the Guinness Book of Records.

“It’s been a long, hard road and an awful lot of effort has gone in over the years but when I started racing it was purely for fun and only over the course of time did it take precedent.

“Work was getting in the way of racing and racing was getting in the way of work, so I made the decision to go racing full time and give it my all,” he added.

“I needed to win races to make ends meet but it’s something I’ve always loved doing and at places where there was no financial gain, like at the Manx Grand Prix, I put in the same amount of time and effort as I did at any other race,” he added.

“I’ve always considered myself a true road racer which, in my eye, is someone who races in all of the classes and at all of the meetings and whilst that was very tiring to do, it was also very rewarding. There have been some amazing road racers over the last 50-60 years and we’ve all got our own stories to tell, so I’m proud to have played my own little part in our sport.”

Farquhar said he was particularly proud that many of his race victories came on machinery he prepared himself.

“To end up with the number of wins that I have is something that makes me very proud, especially as a lot of the wins came on my own bikes which I’d prepared myself,” he said.

“At the same time, I was also very grateful to have some excellent sponsors including the likes of Winston McAdoo, Kenny Harker, Nick Morgan and Roger Winfield so I hope they all enjoyed the journey as much as what I did.

“The injuries I received in 2016 meant I haven’t been able to race since but I haven’t officially retired and who knows, maybe one day I’ll be in a position to have another go on some form of bike and add to the total.”

Farquhar was critically injured in a crash in the Supertwin class at the North West 200 in 2016.

It was touch and go for a while, but the Co. Tyrone man pulled through and eventually returned full-time to run his KMR Kawasaki team.

In a career that spanned 20 years, he won races on road racing circuits around the British Isles including international success at the North West 200, Isle of Man TT and Ulster Grand Prix.

Riding in all classes from 125cc to Superbikes and from Supersport to Classic machines, Farquhar was victorious at all of the Irish National road races, which earned him countless Irish Road Racing Championships, as well as wins at circuits elsewhere in the UK such as the Manx Grand Prix, Southern 100, Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough and Aberdare Park.

With all of the necessary documentation submitted, his total of 357 victories was officially verified last month. He entered the Guinness Book of World Records with the most career motorcycle road race wins on April 12.