Dunlop win was the icing on the cake

Despite a serious incident which saw Armoy rider Ian Simpson airlifted to hospital, this year’s Armoy Road Races have been lauded as the biggest and best yet.
Michael Dunlop celebrates with the Armoy crowd after winning the Race of Legends for the fifth time at the Armoy road races. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISONMichael Dunlop celebrates with the Armoy crowd after winning the Race of Legends for the fifth time at the Armoy road races. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON
Michael Dunlop celebrates with the Armoy crowd after winning the Race of Legends for the fifth time at the Armoy road races. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON

Clerk of the Course Bill Kennedy couldn’t have been happier with the week long festival of bikes and the good news that Simpson is out of Intensive Care and on the road recovery is a major bonus.

“It was a brilliant day and a fantastic week all round,”commented Bill. “We had a few incidents with red flags but you have to deal with them and push on.

“It was terrific to have the availability of the Coastguard helicopter and when Ian had his crash it was a priority to get him away as soon as possible. The fact that it was a suspected head injury made it vital that he was taken to the Royal as soon as possible because the first hour or the ‘golden hour’ is crucial.

“However, all’s well that ends well and I visited Ian in hospital and he was chatting away and he is good form. He wanted to thank all the medical team and marshalls who helped him but being a typical biker the first thing he said to me was ‘Bill I don’t suppose you got the chance to see if my bike was ok?’”

With perfect weather conditions, spectators were out in force and they were treated to some top class racing.

Michael Dunlop winning the was the icing on the cake,” added Bill. “He has certainly made that race his own, he’s very difficult to beat.

“It was good to see all the locals do well and Guy Martin also won which was good as he is a big supporter of the Armoy Races.

“I think it’s safe to say it was the best yet, it was the greatest quality field and the biggest crowd ever and we had more visitors from England, Scotland, the Republic of Ireland and much further afield than I have ever seen.”

Now that the dust has settled on the 2015 races will Bill and his team take it easy?

“We might have a month off but then it will be straight back into planning next years. Armoy Road races is fast becoming The event, it’s going from strength to strength.”