Popular KMR Kawasaki rider Ryan Farquhar has been ruled out of further 2011 Isle of Man TT participation, as the Irishman crashed at Keppel Gate during Friday’s practice sessions. Hitting a false neutral in the closing stages of the session, Farquhar managed to escape having any broken bones in the incident, but says he is too battered and bruised to compete this year in the TT. The event marks another blemish for the 2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R’s record here at the Isle of Man TT, which has more than a few competitors eying their green machines in leery ways.
“The final evening of practice was going well and we were certainly heading in the right way after the problems we’d had earlier in the week but it all went wrong when I went through Keppel Gate,” explained Farquhar. “I was back down for two gears for the right hander and then down one more gear for the left but I hit a false neutral in between the two corners and ran off the track. I managed to save the bike and was skirting the barriers but just when I thought I’d saved it, the final barrier came back out towards the course and I hit it head on and down I went.”
“It really knocked the stuffing out of me but I wasn’t knocked out or anything like that and remembered it all and thought I’d be ok to race on Monday. The plan was to get out of hospital on Saturday and get the Superstock bike prepared for Monday’s race but I’ve had to admit that it’s simply not possible. I haven’t broken anything but I’m extremely stiff and sore with my ribs and back, especially, causing me a lot of discomfort.”
“It’s hard to ride at the TT when you’re 100% fit so there’s no way I can ride for the rest of the week and I’ve got to face up to that fact. I’m absolutely gutted as the TT is my main event of the year but, at the same time, it could have been worse so I’m grateful that my injuries aren’t too bad. I just need to take it easy over the next few days, get plenty of rest and look to getting myself fit again as soon as possible.”
Source: IOMTT
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