Duke Road Racing Rankings

Duke Road Racing Rankings

With road circuits such as the Isle of Man TT and Ulster Grand Prix being dropped from the FIM Moto GP calendar, and with the FIM Formula 1 being dropped in 1988. Geoff Duke and his son Peter (Duke Video and DVD publishers) thought that the road racing scene, at least in the UK and Ireland should be rewarded with a championship.

The Duke Road Race Rankings has rapidly approached its 10th anniversary, and as last year’s competition demonstrated, the series is going from strength to strength. Dungannon’s Ryan Farquhar enjoyed a stunning season to win the 2012 standings, heading Michael and William Dunlop and fourth place Guy Martin. It was the seventh time Farquhar had taken the title, making him the most successful rider in Duke Road Race Rankings’ history.

Established in 2002, the Duke Road Race Rankings is the only series which recognises the season-long performances on the roads. It was the idea of Peter Duke, boss of the Isle of Man-based Duke Video and son of World Champion Geoff Duke. He worked with road racing journalist Leslie Moore, author Mac McDiarmid and archivist Phil Edge to develop a scoring system which would recognise the significance of the event as well as the individual performance and, for the first time, allow a year-long assessment of road racing, letting the most consistent racer claim the ‘championship’ title. Since that first year in 2002, won by Ian Lougher, all the big names of road racing have figured, with the likes of Adrian Archibald, Richard Britton, Jason Griffiths, Darran Lindsay and, more recently, Manxman Conor Cummins, battling for honours.

The purpose of the Duke Road Race Rankings is to recognise achievements across the year, to give those riders who commit themselves not just to the ‘major’ meetings, but also to the smaller road races to have their dedication and hard work celebrated. Star names determined to claim the impressive Geoff Duke Trophy will attend lower profile events to earn points, helping to ensure strong grids for meetings which would otherwise be in the shadow of the Isle of Man TT, North West 200 and Ulster Grand Prix. Figuring on the Duke Road Race Rankings’ calendar alongside the International events also gives these events increased prestige. A look through the records reveals that, despite some fascinating battles, the spoils have been split between Ryan Farqhuar and Ian Lougher, apart from 2007. In that amazing year Conor Cummins, from the Isle of Man, took on and beat the best in only his second full season on the roads.

The Duke Road Race Rankings series features around two dozen meetings every year, including many of the long-established Irish and Isle of Man road races, and has remained largely unaltered since 2002 – apart from cancellations and the addition of new meetings, such as the Armoy Road Races 4 years ago. The standing of the series continues to grow, with extensive coverage in leading specialist publications, such as Motor Cycle News, Road Racing Ireland and Irish Racer, and the annual presentation being made at star-studded, black tie events. Ryan Farquhar received the trophy for his 2011 victory at the Adelaide Racer Awards in Belfast in January, in front of racing greats.