SOME of the world’s best road racers are set to descend upon the village of Armoy in just a few weeks’ time to battle it out for a coveted place on the podium at the iconic Armoy Road Races, as the Armoy Motorcycle Road Racing Club (AMRRC) confirms sponsorship for this year’s Supertwins and Supermono races.
The Supertwins and Supermono race one takes place on the Friday night with returning support from Clyde Shanks, an award-winning planning consultancy based in Belfast. The second race is due to take place on the Saturday and is sponsored by John M Paterson Ltd, a plant machinery hire and sales company based in South Ayrshire in Scotland.
Always hugely competitive, 2024’s Supertwins 2 race saw the old lap record of 99.249mph being smashed by Paul Jordan, Mike Browne and Jamie Coward all clocking over 100mph with Jamie setting the new lap record of 100.536mph and taking the win.
A native of the North Coast, Clyde Shanks, who is the managing director of the company which specialises in guiding development projects through the planning process, is a long-standing supporter of road racing, having ridden as a teenager alongside his brother and friends, Adrian Archibald and the late Ian Morrell.
“I’ve always loved road racing and having grown up on the North Coast, the sport has been a huge part of my life,” Clyde explained. “I have great memories of racing the local roads alongside my brother and friends, Adrian and Ian and it certainly wasn’t for the faint hearted!
“With all the road racing talent we have here in Northern Ireland, and around the North Coast in particular, I’m delighted to support this event and to continue the area’s legacy of promoting world-class road racing. The road racing community gave me so much as a teenager and so, it made complete sense for me to come back onboard as a sponsor this year. I’m really looking forward to it, it’s always such a fantastic and enjoyable event.”
Meanwhile, in operation for thirty years, John M Paterson Ltd is a family run company with approximately 300 machines available for both long and short-term hire, and owners John and Karen have been travelling to attend the Armoy Road Races for a long number of years.
John commented: “We are really pleased to sponsor this year’s Supertwins and Supermono 2 race. We have been big fans of the event for many years and last year we had the opportunity to jointly sponsor the Supersport 2 race and as we enjoyed it so much, we were determined to return again in 2025.
“What the Club and its volunteers achieve in organising and hosting the Armoy Road Races is remarkable. The event continues to grow year on year, attracting the top riders and bringing more and more fans and supporters to the area. We are delighted to be involved and wish everyone a very successful event.”
Gareth McAuley, Chairman of AMRRC said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Clyde Shanks and John M Paterson Ltd for their generous sponsorship. We’ve said it numerous times before, but the Armoy Road Races completely relies on the financial support we receive from our sponsors to help us meet the running costs of staging the much-loved event, and we’re very grateful to each and every one of them.
“We’re really looking forward to a great weekend of racing in July and the Club members and volunteers are busy putting the finishing touches to the preparations.”
Supported in part by the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, the Armoy Road Races will take place on Friday, July 25th, and Saturday, July 26th, culminating in the prestigious Bayview Hotel Race of Legends.
Programme packages are currently on sale via the website, that includes a vehicle parking pass and a limited-edition event lanyard which enables spectators to enter specific vantage points around the circuit. Visit: www.armoyroadraces.com for further details or search for ‘AMRRC’ on Facebook.