Keith Farmer remembered as 'gentleman with an everlasting smile' at Irish Motorbike Awards in Belfast

The Clogher man, who died in November, was posthumously honoured with the Emporio Bathrooms Special Recognition award at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Belfast.

His brother, David and sisters, Kathy Valentine and Wendy Forsythe accepted the award on his behalf and received a standing ovation from the crowd.

Former Grand Prix winner Jeremy McWilliams, who was friends with Keith, paid a warm tribute to the four-time British champion.

McWilliam said: “This award was unanimously voted on by our committee and it was very deserved.

“My memory of Keith is of a gentleman with an everlasting smile. Anytime you saw him anywhere, he always had a huge smile on his face.

“It was a pleasure to do a little bit of work with him and we became good friends, and anywhere he went or that we went together, he was just met with the utmost respect.

“He was a competitor who won four British championships in three different categories, which I don’t think has been done by anybody else – not from this island anyway,” McWilliams added.

“The one thing I have to say about Keith is that he was the nicest, most gentle, down-to-earth person you could ever meet, but a completely fierce contender.

“He was a man with a big heart and we miss him dearly.”

Keith won the National Junior Superstock title in 2011 and became a two-time British champion the following year, winning the National Superstock 1000 Championship for Paul Bird’s Kawasaki team.

In 2017, he won the British Supersport crown for the Appleyard Macadam Racing team on a Yamaha R6.

His fourth title success was achieved in 2018 with Northern Ireland’s Tyco BMW team, when he won the National Superstock 1000 Championship for the second time.

He returned to the British Superbike class in 2019 to ride a Tyco BMW but his season was cut short when he sustained two broken legs in a crash at Knockhill in Scotland.

The 35-year-old announced his retirement from the sport in September 2021.