'Gutted' Farquhar ruled out of TT

Ryan Farquhar has withdrawn from the 2011 Isle of Man TT after an accident during Superbike practice left him battered and bruised.

Farquhar, who was tipped for a strong result at the TT this year, was hospitalised on the Friday after getting a false neutral on the KMR Kawasaki and hitting the barrier at Keppel Gate 'head on'.

Instantly ruled out of the Superbike race, though Farquhar did not suffer any broken bones in the accident and was not knocked unconscious, he says he feels too stiff and sore to consider riding in the remaining races, much to his disappointment.

"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. 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."