Hall of Fame Award
Richard Britton will always be the ‘People’s Champion’ when it comes to pure road racing. One of Ireland finest ever road-racers, he ended up being a multi-Irish road-racing champion.
His racing career began with the ‘Clubman Championships’, which he went on to successfully win riding in the 400cc class. From that moment on, he was bitten by the bug and was destined for a career in motorcycle racing.
In 1998 as a member of the Omagh based ‘Schimmel Racing Team’ he began his assault on a road racing career. That year Richard successfully won the Regal 600 Championship, the first of four titles he was later to go on to win.
In 2000 he moved to the PJ O’Kane Racing Team and put his Yamaha 600 R6 on the winner’s rostrum with a double win just one month after the TT, at Nutts Corner. In 2001 he continued his winning streak winning the 600 Regal for the third time. Then, for the first time in Irish history, Richard won his fourth, and his third successive Regal 600 title.
In 2003 Richard took a new 600 Kawasaki to the limit and was crowned Irish 600 Road Race Cham- pion at the Dundalk Road Races in 2003. Sadly Richard was to lose his life in September 2005 in a freak slowing down accident when the engine on his 250 machine seized at the final Road Race of the season in Ballybunnion Kerry.
Richard’s wife Maria and his son Loris were present to receive his Hall of Fame award “I’m happy to be here tonight,” said Loris. “It feels good that the Fermanagh Herald have actually given this award to dad. I’m proud that my mum went up and spoke because I know that it was a hard thing to do.
Maria added, “It was great of the Fermanagh Herald to invite us here tonight. Ten years down the line and he is still being thought of and it’s great that he’s still thought of. No one will ever ride a bike the way that man rode a bike.”
“He loved it so much that it took his life,” said Loris. “If you asked him to give it up, he wouldn’t give it up at all – there would have been no point asking! That’s how much he loved the sport.” Maria added, “Especially the TT and the North West 200 – he done well in both of them. Those were the best achievements he ever made and that’s all he ever wanted. I’m just very emotional after this tonight, after nine, ten years, I’m so thankful that we were asked here tonight.”
