Armoy road races 2025 live on BBC Sport NI

The Armoy road race has become a staple part of the Irish motorcycling calendar since its inception in 2009 and this weekend's event looks set to produce more thrilling racing for the thousands of spectators who attend.

In an exciting new venture for the event, as a pilot, Saturday's racing will be streamed live on BBC iPlayer and worldwide on the BBC Sport website for the first time, allowing fans from across the globe to enjoy the high-speed action from the three-mile public roads circuit in the county Antrim countryside.

Coverage of the main day of racing, culminating in the feature 'Race of Legends', will begin at 09:30 BST.

As the meeting prepares to rev into life with qualifying and two scheduled races on Friday, BBC Sport brings you the lowdown on the popular Irish road race.

In comparison to other road races with a long history in Northern Ireland, the Armoy event is a relatively recent addition to the calendar, having first taken place in 2009.

The meeting is centred on the village of Armoy and staged around a course which is triangular in shape and ridden in an anti-clockwise direction.

The main feature race is called 'The Race of Legends' in recognition of the Armoy Armada quartet of riders who competed at road racing events from the mid to late 1970s.

The Armada was established in 1977 and comprised the late Joey Dunlop, Mervyn Robinson and Frank Kennedy, plus Joey's brother Jim.

The current races are held on the roads that these riders used to test their machines in 'unofficial' practice sessions on open roads prior to race meetings.

The 2018 version of the event saw racing cancelled on the main Saturday race day because of persistent heavy rain, while the 2020 meeting fell victim to the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2021 staging was subject to spectator restrictions because of the coronavirus.

The Armoy races have traditionally attracted a strong field of riders from Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Great Britain and beyond.

Among the big names who have competed are record 33-time Isle of Man TT winner Michael Dunlop, his late brother William, Ryan Farquhar, Jeremy McWilliams, late Manxman Dan Kneen, Dean Harrison, Guy Martin and Davey Todd.

Michael Dunlop and Yorkshireman Todd have been the dominant forces in recent years, although neither have entered this year's races.

Dunlop won five races in both 2021 and 2023 and his overall career tally of victories at the event stands at 29.

His CV include 10 successes in the 'Race of Legends', including nine successive triumphs between 2011 and 2021 and a further win in 2023. The 35-year-old has won 18 Superbike races in total.

Todd made one of his first road race appearances at Armoy back in 2017 and has since excelled by racking up a four-timer in 2022 and a treble in 2024.

Only four riders - Michael Dunlop, Todd, Martin and Farquhar - have won 'big bike' races in the history of the event.

This year's meeting is being held on Friday 25 July and Saturday 26 July, with roads closing at 10:00 BST on Friday and 09:00 on Saturday.

Practice and qualifying sessions for all classes will take place on Friday, followed by two scheduled races, the first Supertwin and Supersport outings.

Twelve further races are scheduled for Saturday, including the Open race, further Supersport and Supertwin events, Moto3/125cc, Classic Superbike and the feature 'Race of Legends'.

Also on the card are a Supermono class within the Supertwins race, Junior and Senior Support races, Junior and Senior classic races, Supersport 300 and Lightweight Supersport

A high quality entry includes Burrows Engineering/RK Racing rider Conor Cummins, KTS Steadplan Racing's Jamie Coward, who was named man-of-the-meeting in 2024, and Northern Ireland's Paul Jordan, who rides for Jackson Racing.

Other notable riders are Republic of Ireland challengers Mike Browne, Michael Sweeney and Derek McGee, plus customary English visitors Phil Crowe and Dominic Herbertson, Manx duo Joe Yeardsley and Marcus Simpson and Finland's Erno Kostamo, a regular at the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT.

Ex-Moto GP rider and North West 200 race winner Jeremy McWilliams returns to compete in the Supersport, Lightweight Supersport and Classic Superbike classes.

Among the list of newcomers are double Southern 100 Supertwins winner Rob Hodson, Republic of Ireland riders Brian McCormack and Kevin Keyes, and former British Superbike and National Superstock competitor Franco Bourne.

Most wins - Michael Dunlop 29, Barry Davidson 16, Ryan Farquhar 12, William Dunlop 11, Davey Todd 7, Richard Ford 7, Jamie Coward 4, Derek McGee 4, Christian Elkin 4, Robert McCrum 4, Guy Martin 3, Neil Kernohan 3, Dean Harrison 2

Lap records - Superbike and absolute course record - Davey Todd (BMW) 109.325mph (2024)

Supersport - Michael Dunlop (Yamaha) 105.179 (Yamaha) 2023

Supertwin - Jamie Coward (Kawasaki) 100.536 (Kawasaki) 2024

Moto3 - Mike Browne (Honda) 90.755mph (2023)

Classic Superbike - Jamie Coward 97.410mph (2022)

Race of Legends - 1 Davey Todd; 2 Phil Crowe; 3 Dominic Herbertson; 4 Jamie Coward

Open race - 1 Davey Todd; 2 Phil Crowe; 3 Jamie Coward; 4 Dominic Herbertson

Supersport one - 1 Mike Browne; 2 Davey Todd; 3 Paul Jordan

Supersport two - 1 Davey Todd; 2 Mike Browne; 3 Jamie Coward

Supertwins one - 1 Jamie Coward; 2 Mike Browne; 3 Michael Sweeney

Supertwins two - 1 Jamie Coward; 2 Mike Browne; 3 Paul Jordan