A FOUR-time British motorcycling champion has died after his injuries forced him to retire, an inquest has heard.
Keith Farmer, 35, was found dead in November last year following the tough decision to give up racing and the breakdown of his relationship.
The dad-of-three was forced to leave the sport after two big crashes – but struggled with the new way of life and felt “lost”, the court heard.
The racer left partner Sam Ritchie’s house on November 4 and told her he “wouldn’t be here” in the morning after they argued.
A few hours later, he was found in the garage of his home where he was given CPR.
He was admitted to intensive care shortly after and put on life support.
READ MORE ON SPORT
However, on November 10 he sadly passed away after it was agreed to withdraw the support.
A post-mortem revealed he had no drugs or alcohol in his system at the time of his death.
Coroner Dr Nicholas Shaw recorded Keith’s death as suicide after it was revealed he suffered a severe brain injury in the incident.
Dr Shaw said: “This has been a very sad inquest to go through.
Most read in Motorsport
“He left a note indicating that was his plan.
“He said goodbye and went and did that before taking time to consider what the consequences might be.”
Keith’s family has described him as “hard-working, conscientious and very competitive”.
Sister Wendy Forsyth said the are “completely devastated” and their “lives would never be the same again”.
The Northern Irish racer won the National Superstock 600 title in 2011 and National Superstock 1000cc successes followed in 2012 and 2018.
He also won the British Supersport title in 2017.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
