ADVANTAGE MEDHURST IN CURTIS MILNER TROPHY

Wednesday April 23, 2014 at 11:58am

Round 2 of the Darley Moor Road Race Championship took place on Easter Monday and what an excellent meeting it was with the biggest crowd (with the exception of the Stars at Darley meetings) for over two years, and the largest number of competitors for almost 5 years! Alongside the usual Championship races for each class the Formula 600 competitors were competing for the Curtis Milner Trophy, in memory of a young racer who started his racing career at Darley Moor, but unfortunately lost his life in a road traffic accident. Points scored in the second Formula 600 race this weekend would be added to those scored in the second race at Round 4, towards the end of June. The winner will be presented with the Trophy and receive a cheque for £250, whilst 2nd and 3rd places share the remainder of the £500 prize fund.

Jamie Medhurst (Long Eaton) was victorious in both races, with Rob Hodson (Wigan) 2nd, Brad Vicars (Tadcaster) 3rd, Ricky Tarren (Tamworth) 4th and Jamie Hodson (Wigan) 5th in the red flagged first race. In the second Medhurst led from the flag, whilst Jamie Hodson took a couple of laps to find a way past brother, Rob. Behind these it took Tarren until lap 5 to squeeze past Vicars into 4th place, with Steven Proctor (Wakefield) 5th.

The Peak Cup class got the regular action underway at Easter and after multiple Champion Jim Hodson (Wigan) failed to record a victory at Round 1, he showed how determined he was last weekend taking the first race with a flag to flag win. Medhurst was again proving his speed, chasing Hodson throughout the race on his smaller 600cc machine, taking 2nd place. The action was certainly going on behind these with Tim Poole (Northwich) having to make up for a slow start, crossing the line in 10th place after Lap1 he fought his way into 3rd place on the penultimate lap. The second race proved to be an absolute thriller, Medhurst leading for 1 lap until Poole squeezed into the lead, on this occasion it was Hodson who needed to make up from a slower start, by his standards, after finding himself in 5th after the first lap. He passed Medhurst into 2nd place on the third lap and then set his sights on catching Poole, towards the end of the 10 lap race he got within 0.3sec of Poole, but couldn’t get close enough to make the pass; in the end backmarkers allowed Poole a gap of just 0.8 sec at the flag.

With Hodson not making the grid for the first Open Solo race, due to helping another competitor fix their machine, Poole had a relatively comfortable win, almost 9 seconds ahead of Andrew Soar (Loughborough). However, the second race showed that Hodson was not going to take the recent defeats easily. After Lap1 Hodson and Poole crossed the line alongside each other, with Hodson able to stretch an advantage on the second lap and hold onto it, finishing 1.5sec in front of Poole at the flag.

Closest finish, at the head of the field, came in the first Formula Darley/125 race with Paul Turner (Congleton) and Brad Vicars (Tadcaster). Turner leading from the off, with Vicars back in 4th after the first lap, then 3rd after Lap2 and into 2nd on Lap3, he managed to take the lead on the penultimate lap, but Turner was able find a way back past on the final lap and take the victory by just 0.08sec. Behind these two a similar battle was taking place for 3rd place with James Ford (Whaley Bridge) and Ross Richards (Chesterfield). With Richards 2nd after Lap2, he then had to make way for Vicars on Lap3 and Ford on Lap4, but the gap between the two was less than 0.2sec at the flag. Similar battles took place throughout the 8 lap second race, but on this occasion Richards got the better of Ford, for 3rd place, with Vicars, 2nd and Turner taking the victory again. On both occasions Mark Tyrrell (Evesham) took comfortable victories in the 125 class.

Jamie Pearson (Derby) took a comfortable victory in the first combined Steel Frame/ Pre Injection 600 race from Andrew Lowe (Stone), both on Pre Injection machines. Whilst Lloyd Harrison (Derby) and Dave Marsden (Wirral) benefitted from Robert Wise’s (Stone) failure to complete Lap3 whilst leading the class, taking 1st & 2nd respec-tively in the Steel Framed class. In the second encounter Lowe led for 5 of the 8 laps, until Pearson put in the fastest lap on Lap6 and found his way past. However, Lowe didn’t give up and pushed him all the way to the flag, separated by just 0.09sec at the finish. Jake Hingley (Darlston) took the Steel Framed class victory, never being headed by his rivals, finishing behind Pearson and Lowe on track, and over 10seconds ahead of his nearest rival.

For fans of four-wheeled motorsport the 2014 Superkart Championship had a Round of their Championship at Darley this weekend and it was local drivers that provided the action at the head of the field. Mark Gellatly (Stafford) taking victory on both occasions from Lionel Sifleet (Walsall), 2nd and Tom Hatfield (Telford), 3rd. In the first race Sifleet was just 0.3 behind Gellatly at the flag, but in the second Gellatly had a comfortable 4.5sec advantage at the end, with Hatfield closing to within 0.04sec of Sifleet before the race was red-flagged and brought to a premature end.

Adrian Saunders (Nottingham) recorded a double victory in the Classic 50 races, the first after taking the lead on Lap3 and extending it to over 8seconds at the flag. In the second race he was able to record a start to finish victory despite his nearest two rivals recording jump starts and therefore incurring 10 second penalties, his winning margin being 20+seconds on corrected time.

There was entertainment throughout the field in the first Sound of Thunder race, at the head of the field Steven Hill (Runcorn) was able to hold off the race long attentions of Tim Poole (Northwich), Gary Henriksen (Matlock) and Stephen Poulson (Chapel en le Frith) circulated in 3rd and 4th respectively, but possibly totally unaware of the frantic battle behind for the first Mini Sound of Thunder (MSoT) places. With places changing throughout the four riders on MSoT machines battled it out, keeping the crowd on their toes. Finally, a gap of just 0.67sec

separated the four; Ross Richards (Chesterfield) taking the win from James Ford (Whaley Bridge), 2nd; Brad Vicars (Tadcaster), 3rd and Paul Turner (Congleton), 4th. In the second race Hill had to really fight for the victory after Poole took the lead from him on Lap3, but he was not able to pull a gap of any sort and Hill regained the lead on the final lap, crossing the line just 0.19sec ahead of his rival. On this occasion Gary Henriksen was able to get in front of Poulson by lap 3 and had a relatively comfortable ride to the flag. However, Poulson lost out in the race with Vicars and Richards on their MSoT machines, Vicars taking the class victory, and 4th overall after passing Richards on the final lap, Richards just losing out by 0.04sec, and Poulson, 6th on track and 4th in the Sound of Thunder class.

The combined Lightweight and Classic races saw Chris Moore (High Peak) claim victory on both occasions, the first after passing Paul Hedison (Gainsborough) on the final lap and managing to stretch out 1.5sec gap at the flag, and the second after passing Hedison on Lap3. Hedison, meanwhile had to fend off a challenge from Clint Davis (Kendal) and Mark Tyrrell (Evesham) in the first and after Davis’ exit on the penultimate lap in the second race, Tyrrell was just under 1 second behind Hedison at the flag. The winner of the Classic1000 class was Jamie O’Brien (Liverpool), who finished 5th overall; the Classic 500 winner was Gordon Thorpe (Matlock), finishing 15th overall; the Classic 350 winner was John Leese (Stoke on Trent), 13th overall and the Classic 250 victor was Geoff Hadwin (Ulverston), who finished 17th overall.

Shane Pearson (Derby) recorded a double victory in the Pre98’s(up to 1300cc) class, the first after overcoming both Ian Morgan (Derby) and Ken Davis (Thornton Clevelys), Davis also finding a way past the fast starting Morgan on Lap 4 of 6. In the second race Morgan had to make do with 3rd place for the entire race, but Davis was quicker starting on this occasion and lasted a lap at the head of the field, until Pearson overtook him on Lap2, then Davis regained the lead momentarily on Lap5, after putting in the fastest lap, but Pearson had retook the lead on Lap 6 and held it until the flag. The Pre98’s (up to 500cc) class saw victory go to Anthony Redmond (Manchester) in the first race from Alan Jones (Hednesford), these positions were reversed in the second race after Jones made a much better start.

Fans of three-wheeled motorsport were once again treated to a world class display by Ben and Tom Birchall (Mansfield), as they tested their sidecar outfit, lapping the field over 3 seconds quicker each lap, to their nearest rivals, on each occasion it was Roy Hanks/Julie Hanks-Elliott (Birmingham) on another 600cc machine who came home in 2nd place. The Dave Holden/Ray Burns (Blackburn/Bolton) duo were the winners of the Open Sidecar class, in both races. Rivals need not worry about the speed of the Birchall’s as they are not scoring any points towards the Darley Moor Road Race Championship.

The next Championship meeting will be a double header at the end of June, with Round 3 on Saturday 28th June and Round 4 on Sunday 29th June 2014. For those feeling brave enough, or wanting to experience the thrill of being a passenger in sidecar outfit on the Saturday there will be the opportunity to ‘pay’ for a taxi ride around the circuit during lunchtime. The rides will be raising money for the ACU Benevolent Fund, but all volunteers must be wearing suitable protective clothing.

The action on both days will begin at 1000hrs with practice sessions for all classes, whilst the first race is anticipated to start at 1130hrs, then non-stop race action through to 1800hrs.

The cost of adult admission to Darley Moor for all meetings, except the end of season Stars at Darley meeting, is £12.00 per day, children under 16 are free, and Senior Citizens are £8.00. Parking and Paddock Transfer is free and a programme costs just £3.00. Adult admission to the Test Days is £6.00.

For the Stars at Darley event on 12th October the adult admission price is £16.00 and Senior Citizens £12.00.

Advance Tickets at discount prices are also available on-line just visit the Darley Race Shop for full details - http://www.darleymoorstore.co.uk/.

There is ample room for spectators to camp and caravan at Darley Moor over the race weekends. The cost is £5.00 per unit per night. You can normally arrive after 5.00 pm on the Friday and stay until 10.00 am on the morning after the meeting.

Darley Moor is one of the few circuits in which dogs are welcome, provided they are kept on a lead at all times during race day and the owners act in a responsible manner.

Championship positions (after Round 2)

Peak Cup

1st Tim Poole, 27pts; 1st Jim Hodson, 27pts; 3rd Jamie Medhurst, 15pts

Open Solo

1st Tim Poole, 24pts; 2nd Jim Hodson, 21pts; 3rd Scott Bingley, 15pts

Open Sidecars

1st John Potts/Neil Dutton, 22pts; 2nd Dave Holden/Ray Burns, 18pts; 3rd Anthony Eades/Iain Greensmith, 12pts

Lightweight

1st Paul Hedison, 24pts; 2nd Mark Tyrell, 16pts; 3rd Chris Moore 9pts

GP125

1st Mark Tyrell, 36pts; 2nd Justin Brown, 22pts; 3rd Stephen Campbell, 8pts

Formula 600