ANOTHER BANK HOLIDAY SCORCHER AT DARLEY

Wednesday August 28, 2013 at 11:57am

Spectators at Round 6 of the Darley Moor Motorcycle Road Race Championships were, once more, treated to spectacular racing on a very warm Bank Holiday Monday, 26th August.

The racing could not have got off to a better start, the Peak Cup providing a race long three-way scrap between Jim Hodson, Matt Smith and Danny Smith, separated by little more than 0.5 sec throughout the six laps. Hodson coming through from 3rd on lap 1, into 2nd on Lap 4 and finally passing Matt Smith for the lead on Lap 5 to take the victory. Danny Smith crossing the line in 3rd place, just 0.59sec behind the winner! The ten lap second race looked to be going a similar way, although Hodson made a better start and was leading both Smiths, on this occasion it was Danny chasing him down. The pass finally came on Lap 6, but then disaster struck for Hodson as he failed to complete the following lap, leaving the Rugeley rider to take the victory, almost 4 seconds ahead of Matt.

The same riders provided the entertainment at the head of the field in the first Open Solo race, Hodson taking the victory by over 1.2sec from Danny, with Matt a similar distance behind in 3rd. With Hodson not making the start in the second race it was the two Smiths who provided some excellent racing, Matt leading on Lap 1, then Danny taking the lead on the second lap and managing to hold off a last lap effort from the Swadlincote rider to take victory by just 0.28sec.

The combined Formula Darley/125/Classic races calmed things down a little Brad Vicars taking flag-to -flag victories, with David Carson following him home for a Formula Darley 1-2. Mark Tyrell taking 3rd place on the road, but winning the 125 class and David Bradley the first Classic machine home, in 5th place, on both occasions.

Vicars was also in action in the combined Sound of Thunder/Lightweight races although in these it was a top 5 place he was aiming at, finally recording a 5th and 4th in the two races, but winning the Mini Sound of Thunder class. At the head of the field Adam Hoare took the lead on Lap 7 in the first and Lap 3 in the second taking the two victories on his Lightweight machine. Mark Tomkinson and Neil Addy each took a runner-up spot on the road apiece but in doing so claimed a Sound of Thunder class victory each.

Both Steel Framed 600/Pre Injection 600 races provided similar entertainment, although with the overall victory going to two different riders. In the first race Anthony Porter led throughout on his Pre Injection machine, although the outcome may have been different if the race had been longer or if Chris Sammons had made a slightly better start on his Steel-Framed machine. With Sammons lying 3rd after the first lap, he moved into 2nd place on the following lap and set about closing down the two second lead of Porter’s, by the end of the final lap the gap was under 0.4sec. In the second encounter Sammons again had to settle for 2nd place on the road, but this time it was Jamie Pearson who was fending the Chesterfield rider off.

Pearson, who had failed to get off the start-line in the first race, was able to hold almost a 0.5sec advantage throughout, finally the difference being 0.32sec across the line. Porter, who was unable to produce the lap-times of the first race, was 3rd at the flag, some distance behind his rivals.

With several of the leading competitors on ‘duty’ elsewhere the Formula 600 races provided the opportunity for other racers to get a share of the silverware in this hard fought championship. Ashley Blake took full advantage of the absentees and kept the crowd fully entertained with some very determined rides in both races. After Lap 1, Blake was 7th, in the first race, and 6th, in the second, on both occasions he took the lead on the 7th Lap, pulling out a 2 second lead in the first, but just 0.4sec in the second race. In the first race it was Neil Addy who was forced to succumb to the pressure, while Brad Vicars put up the fight in the second.

This weekend saw a small grid for some of the smallest machines used in racing, the Classic 50, David Clark was the victor in the first, by almost 4 seconds, with Adrian Sanders taking the win in the second race by over 2 seconds.

Once again the Pre98 class was dominated by racers from Derby, Shane Pearson taking flag –to-flag victories in both while Ian Morgan finished Runner-Up in both, albeit in two very different circumstances. In their first encounter he was locked in a battle with Pearson’s brother, Jamie, finally passing him on the fifth of eight laps, then in the second he had to fend off a distant challenge from Dean Ephgrave.

Fans of three wheeled motorsport saw Tony Thompson/Jack Jones take victory in both Sidecar races on their 1000cc outfit, the first with a 6.8sec advantage over the Formula 600cc outfit of Dean Banks/Ken Edwards and the second a hard earned victory over Ray Thomas/Neil Aslaksen on their 1000cc machine, by just 0.4sec. Roy Hanks/Julie Hanks-Elliott took the class victory on their 600cc machine from Banks/Edwards.

Just two rounds now remain; Round 7 on Sunday 15th September will feature the classic Thunderfest machines and the final Round on 13th October, the end of season ‘Stars at Darley’ finale.

Practice will begin at 10.00am and the first race is anticipated to start at 11.30am, the cost of adult admission to Darley Moor for all meetings, except the end of season Stars at Darley meeting, is £11.00 per day, children under 16 are free, and Senior Citizens are £6.00. Parking and Paddock Transfer is free and a programme costs just £3.00.

For the Stars at Darley meeting adult admission is £15 and Senior Citizens £10.00, adult admission to the Test Days is £5.00. Advance Tickets at discount prices are also available on-line just visit the Darley Race Shop for full details - 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.

Championship standings after 6 Rounds

Peak Cup

1st Jim Hodson, 87pts; 2nd Danny Smith, 65pts; 3rd Louis Turner-Laurent, 28pts

Open Solos

1st Jim Hodson, 84pts; 2nd Danny Smith, 72pts; 3rd Alan Hughes, 25pts

Open Sidecar

1st Dave Holden / Heath Fairbrother, 73pts; 2nd Tony Thompson / Jack Jones, 57pts; 3rd Ray Thomas / Neil Aslaksen, 56pts;

Lightweight

1st Adam Hoare, 69pts; 2nd Matt Zschiesche, 43pts; 3rd Fred Burbidge, 38pts

GP125

1st Mark Tyrell, 48pts 2nd Ricky Tarren 27pts; 3rd Reg Richardson 18pts,

F600