This weekend will see the Darley Moor Motorcycle Road Race Club sign off the 2013 racing season in style when they hold their CMC Motorcycles Stars at Darley meeting, 12th – 13th October 2013. You can be sure the racing will be frantic when there are competitors from the British Superbike, British Supersport, National Superstock 1000 and 600 Championships with fourteen previous ‘Stars’ titles amongst them practicing on Saturday and racing Sunday!
The Honda Legends duo, and multiple previous ‘Stars’ Champions’ John McGuinness and Michael Rutter were the first to confirm their attendance, then Buildbase BMW entered Richard Cooper, another multiple Stars Champion and Lee Jackson, recently Dan Kneen has confirmed his attendance. With just these riders you know the two 10 lap ‘Stars’ races are going to be special, but throw in two regular, Peak Cup and Open Class winners and circuit specialists; Jim Hodson, Danny Smith, Matt Smith and Stephen Poulson.
The ‘Stars’ races will not be the only races to grab the spectators interest as there are still seven Club Champions to be crowned and with a maximum of 18 points up for grabs plenty can happen before the new champion is decided! However, instead of the usual 6 and 8 lap races the regular classes will have just one 10 lap race each, effectively being a double point’s race.
The Formula 600 Sidecar Championship should be two of the most fraught races during the day, just 2 points separate current leaders Dean Banks/Lee Saunders from rivals John Shipley/Ian Cunliffe.
The Pre 98’s Up to 500cc class has just a 5 point gap between 1st and 2nd; Alex Woodhouse looking to uphold local honour and overhaul the deficit he has from Fred Burbidge. Jamie Hodson needs to overturn the 6 point advantage of Tim Poole’s in the F600 class to take another title into the Hodson household. His father Jim has already become Peak Cup and Open Solo Champion.
The Classic 350cc title will definitely be going to a local competitor, with John Leese currently enjoying a 9 point advantage over Paul Rogers. With a 15 point deficit Ricky Tarren will need Mark Tyrell to have a poor ride, by his standards, or bad luck to strike if he is to lift the GP125 title.
A similar fate will have to strike the Dave Holden/Heath Fairbrother partnership in the Open Sidecar class for Tony Thompson/Jack Jones to make up their 16 point margin.
With a 17 point advantage Adam Hoare would have to suffer total disaster for Matt Zschiesche to be crowned Lightweight Champion this season.
To witness all the drama unfold be sure to get along to the circuit early and so have your pick of the best viewing spots because there is certain to be rush on Sunday morning. Alternatively, if you would like to watch a number of the riders setting their bikes up for Sunday, come along to the Saturday Practice Day, or better still have one last race weekend away before autumn really sets in.
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.
Saturday Practice, 12th October, adult admission is just £6.00, £3.00 for Senior Citizens; for the Sunday Stars at Darley meeting- adult admission is £15 and Senior Citizens £10.00, children under 16 are free. Practice from 10.00am, CMC Motorcycles Stars Qualifying at 11.15am and racing from Noon.
Championship standings after 7 Rounds (riders’ names in bold show Champions)
Peak Cup 1st Jim Hodson, 102pts; 2nd Danny Smith, 71pts; 3rd Tim Poole, 30pts
Open Solos 1st Jim Hodson, 102pts; 2nd Danny Smith, 72pts; 3rd Louis Turner-Laurent, 27pts
Open Sidecar
1st Dave Holden / Heath Fairbrother, 82pts; 2nd Tony Thompson / Jack Jones, 66pts; 3rd Ray Thomas / Neil Aslaksen, 60pts;
Lightweight
1st Adam Hoare, 69pts; 2nd Matt Zschiesche, 52pts; 3rd Mark Tyrell, 41pts
GP125
1st Mark Tyrell, 60pts 2nd Ricky Tarren 45pts; 3rd Reg Richardson 18pts,
F600
1st Tim Poole, 72pts; 2nd Jamie Hodson, 66pts; 3rd Ashley Blake, 46pts
Formula Darley 1st Brad Vicars, 96pts; 2nd David Carson, 62pts; 3rd Gary Dangerfield, 27pts;
Formula 125 1st Stephen Campbell, 90pts; 2nd Aiden Rushton, 54pts; 3rd Jake Archer, 33pts;
Formula 600 Sidecar
1st Dean Banks / Lee Saunders, 75pts; 2nd John Shipley / Ian Cunliffe, 73pts; 3rd Matt Williams /Jevan Walmsley, 44pts;
Steel Framed 600 1st Dean Ephgrave, 91pts; 2nd Dave Marsden, 58pts; 3rd Steve Price, 52pts;
Pre Injection 600 1st Antony Porter, 87pts; 2nd Jamie Pearson, 62pts; 3rd Richard Shipley, 35pts;
Mini Sound of Thunder 1st Brad Vicars, 112pts; 2nd David Carson, 54pts; 3rd Gary Dangerfield, 30pts
Sound of Thunder 1st Steven Hill, 78pts; 2nd Gary Henriksen, 51pts; 3rd Mark Tomkinson, 49pts;
Pre 98’s Up to 500cc
1st Fred Burbidge 82pts; 2nd Alex Woodhouse, 77pts; 3rd Matt Zscheische, 45pts
Pre98’s Up to 1300cc 1st Shane Pearson, 90pts; 2nd Ian Morgan, 53pts; 3rd Jamie Pearson, 44pts
Classic 250cc 1st Roy Hook, 36pts
Classic 350cc
1st John Leese, 36pts; 2nd Paul Rogers, 27pts; 3rd Gary Freeman, 9pts
Classic 500 1st Gordon Thorpe, 99pts; 2nd Andrew Lee, 12pts
Classic 1000 1st David Bradley, 75pts; 2nd Mike Harding 46pts; Anthony Redmond, 33pts