Cooper 1 Darley Regulars 2 at Round 3

Tuesday June 14, 2022 at 4:04pm

The Darley Moor Motor Cycle Road Race Club had a late boost for their entries at Round 3 of their championship, held on Sunday 12^th June, when Hucknall’s multiple Stars at Darley winner, Richard Cooper, announced his intention to take part in the Formula 600 class.

As always, once the practice sessions are over there are two 10lap non-championship races getting the race action underway; the first for ‘Up to 650cc machines with two cylinders’ and this was won convincingly by Andy Whale (Birmingham), beating Ian Robinson (Eccleshall) by over 10sec with a start-finish victory. The second for ‘Up to 1300cc’ machines was the first opportunity for Cooper to line up on the grid on his 600cc machine, however also on the grid was a former 1000cc bike, raced by Cooper, now in the possession of Daz Bellworthy (Derby), a friend of Cooper’s. As the flag dropped it was Cooper who made the best start, crossing the line, at the end of the opening lap almost 1sec ahead of Bellworthy, by Lap4 the advantage was almost 4sec, but a mistake on Lap5 saw Bellworthy sneak through into the lead and stretch out an advantage of over 2sec by the end of Lap6. Regrouping Cooper had halved that by Lap7 and at the chequered flag he was just 0.3sec behind Bellworthy, but the bigger machine was just too fast down the straights for Cooper, who could reduce the gap around the tighter sections, only for his old machine to stretch the advantage down the straights.

The first of the Championship classes saw the combined Honda CB500/Suzuki 600 Bandit and Lightweight machines take to the grid and whilst it was Peter Fell (Burton on Trent) who secured victory in both races, the morning’s 10lapper by 5sec and the afternoon’s 12 lap race by just under 3sec, it was the battle behind that spectators enjoyed. At the end of Lap 1 Lewis Jones (Mansfield) crossed the line 2^nd, with George Bedford (Hatton) in his slipstream, just 0.5sec behind. The second Lap saw Bedford pass Jones and from then on, the pair were locked in a battle until the chequered flag, only once was that size gap ever seen again during the race, finally being separated by just 0.19sec at the flag, Bedford 2^nd and Jones 3^rd. Jones was able to turn the tables on Bedford in the afternoon, heading him across the line throughout and finishing 2^nd with Bedford almost 3sec behind at the chequered flag.

Next to the grid were the Formula 600 machines, Cooper’s second opportunity for a race win, but after Lap1 he was languishing down in 13^th place, over 16sec behind leader Ben Dale (Warrington), who enjoyed a 3sec lead over James Ford (High Peak). Dale was able to extend his lead over Ford by around half second each lap, but Cooper was ensuring spectators were not falling asleep and making rapid progress through the field, with the help of setting the fastest lap of the day on Lap7 and passing Dale for the lead on the penultimate lap, only to make a mistake on the final lap and allow Dale to pip him to the flag by just 0.17sec, the closest finish of the day, with Ford in third place. The afternoon saw Cooper achieve what most may have thought would have been a foregone conclusion in previous races, but he took his only victory of the day with a 4sec advantage over Dale on this occasion, with Ford taking another 3^rd place.

Fans of four wheeled motorsport witnessed Jack Bliss (Wisbech) take two start – finish victories In the Superkart UK Championship races, taking the first by over 6sec and the second by over 13sec from Rob Austin (Uttoxeter) on both occasions.

Back to two wheels and there was more entertainment in the combined Open Solo and Pre-Injection Open races, in the first Bellworthy was able to take a start -finish victory, by over 5sec, over Matthew Bell (Sheffield) and Mark Goodings (Doncaster), 2^nd and 3^rd respectively. Adam Walters (Derby) was the first Pre-Injection machine home in 5^th place Overall. However, the second race was a little different with Bell leading for the opening two laps with Bellworthy in close proximity, whilst Goodings finished the opening lap 4^th, behind Walters. Goodings moved up to 3^rd on Lap2 and Bellworthy hit the front on Lap3. Two laps later Goodings moved into 2^nd place and then hit the front on Lap6 and held the position through to the penultimate lap when Bellworthy retook the lead and managed to stretch a 1.5sec advantage at chequered flag, over Goodings, with Bell 3^rd over 15sec behind. Walters again the first Pre-Injection machine in 6^th place on this occasion.

The combined 700cc Twins and Forgotten Era races saw Andy Whale lead every Lap other than the first of the opening race, recording two victories of 13sec plus, on his twin cylinder machine. Mark Brailsford (Chesterfield), on a Forgotten Era machine, was the only rider to head Whale, on that opening lap and eventually had to settle for overall 3^rd in both races but taking the Forgotten Era honours. Ian Robinson (Eccleshall) taking the Runner- Up spot on both occasions on the Twin cylinder machine.

The final races for solo machines at the weekends meeting were the combined Pre-Electronic 600 and Classic classes which Dean Ephgrave (Hucknall) managed to lead across the line throughout both races, but it was the first one which kept the spectators entertained with the top three split by just 1.1sec at the flag and despite being 4^th on Lap1 and producing the fastest lap of the race on Lap 5, Wayne Kemp (Manchester) managed to challenge Ephgrave for the lead on Lap8, crossing the line just 0.02sec behind, then dropped to 3rd, behind Rich Chivers-Jarvis (Hucknall) on the final lap.

The Sidecar races ensured the entertainment continued throughout all classes, the first race seeing Steve Thomas/Danny Lewis (Rockferry/Wirral) take an untroubled start-finish victory on their Open class machine, with Howard Baker/Mike Killingsworth (Sutton Coldfield/Lincoln) following throughout in 2^nd place, on their Formula 600 outfit, finishing 10sec adrift at the chequered flag. However, the final race of the day saw both pairs claim the same positions, but this time the Baker/Killingsworth pairing only being more than 1sec behind on the 2^nd lap, finishing the race just 0.3sec behind at the chequered flag.

With that level of entertainment from some smallish grids it is good to know that the next round is very soon and even better it will be a two-day meeting with Round 4 on Saturday 2^nd July and Round 5 on Sunday 3^rd July 2022.

The cost of adult admission to Darley Moor for all meetings, except the end of season Stars at Darley meeting, is £16.00 per day, children under 16 are free, and Senior Citizens are £12.00.

Advance Tickets at discount prices (£13 and £10) 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 £7.00 per unit per night (£6 in advance). Camping will normally be available from 4.00 pm on the Friday evening until 10.00 am on the day after the meeting or by special arrangement with the circuit management – Call 01335 343833.

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

Championship Tables (after Round 3)

Open Solos

1^st Mark Goodings, 39pts; 2^nd Matthew Bell, 25pts; 3^rd Daz Bellworthy, 23pts

Open Sidecars

1^st Steve Thomas / Danny Lewis , 42pts; 2^nd Anthony Eades / Ash Gibson, 34pts; 3^rd Dave Molyneux/ Daryl Gibson, 15pts

Lightweight

1^st Peter Fell, 40pts; 2^nd Lewis Jones, 24pts; 3^rd George Bedford, 22pts

Formula 600

1^st Ben Dale, 22pts; 2^nd Richard Cooper, 19pts; 3^rd Albert Walker, 18pts

Formula 600 Sidecar

1^st Howard Baker/Mike Killingsworth, 42pts; 2^nd Bill Roberts/Nick Roberts, 24pts; 3^rd Chris Schofield/Shane Colbrook, 15pts

Pre-Electronic 600/750 Twin