Arriving at the circuit only 90 minutes after the paddock opened on the Thursday evening, most of the paddock was already roped off - but we managed to find a spot on hard standing, nearby to the cafe and toilet block and got everything setup.
With time to kill we decided to go up to the top part of the circuit to watch, which allowed us to see some parts of the track that reminded us of the early days of Anglesey circuit (prior to its redevelopment), which was nostalgic.
By 00:10 we were outside clinging onto the awning as (at that time) 45-50 mph gusts of wind were trying their best to drag the awning across the paddock. At its worst, the wind gusts reached almost 70mph and decimated a lot of paddock setups!
After taking the sides off the awning the situation didn't improve much, so we decided to take the awning down completely. We put as much stuff as possible into the back of the van and then just prayed that the wind didn't blow the bikes over. By the time the morning arrived we had barely had any sleep...
We took a walk around the paddock at 06:30 and took some of the photos shown below - but this wasn't all of it, as some people never managed to find their awning! Ian Robinson said "It was like something out of the Wizard of Oz, as the awning just flew up into the air and disappeared off into the distance..."
After taking a much-needed shower, we packed everything neatly into the van, then the girls then did some roller skating on track before we joined some other competitors in the cafe bar for some light refreshments.
With a few more points gained this weekend, the championship tables have changed once again. As it stands we are currently in 2nd position in the Supertwins championship and in 5th in the Open 600 championship.
However, as there is one NG event remaining (which we cannot attend) then we forecast/estimate that we will probably end the season in 4th position in the Supertwins championship and in 5th position in the Open 600 championship.
Time will tell on that, but for now we would just like to congratulate Brody Crockford on securing the 2023 NG Supertwins championship (showing that he really might be "the faster Crockford")!
Open 600 Championship Standings (Top 10)
George Edwards 356
Ricky Elder 334
Michael Rees 168
Jed Bird 156
David Carson 142
Aaron Matthews 83
Lewis Jones 75
Brandon Brinded 53
Paul Messenger 49
Lucca Allen 46
Supertwins Championship Standings (Top 10)
Brody Crockford 293
David Carson 215
Edward Giles 177
Steve Moody 166
William Holland 124
Alex Sinclair 95
Tony Parker 94
Jamie Ingham 87
Jamie Coward 75
Mark Hughes 64
Our next outing is in a few weeks, where we will return to Darley Moor on Sunday 10th September for Round 5 of their championships.