Here are some photos from the second round of the 2026 Darley Moor championships, taken by official Darley photographer Tony Else...

The second round of the Darley Moor championships took place on the same weekend as the North West 200 races and the French round of MotoGP, so we arrived as early as we could just so that we could get our essential viewing out of the way!

​The paddock was a little emptier than usual on the Saturday evening so we took the opportunity to get an early night, but had to change the gas bottle at 2am so that we could put the heater back on - even in May it can still be chilly overnight sleeping in a caravan!

Sunday race day had a windy start but was forecast to be (and was) dry all day. With no karts at this meeting, the organisers had scheduled long sessions for the day - 17-minute qualifying sessions and 12-lap races.

We were to be the very first session out on track for the Open 600 Qualifying, so changed the 600's wheels to wets so that we could keep the dry tyres on warmers whilst we went to noise testing.

After a quick wheel change, we headed out for the Open 600 qualifying session. The conditions were very windy during the session - with wind catching us on the exit of the Wilsons chicane, at Townleys and along the Pope straight (elongating our braking distance). We qualified 5th on the grid with a best lap of 1:01.48.

Our combined Supertwins/Darley Cup qualifying session was over an hour later, which allowed the wind to reduce substantially. Our best time of 1:01.58 qualified us 2nd on the Darley Cup grid and on Pole Position for the Supertwins races.

Our first race was Open 600 Race 1. We got a good start and entered the chicane in 4th position, but by trying to hang onto the leading trio (and making mistakes along the way), we were slowly losing touch with them. On lap 2, Joseph Busfield passed us so we tagged onto the back of him. We followed Joseph for the majority of the race and on the final lap the red flag was shown when Ben Dale crashed at Townleys corner. We would like to send our best wishes to Ben, who I'm sure will be doing his best to return for the next round! With the race result declared, we finished in 4th position - just 0.44 of a second behind Joseph in 3rd-place.

​After the "early-called lunch break" we headed out for Supertwins Race 1. From our pole position starting position we entered the chicane in 3rd position. Knowing it was a long race, we planned our overtakes to be as careful and considered as possible. On lap 2 we took the class lead and then on lap 4 we took the overall race lead. For the remaining 8 laps we set clean and consistent laps and won the race.

We were next out in Darley Cup Race 1. From the start we were 3rd into the chicane (2nd in class) and on the opening lap moved up to 2nd on track (still 2nd in class). The length of the race made it interesting - as we would catch race-leader Jonathan Trezins, then be held up by a backmarker, then catch him up again, etc... This went on throughout the race (making for a very interesting video) and at the chequered flag we were just 0.15 of a second behind race-winner Jonathan when he crossed the line. We finished in 2nd place but did set the fastest lap of the race with a 1:00.76.

Due to a number of stoppages through the day, the second set of races was shortened to 6-laps each.

In Open 600 Race 2 we got a relatively poor start which relegated us to 7th position into the chicane. But through the race we made pass after pass and by the chequered flag we had made it back to finish in 4th position.

In Supertwins Race 2 we were 3rd into the chicane (2nd in class) but took the class lead into Park corner on the opening lap, then took the overall lead by the end of the opening lap. A series of clean laps saw us stretch a lead at the front and we won the race as well as setting the fastest lap.

Our final race of the day was Darley Cup Race 2. We entered the chicane in 4th position (3rd in class) and struggled to get passed the 600cc bike of Daniel Bradley. On lap 3 we made a successful move and took 2nd place in class - but by this point the leading pair had disappeared! With some clear track we were able to get our head down and we set the fastest lap of the race to secure our 2nd place finish.

​With all races completed we walked away with 4 trophies, 2 working bikes and a rider in one piece - which pleased Lorna as we have a holiday planned soon!

Our next planned event is Darley Moor Rounds 3 & 4 on Saturday-Sunday 20th-21st June. We'll let you know how we get on!
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Here are some photos from the opening round of the 2026 Darley Moor championships, taken by official Darley photographer Tony Else...

Darley Moor was the host of our first outing of the 2026 racing season. We travelled up on the Friday evening and found a paddock packed full of eager racers looking for a weekend of fun. With space at a premium, we setup with a slightly different configuration before heading up to the race office to leave some Rock Oil gifts for the other racers. To our surprise, we also found out that we feature of the side of Denis Gregory's camper - alongside a number of other "legends" ;-)

Saturday Test Day
Our aims for the Saturday test day were fairly straightforward - scrub in the new Bridgestone V02 slick tyres, check both bikes were still working OK after winter, knock off some winter cobwebs, and feel like we're ready to head out for qualifying.

First up on Saturday morning was noise testing - which highlighted a weak/dying battery on our Kawasaki ZX6R. We managed to get her running (and she was no trouble all weekend), but a new battery will be acquired to avoid any future issues. As the circuit was wet from overnight rain we skipped the first couple of sessions to allow the circuit to dry - and get some heat into it - because after the wet start, it was supposed to be dry all day...

​Session 3 was our first time riding in 2026 and we headed out on the Kawasaki ZX6R. We had some new rearsets fitted and the gear shift was slightly rubbing on the head of a bolt on certain corner exit upshifts (it was fine on straights however). Back in the paddock we could see the problem so applied a bit of "strategic filing" to resolve the interference issue...

Around lunchtime some huge gusts of winds arrived and sent a competitor's awning flying across the paddock! It slammed into our caravan roof (leaving an almighty dent) before flying off to hit a pole near the assembly area with enough force to bend it! Fortunately no-one was injured during the event, so we left it at that.

With the winds continuing, we decided to take our awning sides down and lowered it as much as possible. After ~20 minutes the wind calmed down and then the rain arrived  :-(

Fortunately, the rain didn't last too long and we were able to get out on a fairly dry circuit for Session 5 on the Aprilia RS660 and then Session 6 to check that our ZX6R gearshift fix was successful. By the end of the day, there was both sunshine and rain - which made for some pretty rainbows.

​After riding down to scrutineering (the joy of having a Saturday test day!), we packed everything but the bikes away - but by 9pm the wind picked up again so we decided to take the awning down and put the bikes into the van.  "Won't be a problem" we thought, as Sunday is supposed to be dry...

Sunday Race Day
Heavy winds and rain landed overnight and we awoke to a wet paddock, but with wind gusts that were helping to dry the circuit.

​We were the very first session out on track for the Open 600 Qualifying. There were only a few damp patches on corners so we were able to ride quite normally (albeit safely in sections). We managed to qualify 6th on the 19-rider grid.

With the track being dry it was the first real opportunity to test out our new leathers in anger. After 8 laps our left forearm was starting to feel a little constricted so we decided to swap to the second set of leathers before the next qualifying session, just in case there was a minor difference in the cut of the suit.

Out onto track, which was now dry, we managed to find a clear lap and put in a single clear lap which was enough to qualify us 2nd on the Darley Cup grid and in Pole Position for the Supertwins races. Chris Little managed to capture our qualifying lap at the hairpin (video below) and the onboard of that lap is also shown below. The change of leathers made little difference, so we swapped back to the initial set.

Our first race was Open 600 Race 1. As soon as we started, so did some rain showers... A great start saw us move into 3rd position into the Wilsons chicane, before the red flag was shown on the opening lap.

The race was then restarted and we entered the chicane in 6th position this time, moving back to 7th position before Park corner on the opening lap. We decided to push as hard as we dared, with the intermittent rain showers testing our confidence. During the race we fell back to 8th position, then advanced back up to 7th position where we finished at the flag. With the showers easing on the last few laps, we set a fastest lap of 1:02.60.

Back in the paddock, we only had a one-race-gap before the Supertwins race began. But during the gap the hail came down sideways! With the short time available to swap wheels, we decided not to - one of the benefits of not chasing championships I suppose!

​With the weather easing and the wet tyres now fitted, we headed out for Darley Cup Race 1 which was very wet. A good start saw us enter the chicane in 2nd position - but with being unsure how much grip was available we were overly cautious for the opening half of the race. So much so that we were actually overtaken around the outside on the opening lap at the hairpin. We settled into the conditions and around half-race-distance we looked behind us and saw another bike - so decided that it was time to pull our finger out! We managed to lap faster and faster - and even went the fastest we've ever been on the Aprilia in wet - and managed to close up the gap to the 2nd-placed man, but we ran out of laps so crossed the line in 3rd place. Our best lap was a 1:08.50.

We chose to skip Open 600 Race 2 and decided that Supertwins Race 2 would be our final race of a tiring and difficult weekend. With all of the pre-race-child-entertainment, we actually forgot to record this race...

The racing line was practically dry but the entire grid was out on wet tyres (including us). We got a great start and entered the chicane in the lead. We decided to go as quick as we could before the tyres started overheating. After 4 laps the tyres started moving so we took a peek behind us to see if we had made a gap - it turned out that we had a 23-second lead by this point. We then backed off and brought the bike home to take our first win since the 2024 season. Coming around the last corner I could see little Kate jumping up and down, so decided to give her a wave - as captured in Lorna's video below.

​After the race we packed up and collected our shiny trophies. Just as we were about to climb into the van the rain started again... 

The weekend was challenging but in a way strangely satisfying. We really enjoyed the weekend overall, despite the many challenges during the weekend itself. Sitting here, it's surprising just how easily my mind has already chosen to forget a lot of the less-enjoyable parts.

Our next planned event is Darley Moor Round 2 on Sunday 10th May. Our new leathers are already away being modified on the left arms and we have a number of other parts yet to order to keep our aging machinery (and rider) out on track. We'll let you know how we get on!
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A while has passed since our last race meeting (and it is less than six weeks until the start of our 2026 season), so we thought we would provide an update of what has been going on behind the scenes over the "winter off-season"...

2026 ACU Licence & Race Dates
We have renewed our National race licence, which enabled us to plan our list of meetings for the season ahead. As per previous seasons we plan to race with Darley Moor once again, as well as revisiting the picturesque Aberdare Park Road Races. We plan to run #88 at all events, if possible. Entry Forms for Aberdare Park and Darley Moor Round 1 have already been posted!

​2026 Race Dates
Saturday-Sunday 11th-12th April - Darley Moor Test Day & Round 1
Sunday 10th May - Darley Moor Round 2
Saturday-Sunday 20th-21st June - Darley Moor Rounds 3 & 4
Saturday-Sunday 1st-2nd August - Aberdare Park Road Races
Sunday 9th August - Darley Moor Round 5
Sunday 20th September - Darley Moor Round 6
Saturday-Sunday 10th-11th October - Darley Moor Rounds 7 & 8 (including "Stars at Darley")

2025 Darley Doo
Back in January we attended the Darley Moor championship celebrations evening. It was our 16th time attending the diner dance and only the second time that we did not collect a trophy (for ourselves). As usual, it was a fantastic evening that everyone enjoyed!

​New NFmoto Race Leathers
Back in 2016 we decided to order a couple of sets of custom-sized NFmoto leathers, with a custom-design to match our team's colour scheme. Throughout the past 10 seasons of racing they performed incredibly well. They crashed well and although still structurally sound, were displaying an assortment of associated scuff marks.

As the suits have been the most comfortable we’ve ever used, when it was time to replace them we decided to go back to NFmoto to get some of their latest offerings. Despite kangaroo leather and airbag options being available nowadays, we've kept it old-school and opted for cowhide and physical armour instead. We ordered two identical sets of leathers.

As you can see, the design is heavily based on the previous design (that we liked very much) but has updated logos - as well as the girl's names close to my heart! Here is the design image, the completed leathers and a view that we hope other riders will see...

​To finish off the design, we have also added some Heart-design knee sliders  :-)

​To Compliment our shiny new leathers, we have acquired a new set of the RST gloves that we have been using for many years.

Rock Oil Sponsorship
We are extremely gratefully that Rock Oil continue to support our racing efforts. Prior to the season start, a delivery of the finest motorcycle lubricants was made to Two Daves Racing HQ - which will mean we can keep the bikes in tip-tip condition!

Machine Maintenance
Both of our race machines will remain in the same specification for the 2026 season. After the final 2025 race meeting we stripped down both machines, cleaned them and serviced them - so they are both ready for action!

Consumables & Machine Improvements
Prior to any track action, we have restocked our spares boxes. We have a stock of EBC's fabulous GPFAX pads and another set of rearsets for the Kawasaki ZX6R, along with a new ZX6R 15T front sprocket. For the 2026 season we will be trialling a switch from our usual Conti Race Attack 2 tyres to Bridgestone's (supposedly fantastic) V02 slicks - so a couple of pairs of new tyres have been acquired too.

​The only other change for the coming season is a change of dipstick on the Aprilia RS660. The stock plastic dipstick can be notoriously difficult to accurately read, so we have invested in an improved version from Forward Race Parts - which should ensure that the correct amount of Rock Oil is running within our engine.

Thank you for continuing to follow us on this journey and we look forward to sharing details of our adventures during the 2026 season!
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Here are some photos from the final rounds of the 2025 Darley Moor championships, taken by official Darley photographer Tony Else...