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...

After a break of almost three months, we returned to racing action at the prestigious "Stars at Darley" event. As usual, it turned out to be a fantastic event and - with the weather conditions being almost perfect - many race records (and even the outright lap record) fell throughout the weekend...

We arrived to the circuit around 2pm on the Friday and setup in our preferred paddock spot, which gave us plenty of time to chat with everyone prior to the completion of our usual admin tasks. The shortening nights made it seem later than it was, so we ended up heading to bed earlier than usual.

Saturday
Waking nice and refreshed, we were out in the very first qualifying session for the Open 600 qualifying. Not having ridden for a while we planned to take the first few laps easy to get back into the swing of things, but the red flag was shown a few minutes into the session. After a wait of 6-8 minutes, the session was restarted. We found it difficult to navigate through the heavy traffic and when we finally found some space the chequered flag was shown... "If only we had one more lap!" we exclaimed... Our best lap was a 1:04.26 which placed us 16th on the grid of 25 riders.

After a short break we went out in the combined Supertwins and Darley Cup qualifying session. We took more care to ensure that we set a respectable lap time during this session and set a 1:01.74 which qualified us 5th (of 16 riders) for the Darley Cup races, and 5th (of 9 riders) for the Supertwins races.

We then took the opportunity to watch the Stars at Darley qualifying session, where reigning "Stars at Darley" winner Charlie Nesbitt took pole position with a track-record lap of 51.66 seconds - which was 2.20 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor!

It was then time for our first race of the weekend, Darley Cup Race 1. We were 7th into the Wilsons chicane and moved up to 6th position at the hairpin on the opening lap. From there we tried to chase down Dave Glossop and on lap 4 we made the move and took 5th place, where we stayed until the flag. We set a fastest lap of 1:00.87 along the way, which matched our meeting targets of "being in the 1:00s on the Aprilia" and "being in the 59s on the Kawasaki".

After a quick refuel, we headed straight out into Supertwins Race 1. A woeful start saw us enter the chicane in 10th position! We managed to recover a couple of positions on the opening lap, followed by another couple of places on lap 3, which elevated us to our eventual 6th place finishing position. Our fastest lap time was 1:00.74.

It was now time for a change of machinery, so we hopped on the Kawasaki for Open 600 Race 1. Starting from 16th on the grid meant that we would have our work cut out. We finished the opening lap in 14th position, but then struggled to make our way through the pack and were circulating in 1:01s. On the penultimate lap we managed to make a move into 13th position and with the clear track we were able to set a best lap of 59.29 on the final lap. We crossed the line in 13th position and had some thinking to do regarding how to get inside the Top 10 in the second race...

In the main "Stars" race it was a one-man show as pole-sitter Charlie Nesbitt took a start-to-finish victory by 24.51 seconds, setting a new all-time lap record of 51.54 along the way!

Our next race was Darley Cup Race 2. After entering the chicane in 7th position, we moved into 6th position at the end of lap 3 and then had a fairly lonely race - finishing in 6th position. Our best lap time was 1:00.85.

After a quick turnaround we started Supertwins Race 2. At the end of the opening lap we were in 7th position, which is where we would finish after another lonely race. Our lap time of 1:00.59 showed that we were able to consistently be where we wanted to be lap-time-wise, but with other riders starting quicker (and/or lapping quicker) than us, we were unable to fight for top positions - but Top 5 finishes did look to be possible...

Our final race of Sturday was Open 600 Race 2. A decent start meant that we were in 12th position at the end of the opening lap. After picking off riders one-by-one we managed to progress to 8th position at the chequered flag! Our fastest lap time was 59.55.

With a busy day of racing completed, we setup the laptop in the awning to watch the WorldSBK action from the day - then had another early night...

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Sunday
We awoke on Sunday to a beautiful morning with low-lying fog. It was very picturesque but did leave everything damp with dew. Fortunately, the sun soon came out and dried everything up.

​As Sunday was treated as a completely-new race day, qualifying took place again. This probably worked to our favour, due to our poor Saturday qualifying - so we headed out and tried to do a bit better... 

In Open 600 qualifying we managed to set a respectable time of 1:01.43, which qualified us in 11th position. An improvement on the previous day! In the combined Darley Cup and Supertwins qualifying session we set a 1:01.01 lap, which qualified us 5th on the Darley Cup grid and 6th in Supertwins.

Our first race was Darley Cup Race 1, where we entered the chicane in 7th position. By the end of lap 2 we had moved up to 6th position and had a big gap ahead of us. Little by little we were gaining on BMW-mounted Dave Glossop and into the final corner on the final lap we were able to move ahead one position, taking a 5th placed finishing position. Our fastest lap time was 1:00.79.

A "splash and dash" pit stop saw us straight out into Supertwins Race 1. If you are only going to watch one onboard video from this report, then this is probably the one to watch! A couple of wheelie-popping BMWs meant that we were able to enter the chicane in 6th position, but we were demoted to 7th position at the hairpin (by Dave Grace) on the opening lap and then Stephen Taylor came passed at Paddock corner - but ran wide so we were able to recover the position. From there, we overtook Aron Redmond on lap 3 to take 6th position - but Stephen Taylor continued to hound us and attempted an overtake on lap 4. On the final lap, into the final corner, Stephen came passed once again but we managed to turn inside him and get on the gas early which allowed us to drag him to the line by just 0.03 of a second! We finished in 6th position with a best lap time of 1:00.36.

Out on the Kawasaki again in Open 600 Race 1, a good start saw us finish the opening lap in 12th position. In our 12th position we closely follow a couple of riders but never progress through the pack. Our lap time of 1:00.35 demonstrated that we had more speed left in us, but we just couldn't take advantage of it.

It was again time for the main "Stars" race and once again Charlie Nesbitt took a commanding victory to secure the overall victory for another year! A truly outstanding performance!!

We headed out for Darley Cup Race 2 and ended the opening lap in 7th position with a large gap to the next rider. We managed to close the gap and on lap 5 we overtook Aron Redmond to move into 6th position, then managed to catch and pass Dave Glossop on the final lap to cross the line in 5th position. Our best lap time was 1:00.81.

​In Supertwins Race 2 we entered the chicane in 7th position, behind a group of riders, but just couldn't quite hold onto them. When pushing to stay with them we would make small mistakes and they slowly went further and further into the distance. After a lonely race we finished in 7th position, setting a best lap of 1:00.75 along the way - which had been very consistent all weekend!

Our final race of the weekend (and the season) was Open 600 Race 2. The race was initially started but was red-flagged when Adam Mather fell at the hairpin and Tim Walsh unfortunately had nowhere to go. Both riders were uninjured in the crashes.

The race was quickly restarted and we settled into 9th position. We were following Liam Wood for the opening half of the race, trying to make our way passed, when he then started going quicker and quicker! We managed to set a best lap time of 59.56 but ultimately had to settle for 9th position at the chequered flag.

​So that ends our 2025 season! The feeling of not actively competing for a championship (as mentioned at the start of the season) has been unusual after all of our years of competitive racing. Fortuitously, this season saw an influx of fast riders into our usual championship classes - so we might not have been in contention anyway, even if we had intended to!

I think we have finally settled into a new mindset where we can set our own personal targets and then try to meet them, irrespective of what everyone else in the paddock is doing.

So what does this mean for the future? It means that in 2026 you will probably see us in the paddock occasionally. When competing, we will continue to ride the same machinery (and hope that it holds together!) and we will continue to set our own targets. We will also keep our eyes open for interesting opportunities and interesting race classes, just in case they take our fancy...

Thanks for staying with us. We'll see you soon!
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With an upcoming family holiday to see a famous mouse in Florida during the school summer holiday break, we have made the decision to not attend the next Darley Moor meeting - as we don't want to risk picking up any injuries before our two weeks in the American sunshine.

This was not an easy decision, as we have only missed two Darley Moor meetings since March 2009 (one due to an injury and one due to a date clash) but the risk of impacting this "once in a lifetime family holiday" was just too high for us to take.

The next race weekend that we have scheduled is Darley Moor Rounds 9/10/11/12 in October. As that is so far away, we might see if we can add in an additional meeting before the "Stars at Darley" season closer takes place.

If we have any news we will share it as soon as its available, but for now we'll leave with... "If you can dream it, you can do it." (Walt Disney)
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