Aberdare Park is a beautiful and picturesque tree-lined circuit nestled inside a Welsh park. There's a duck pond and kids playground on the inside of the circuit and various immaculately-pruned rose gardens around the outside. Hundreds of trees are protected by a total of 1800 hay bales. According to the setup staff, this is a reduction from the previous 2500 hay bales that used to be used, due to the use of recticel barriers at certain locations nowadays.
The newcomers track walk was led by Ryan Dixon
We have actually visited the circuit once before - back in 1998 when we rode a 250GP bike. Reading our old race report it sounds like we managed to do a lap in the 44-second bracket back then, so our aim was to match that or maybe even to get into the 43s... It is also the first televised event that we've been to in a while, as King of the Roads streamed the event live and the races should also appear on ITV4 at some point in the future.
A heatwave was the last thing that we expected to encounter in Wales, but the forecast 30C+ weather conditions were going to be tough to get through - just like the freshly-laid pile of sand that we got stuck in just after entering the paddock...
After disconnecting the caravan and managing to escape the sandpit, we found a spot in the paddock and setup for the weekend. Unfortunately our trusty generator picked this weekend to destroy itself, so we had to make a quick (90-minute round trip) trip to Swansea to pick up brand new invertor generator from Machine Mart.
A heatwave was the last thing that we expected to encounter in Wales, but the forecast 30C+ weather conditions were going to be tough to get through - just like the freshly-laid pile of sand that we got stuck in just after entering the paddock...
After disconnecting the caravan and managing to escape the sandpit, we found a spot in the paddock and setup for the weekend. Unfortunately our trusty generator picked this weekend to destroy itself, so we had to make a quick (90-minute round trip) trip to Swansea to pick up brand new invertor generator from Machine Mart.
 The beautiful circuit... |  ...going around a pond |
 Setting up lap timers... |  ...and learning the circuit |
By the time we had returned to the circuit, the newcomers track walk (led by Ryan Dixon) had begun. We managed to catch up and join half-way through, and whilst Dave Jnr was walking the circuit, scrutineering was performed at our awning - which was very convenient!
Our setup was a little different from normal
Saturday Race Day
We started the weekend with the Newcomers session on the Kawasaki ZX6R, where we managed to get acquainted with the track and got down to a 50.54 lap time. The bright sunshine combined with the shadows from the trees meant that identifying the circuit boundaries could sometimes be tricky. We seemed to be fine with the visible/open corners (where you can see where you're going) but were taking longer to build speed through the blind corners.
A series of bumps on the Swallow (start/finish) straight set the bike into a tankslapper a couple of times, so after the session we added four clicks to the steering damper which sorted the issue.
 |  Photo by Abbie Allsopp |
Shortly afterwards we headed out for the Welsh Open free practice session on the Kawasaki, where we chipped off a bit more time and got down to a 47.57.
Our third session was again on the Kawasaki, for the Park Challenge (Supersport) 600 qualifying session. Due to the short length of the circuit, sessions were split in two - with race numbers 1-79 on track together and race numbers 80+ out together. We put in another 13 laps (making a total of 31 laps so far) and reduced our lap time down to 44.424 which qualified us 9th on the grid for the (race numbers 80+) heat race.
Our third session was again on the Kawasaki, for the Park Challenge (Supersport) 600 qualifying session. Due to the short length of the circuit, sessions were split in two - with race numbers 1-79 on track together and race numbers 80+ out together. We put in another 13 laps (making a total of 31 laps so far) and reduced our lap time down to 44.424 which qualified us 9th on the grid for the (race numbers 80+) heat race.
Photo by Bobby Twin
We then finally got a chance to ride the Aprilia in the Supertwins (race numbers 80+) qualifying session. Despite adding some extra steering damping prior to riding the bike it was clear that more was required. Our qualifying time of 45.124 put us 8th on the grid for the heat race. Back in the paddock we wound in a bit more steering damper and took out some preload from the front forks.
Photo by Dave Collins
Our final qualifying session was for the Welsh Open class. After managing to post a 44.987 lap we pulled in - 44 laps of this tight and twisty circuit in 32C heat had exhausted us! We had qualified 11th on the grid.
After a short break, and some time trying our best to cool down, we headed out for the Park Challenge (Supersport) 600 heat race. From the exit of the first corner to the chequered flag we had a fairly lonely race, with the guys ahead leaving us behind whilst we created a gap behind us. We finished the race in 7th position having set a best lap of 44.456.
After a short break, and some time trying our best to cool down, we headed out for the Park Challenge (Supersport) 600 heat race. From the exit of the first corner to the chequered flag we had a fairly lonely race, with the guys ahead leaving us behind whilst we created a gap behind us. We finished the race in 7th position having set a best lap of 44.456.
Photo by Christopher James
Next up was the Supertwins heat race which was very similar, as after the start no overtaking took place. This time, however, we managed to finished in 6th place and were only 1.75 seconds behind the 4th-placed finisher. Our best lap was a 45.278.
Photo by Clive Fisher
Coming into the paddock we were now truly exhausted and our shoulders were in agony. Racing in this heat was unreal! After taking off my leathers I took a short lay down on the floor, then decided that I may have committed to too many classes - so decided to bow out of the upcoming Welsh Open heat race as this gave us a good chunk of recovery time before the next race.
 Photo by Greg Llewellyn |  Photo by Dylan Bebb |
Entry into the "final" races was determined based upon lap times and we had just managed to scrape into the Park Challenge (Supersport) 600 final race, which we were proud of. Due to some delays during the day the final races were reduced to 6 laps - this actually worked in our favour as it meant that we could race without worrying about our physical condition (our shoulders were still very achy). Being at the back of the grid meant that everyone in front was quicker than us - and in the race (no surprise) we were soon in last place, but managed to push hard to lap near our PB time by setting a 44.949 lap.
 Photo by Greg Llewellyn |  Photo by Thomas Geoffroy |
The final race of the day was the Supertwins final race, where we started 13th on the grid. After another race than contained zero overtakes, we crossed the line in 13th place. The good news was that we had broken into the 44s on the Aprilia by setting a 44.916 lap time.
Photo by Keith Foley
Racing for the day had to end at 6pm , so our final race was pushed to Sunday morning. After a few maintenance tasks - and a good freshen up - we had some dinner, watched the German MotoGP Sprint race, then headed into Aberdare town to sample a couple of the local pubs.
Sunday Race Day
We slept well and woke to a slightly cooler (but still hot at 28C) day.
There was a planned halt to proceedings for the church break at 10:30am, but the organisers planned a busy schedule from 9:00am which included a couple of races for us.
The first race was Welsh Open Consolation race which was carried across from Saturday. As I hadn't gone out in the Welsh Open heat race I had not set a lap time - which meant that I would start from the very back of the grid...
When the race began we really struggled to pass other riders. On the final lap we managed to make an overtake and then caught another to be just 0.1 of a second behind at the flag. We finished in 9th position with a fastest lap of 46.162. The race may have made for a decent onboard video, but really we just wanted to have a better finishing position.
Sunday Race Day
We slept well and woke to a slightly cooler (but still hot at 28C) day.
There was a planned halt to proceedings for the church break at 10:30am, but the organisers planned a busy schedule from 9:00am which included a couple of races for us.
The first race was Welsh Open Consolation race which was carried across from Saturday. As I hadn't gone out in the Welsh Open heat race I had not set a lap time - which meant that I would start from the very back of the grid...
When the race began we really struggled to pass other riders. On the final lap we managed to make an overtake and then caught another to be just 0.1 of a second behind at the flag. We finished in 9th position with a fastest lap of 46.162. The race may have made for a decent onboard video, but really we just wanted to have a better finishing position.
 Photo by Greg Llewellyn |  Photo by Dave Collins |
Next up was the Supertwins Heat Race where we started from 8th on the grid. We got a good start and had a hell of a race, being involved in a 4-rider battle for 4th position. Starting at the back of the battle in 7th place we squeezed our way through to 6th position, then a couple of laps later made a relatively easy pass on the straight before chasing down 4th place. On the final corner we attempted a (unsuccessful) move around the outside and crossed the line just 0.1 of a second behind the 4th position finisher in 5th place. During the race we managed to break the 43-barrier and set a new Personal Best lap time of 43.821.
 Photo by Dylan Bebb |  Photo by Ken Mitchell |
During the church break we had a visit from Peraison's Tim Watson (and his "Best Man") who had been spectating all weekend, which must have been almost as exhausting as the riding was!
For the 10-lap Park Challenge (Supersport) 600 heat race we started from 9th on grid. For whatever reason, there were a few missing riders in the rows ahead, which worked to our adveantage. After exiting the first corner in 5th position we had a lonely race and finished in 5th position, setting another new Personal Best lap along the way. We were now down to 43.452.
For the 10-lap Park Challenge (Supersport) 600 heat race we started from 9th on grid. For whatever reason, there were a few missing riders in the rows ahead, which worked to our adveantage. After exiting the first corner in 5th position we had a lonely race and finished in 5th position, setting another new Personal Best lap along the way. We were now down to 43.452.
 Photo by Greg Llewellyn |  Photo by Richard Moult |
The 12-lap Supertwins Final would be our last race of the weekend. A good start saw us exit the first corner in 6th position where we managed to stay for the entire race and completed all 12 laps to cross the chequered flag in a fine 6th position - setting another new Personal Best lap of 42.942 along the way.
We decided to skip the Park Challenge Final (Photo by Abbie Allsopp)
Coming back into the paddock we were ecstatic! During the weekend we had qualified for the "Final" races in every class that we entered. We got into the 42s and we avoided being lapped in any of the races! That combination felt like quite an achievement so we decided to leave on a high :-)
We were packed up by 3pm and arrived back at Two Daves Racing HQ by 7pm. After catching up on some of the MotoGP and WorldSBK coverage we headed to bed at the end of what had been a truly fantastic weekend! We would like to give our wholehearted thanks to Ian McLeod for inviting us to the event and, since you got this far, would like to thank you very much for taking the time to read about our adventures!
We'll see you soon!
We were packed up by 3pm and arrived back at Two Daves Racing HQ by 7pm. After catching up on some of the MotoGP and WorldSBK coverage we headed to bed at the end of what had been a truly fantastic weekend! We would like to give our wholehearted thanks to Ian McLeod for inviting us to the event and, since you got this far, would like to thank you very much for taking the time to read about our adventures!
We'll see you soon!
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