Here are some official photos from the Oulton Park round of the 2024 Wirral 100 championships...

The second round of the Wirral 100 championships took us to our "local" circuit of Oulton Park. Despite the circuit being less than 30 minutes from our front door we are infrequent visitors to the track, which often means that our lack of circuit knowledge leaves us at a disadvantage - so we watched a few onboard videos prior to attending. Speaking of onboard videos, the final instructions forbid cameras being carried at this meeting so we don't have any video coverage from this event...

The weather gods were shining on us for the weekend and we saw clear skies and sunshine across the event. The overnight clear skies meant that we awoke to frost on the van windscreen, but this soon melted off! Our scheduled on-track action saw us in three sets of back-to-back sessions, with the qualifying sessions opening the day and then two sets of races completing the action.

First up was the Supersport qualifying. We took a casual approach and reacquainted ourselves with the circuit layout and got quicker and quicker until the red flag was shown following a crash at Lodge corner by Chris Mort. When the session restarted we found a gap and then pushed for a lap time. On reflection it may have been better to relax and try to let the lap time come to us, but we managed to put in a 1:52.125 which put us 3rd in class and 18th on the overall grid. Our Personal Best lap time on the Supersport machine was a 1:49.763, so we didn't feel too far away from our pace.

We were then directly out into the Twins qualifying session where more laps helped us to relax into the circuit. After 5 laps we had beaten our previous Twins Personal Best lap time of 1:54.003 (set on the Kawasaki ER650) with a 1:51.919 lap time. With our hands beginning to feel numb - due to gripping on too tightly - we ended our session early. We were 7th in class and 8th on the overall grid.

After refuelling the bikes (and rider!) we were onto the races, starting with the 8-lap Supersport Race 1. Despite some riders around us jumping the start we managed to get a good and clean start but were swallowed up on opening lap. We took a cautious approach to the opening lap and the other racers penalised us for that! Once things had settled down then we set about picking off riders one by one and recovered the majority of places back and managed to reduce our lap time to a 1:50.246. We finished 6th in class and 21st overall.

It was then immediately time for another 8-lap race with Twins Race 1. A good start saw us gain on our grid position and then through the race we passed Alun Brooks and were passed by the 'ride only' Calum Beach. We found ourselves in open space and managed to set a new Personal Best lap time of 1:49.979 on our way to a 6th place finish (7th on track). When we got back to the paddock we were exhausted - and dreading the pair of 9-lap afternoon races!

After a long break we were ready for action again and headed out for Supersport Race 2. We got an OK start but once again (despite trying to learn from the first race!) we were swallowed up on the opening lap. This time we managed to get through the traffic more quickly and we set a fantastic new Personal Best lap time of 1:48.719 on the Supersport machine. At the end of the race we crossed the line in 15th position on track. This was 4th in our Pre-2011 class but we actually lapped quicker than the riders that finished in 3rd and 2nd positions - showing just how important the opening lap(s) can be!

​It was now time for the final race of the day, Twins Race 2. We got a good start and were running 5th in class at one point. We managed to set another new Twins Personal Best lap time of 1:49.874 but then began to run low on energy... Ian Mackman was the first to come passed us on his 250GP bike and then a few laps later Mike Bampton came through too. We tried to latch onto Mike but within a few laps he had made a gap on us - and then - the gap to Mike started to reduce and we suddenly got ourselves a little burst of energy!

By the final lap we were in Mike's wheel tracks and with the addition of a few backmarkers in the final half of the final lap there was a potential opportunity to retake the place. Mike and I went either side of a backmarker at the entry to the fast Clay Hill corner, then did the same to another back marker on the exit of Druids Corner. The run down to Lodge corner was neck-and-neck and Mike braked late. We tried to setup an attempt for a run to the line (difficult at the best of times) but in the excitement had missed a gearshift so came out of Lodge in 4th gear. We crossed the line 7th in class (assuming that Ian on his 250GP was classified as a points-finisher) and were exhausted! Having given it our all, we were glad to take those hard-earner points!

At the end of the second round, the championship points tables look as follows. Our consistency appears to have kept us in the Top 3 of each championship.

Twins Championship Standings
Scott McCrory      45
Louis Dawson      35
David Carson    33
Alfie Davidson     30
Andy Herd          29

Pre-2011 Supersport Championship Standings
Rhys Forrest        42
Tom Harrison       37
David Carson    33
Matthew Perry     31
Sam Grayson       24

Our next outing will be at another venue that we haven't visited for years - Aintree - where there is a test day on Wednesday 1st May, following by the opening round of their championships on Saturday 11th May.

Here are some photos from the opening round of the 2024 Darley Moor championships, taken by official Darley photographer Tony Else...

The eagerly awaited start to the Darley Moor season was upon us! Over the winter the organisers made many changes to the race classes but the main difference for the 2024 season was that every race would now have points allocated - meaning that a maximum of 30 points per class were now available per meeting, using the 15/12/10/8/6/5/4/3/2/1 point-scoring system where the Top 10 riders would earn championship points.

Saturday Test Day
We decided to head up to Darley Moor early on the Saturday morning for the two-day meeting, which meant an unusual early start for us. Having arrived at the track and setup - it almost immediately started raining! We didn't think there was anything to gain from going out in wet or damp conditions so had a relaxed day waiting for the circuit to dry.

​After the lunch break we headed out for a shakedown test on the Kawasaki Supersport machine and during the session the quickshifter stopped working. Following investigation we found a break in one of the wires, which when fixed solved our problem. We then took the Aprilia RS660 Trofeo for a run and everything was fine so we parked that bike up, before heading back out on the Kawasaki to make sure that was working - it was and we managed to pop in a 59.92 lap time which we felt provided a sufficient warm up for the race day.

​As it was a test day we had the luxury of riding both machines to scrutineering, which made life a bit easier. We then went to sign on to complete the end of our leisurely day, however... Whilst we were in the race office the wind picked up, ripped through the awning and knocked over the toolbox! :-(

​After putting everything back in its place, we setup the TV in the awning and watched the MotoGP coverage from COTA. Whilst we were sat outside - which was needed as we were streaming the coverage via mobile phone - all sorts of weather arrived, from wind and rain to a glorious sunset and even a rainbow!

Sunday Race Day
We awoke to beautiful sunshine which had dried up the overnight rain and the weather forecast for the day was looking promising. The majority of the grids were far from full at the meeting. With racing taking place at Donington Park, Cadwell Park, Pembrey and Olivers Mount on the same weekend it meant that riders were spread quite thin due to the multiple options available.

Our first qualifying session was for the Open 600 class. We were getting into the swing of things when the quickshifter stopped working again. We worked around the issue for a few laps and posted a 1:01.38 lap time that put us 5th on the grid. Back in the paddock we inspected the test day repair and found it to be intact - and then found that the wire had broken off the negative battery terminal. With that fixed we had a working quickshifter once again!

Our next qualifying session (on the Aprilia RS660 Trofeo) would provide our grid position for both the Darley Cup and 700cc Twins races. Our lap time of 1:01.34 was good enough to put us on pole position for both classes.

Our first race of the day was Darley Cup Race 1. When leaving the awning we discovered that the plug for the rear tyre warmer had been pulled slightly out of the socket and the rear tyre was luke-warm rather than being up to temperature. With this in mind we headed out on track and took it easy for the first few laps of the 10-lap race to make sure that some heat could build up in the tyre before we increased the pace. By the time we were comfortable Nick Clare had established a decent gap at the front, so we pushed hard and managed to catch him. After taking the race lead on lap 5 we focused on trimming our lap times - getting down to a 1:00.77 before almost catching the inside kerb at Wilson's chicane so decided to back it off a bit. At the chequered flag we had won the race by 28.55 seconds from Nick Clare, with Aron Redmond taking the final podium spot.

Next up was Twins Race 1 which shared the track with the PreElectronic 600 class. An OK start saw us enter the Wilsons chicane in 4th position overall (2nd in class). We managed to move up to 3rd overall on the opening lap and then into 2nd overall (2nd in class) on lap 2. From there we chased down Sean Seddon to move into the race lead on the Pope Straight on lap 3. Once in the lead we tried to put in a series of clean laps, setting the fastest lap of the race with a 1:00.25 and eventually taking the win by 11.36 seconds from Sean, with Aron Redmond coming home in third place.

We got a decent start in Open 600 Race 1 to enter Wilsons chicane in 4th position and then moved forward into 3rd position on the entry to Park corner. We were then sat behind Adam Green and were weighing up where to try to make a move when Joe Holdsworth overtook us both and then disappeared into the distance. We then closely followed Adam for the remainder of the race - but as he was getting on the gas better than us and was good on the brakes no obvious passing opportunity was making itself available. Then on the final lap we managed to get a decent drive out of the hairpin and along with a slipstream were able to move into 3rd position at Paddock corner on the final lap. Up at the front, Mark Goodings took the win with Joe securing second place.

Darley Cup Race 2 was very unusual in that we were the only competitor to arrive to the assembly area on time! The officials joked that we might be having a 10-lap parade by ourselves! Fortunately the other three competitors arrived and completed the sparse grid. After getting the hole shot into the Wilsons chicane we managed to retain the lead to the flag to win by 25.86 seconds from Nick Clare, with Aron Redmond coming home in third.

In Twins Race 2 we got a decent start to enter Wilsons chicane in 2nd position (2nd in class) behind Sean Seddon. As you can see in the video Sean was riding really well (and was even pulling rolling stoppies - the show off!) but when almost ran out of track at the Wilsons chicane at the start of lap 3 it allowed us the chance to nip through. Once ahead, we just tried to put in clean laps and manage to set a fastest lap of 1:00.85 on our way to victory. Sean finished in 2nd place and Aron Redmond took another third place.

Our final race of the day was Open 600 Race 2. Another decent start saw us retain our 5th position into the chicane, but queueing with the pack into Park corner allowed Chris Stuart to come around a bunch of us, which relegated us to 6th position. On lap 3 we managed to pass Adam Mather at Park corner to move up to 5th position, on lap 5 we managed to pass Chris Stuart into Paddock corner and then exactly a lap later we managed to pass Adam Green to move into 3rd position. For the final four laps we were in clean air and managed to set a lap time of 59.18, which was actually quicker than the race winner. Joe Holdsworth took the win, Mark Goodings took second place and we secured the final podium spot.

We leave this meeting feeling very happy with the performances and results. As always there are areas of improvement for us to focus on, but as we were riding well that is a good position to work from. The championship tables at the end of the opening meeting look as follows.

Darley Cup Championship
David Carson  30
Nick Clare         24
Aron Redmond  20
Martyn Cooper  16

700cc Twins Championship
David Carson  30
Sean Seddon     24
Aron Redmond  20
Tom Hodge        8

Open 600 Championship (Top 5)
Mark Goodings   27
Joe Holdsworth  27
David Carson  20
Adam Green      14
Adam Mather     10

We don't have long to wait until riding again, as we will be racing at the Wirral 100 Oulton Park meeting this coming Saturday 20th April. We'll let you know how that goes!

Here are some photos from the opening round of the 2024 Wirral 100 championships, taken by official photographer Neil Lambert...

Our 2024 season opener took place at the picturesque Anglesey circuit - and with a mains-electricity hookup and a promising weather forecast, it looked like we had all the ingredients for a perfect weekend ahead!

Sunday Test Day
We took the opportunity to enter the Sunday test day prior to the Monday race day. This gave us the possibility of four on-track sessions, but due to some delays in getting ourselves ready we decided to miss the first session of the day.

For test session 2 we decided to take the Kawasaki Supersport machine for a shakedown. Everything was working fine but our riding was a little rusty and it was taking us some time to get up to speed.

For test session 3 we then took the Aprilia RS660 Trofeo out for a shakedown. Once again, everything on the machine was fine and we started to get more comfortable out on track. However, out of Rocket corner (aka turn 7) we were struggling to quickly move our left foot underneath the gearshift due to the shape of the toe section of our RST boots. So in test session 4 we swapped the left boot to an old TCX boot which (despite being mismatched!) helped and allowed us to put in a series of consistent laps in the 1:15s - which was promising and we were looking forward to building on during the Monday race day.

​With scrutineering and signon completed, we then performed a series of machine checks and prepared the bikes for race day. After a quick check of the data we (well, the kids!) then headed on-track for some rollerskating.

Monday Race Day
The weather forecast had turned overnight and there was now a "possibility" of some rain showers. As it turned out, very light rain started to fall during our qualifying sessions and continued to fall intermittently throughout the day. As it's early spring there just wasn't enough temperature to properly dry the track - so after qualifying on dry tyres on a track that was getting wetter (where we just didn't commit ourselves enough) we switched to wet tyres for the remainder of the day.

The outcome of qualifying was that we qualified 8th in class (10th on the combined grid) for the Twins class and 6th in class (24th overall) for the Supersport class. After a promising test day we found this to be a bit disappointing, mainly because we had pushed as hard as we felt comfortable - but that level of performance was very far away from where we needed to be! With no easy solution in sight, this created a grumpy rider - so apologies for anyone that had to deal with me during this period!

We had back-to-back races so had to make a tyre choice quite early and then hope it was correct. We decided to put full wets in so that we could build some confidence and headed out for Twins Race 1. The wet setup ended up being the correct choice as more rain sprinkles fell on the warm-up lap. At the race start we fell back a few places and then when we got more comfortable we gained the time and positions back. The race was very spread out and was red-flagged on lap 8 after the race leader fell. We had no idea where we had finished but were surprised and delighted to learn that we had finished in 3rd place overall.

After a quick bike swap we were straight back out onto track for Supersport Race 1. The race was reduced from 10 to 8 laps following a faller on the warm-up lap causing a temporary halt to proceedings. Starting so far back in the pack meant that we were involved in a few battles throughout the race (which makes for an interesting video!), but once again we had no idea where we finished. It turned out that we finished in 15th position overall and in 3rd in our "Pre 2011" class.

During the lunch break more rain fell, so we decided to stay on full wet tyres for the afternoon races. Curiously, the track was part-wet/part-dry - but with so much time spent "not upright" at the Anglesey circuit it was the safe choice. The rest of the grid appeared to agree and in Twins Race 2 it was a case of learning how far we could push the limits of wet tyres on a drying track - without overstepping the mark! We tried our best and, despite a slower start, managed to gain a few places before the end of the race. We managed to secure another 3rd place finish by just 0.291 of a second.

We were then straight out for our final race of the day, which was Supersport Race 2. By now the track was mainly dry and the wet tyres were struggling to stay together. We took our time getting up to speed again (something that we might need to work on, but hopefully its just some "winter rustiness" that we're still to shake off) and we set our fastest lap of the race on the final lap. We finished in 15th position overall once again, but in 6th place in the "Pre 2011" sub-class.

​At the end of the opening weekend it felt like we had gone through a rollercoaster of emotions - from hope to despair, then from disappointment through to contentment. It took until we were halfway home to realise that leaving the opening round of the season with a collection of trophies, a handful of points, a pair of working bikes and a decent level of riding in the fully-dry conditions that this race meeting was actually very successful!

After the opening event, the championship points tables look as follows - with the 15/12/10/9/8/7/6/5/4/3/2/1 point structure giving points to the Top 12 riders.

Twins Championship Standings (Top 5)
Scott McCrory   27
David Carson 20
Andy Herd       20
Alun Brooks      18
Louis Dawson   15

Pre-2011 Supersport Championship Standings (Top 5)
Sam Grayson    24
Matthew Perry  20
David Carson 17
Mike Bates       15
Tom Harrison    15

There isn't long to wait for more racing action, as we will be out again very soon at Darley Moor on the weekend of 13th/14th April and then at the Wirral 100 Oulton Park meeting on Saturday 20th April.
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