Here are some photos from the Anglesey round of the 2023 NG Road Racing championships, taken by official photographer Colin Hill...

We apprehensively approached the NG Anglesey meeting as "we were 3-for-3", with 3 trips to Bangor hospital from the last 3 visits to the circuit. Fortunately, we made it through the weekend (mostly) unscathed...

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.

Despite being at the circuit we decided to skip the Friday test day. As we were at a loose end, we helped Daniel Nurrish with some track observations, bike change recommendations and also did some data analysis for him.

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.

Due to the continuing wind there was no real track action on the Saturday. We sat around until 4pm when the organisers allowed some free practice sessions to run. We decided to go out but on the out lap it was obvious that the winds prevented any useful information gathering. I'm not sure whether the on-track action was done to avoid the organisers having to provide any sort of refund to competitors, but regardless, I don't believe that bikes should have been let out on track. The downside to the Saturday cancellation was that this meant there was one fewer race that we could score championship points in...

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.

After an early start to unload everything once again, we had a couple of practice sessions to get ourselves up to speed. It had been decided that there would not be any qualifying sessions, so instead, grid slots for the opening races would be determined based on championship points (which was good for us!). We would start from 4th on the Open 600 grid and from 8th on the combined Supertwins/PreElectronic600 grid.

After a short break we were out into Open 600 Race 2. Starting from 4th on the grid it felt like we were being hunted - especially after getting a good start! We pushed on and managed to set a 1:13.798 lap time (for reference, our Personal Best is a 1:13.357) which we were happy with, and crossed the line to finish in 6th place. 

After the lunch break it was time for Supertwin Race 3, which seemed to be a lot windier and slippier than the previous races. We pushed as hard as we could and secured another 2nd place finish.

The final race of the day was Open 600 Race 3, where another good start saw us targeted by the faster guys once again. With a best lap of 1'14.239 we were again not quite as fast as earlier in the day, but still managed to bring home another 6th place finish. Straight after the race we then had a new rear tyre fit, ready for the next meeting.

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.
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Here are some photos from Round 4 of the Darley Moor championships, taken by official Darley photographer Tony Else...

Darley Moor Round 4 marks the midway point in the Darley Moor club championships. After an 8-week break since the previous Darley meeting it seemed like a very long time since we were last at the circuit, but we soon felt at home again. We expected a fully dry weekend, but some unexpected rain arrived to add some challenges along the way...

​After getting setup on the Saturday evening, we took a now customary visit to the pop-up food stands and then settled down in the awning to watch Saturday's British Superbike action on TV.

It was a relaxed Sunday morning where we managed to catch up with lots of people prior to the qualifying sessions.

​We were out in the opening two qualifying sessions. Whilst sat in the assembly area light rain started to fall and continued throughout the sessions. We didn't have chance to swap tyres so were on dry tyres and didn't really feel comfortable, so tried not to make any silly mistakes. We put in a 1'11 lap in Twins qualifying and then a 1'18 lap on the Kawasaki ZX6R. Surprisingly, these results were good enough for 7th on the Darley Cup grid, 6th on the Formula 600 grid and 5th on the Twins grid. Only a couple of riders managed to switch to wets and they were massively quicker than anyone else.

Our first race was Darley Cup Race 1. The rain had stopped and the track was drying quickly. After speaking to some riders in an earlier race about the current track conditions, we decided to fit a wet front tyre and a dry rear tyre. The assembly area was a mix from full slicks to full wets! Out onto track there were some damp sections at Park corner and at the hairpin, but dry tyres would probably have been the right choice - especially when the sun started to shine! We finished the opening lap in 6th position and then managed to work our way up to 2nd position by the end of lap 4. With some clear track we managed to set the fastest lap of the race, but as the leader was around 5 seconds up the road that was as far as we could get. We finished in 2nd place.

After a quick front wheel change (to a dry tyre), it was time for Formula 600 Race 1. From our 6th place grid position we ended the opening lap in 4th place, before moving into the lead by the end of lap 4. We then managed to set the fastest lap of the race along with the race win.

After a short wait we headed out for Twins Race 1. An OK start saw us manage to get up to 4th position by the end of the opening lap, before slowly picking off 1 rider per lap to take the race lead on lap 4. We were happy to get back into the 59-second bracket with a 59.92 fastest lap and took the race win.

After the lunch break it was time for the "final" races, where the points and trophies were awarded.

First up was Darley Cup Race 2. We managed to get a great start and got the hole shot - from here we decided to push as hard as we could and set a 59.72 lap on the opening lap, followed by a 58.96 on lap 2. This gave us a 5.98 second lead by the end of the second lap! From here we just tried to put in clean laps and eventually won the race by 10.90 seconds from Isle of Man TT racer Mark Goodings.

Another good start in Formula 600 Race 2 saw us take the race lead on the opening lap and then hold it until almost the end of lap 9 (of 10). Throughout the race, despite us putting in laps as good as 58.56, Mark Goodings slowly but surely caught us up and was on our tail. Trying to push hard we were just too greedy on the brakes into Paddock corner on lap 9 and ran wide, which allowed Mark to take the lead and cruise to victory. You can also see his onboard footage here. We took 2nd place, content that we had given all that we could!

Our final race of the weekend was also the final race of the day, Twins Race 2. Unfortunately, the camera battery expired before the race started - which is a shame as some of the footage would have been great to watch.

We got an OK start but Nick Clare and Adam Sheriff (both in the PreElectronic 600 class) separated us from race leader Andy Whale. Due to the different bikes having different strengths/weaknesses, it look us until the end of lap 3 to move into 2nd place on track - and 3.68 seconds back from Andy who was putting strong and consistent laps in. We dug in and managed to catch Andy and then spent a few laps figuring out how to make a pass. On lap 9 we made a successful move for the lead and then with the clear track ahead pushed as hard as we could to set a new Twins Personal Best lap time of 59.77! After a clean final lap we took the win and then stopped to wish Andy all the best as he heads off to the Manx Grand Prix later this week.

​With 42 (out of a possible 45) championship points captured this weekend, we have moved up to become championship leader in two classes and into 2nd place of the Formula 600 class:

Darley Cup Championship (Top 5)
1st: David Carson     45
2nd: Adam Green        35
3rd: Stephen England  24
4th: Matthew Rostron  20
5th: Nick Clare            15

700cc Twins Championship (Top 5)
1st: David Carson    45
2nd: Anthony Thane   37
3rd: Ben Wilkinson     34
4th: Andy Whale        24
5th: Matthew Birks     20

Formula 600 Championship (Top 5)
1st: Mark Goodings      31
2nd: David Carson    27
3rd: Matthew Rostron  24
4th: Adam Green         22
5th: Jack Worth           21

With a great weekend behind us, there isn't long to wait until our next racing action - as we will be heading to the NG Anglesey meeting in just a few days. Due to calendar clashes, the NG Anglesey meeting will be the last NG meeting that we will attend this season.

Here are some photos from July's Castle Combe round of the 2023 NG Road Racing championships, taken by official photographer Colin Hill...

Round 5 of the NG Road Racing championships took us back to Castle Combe. It was a 3.5 hour drive to the circuit on the Thursday evening and when we arrived we discovered that someone had already parked in "our usual spot" - so we setup close-by on the grass. After getting setup we went for a walk (at around 10pm) but the paddock was very quiet so we retreated back to the caravan, only to have security knock on the door at 11.03pm to instruct us to switch off the generator.

Out into the Open 600 qualifying session, and lots of bikes on track meant that there was lots of traffic. We managed to put in a 1:16.7 on our third lap, then the red flag was shown and we were directed back to the paddock. We were 7th on the grid at that point. We decided that was good enough but they restarted the session for 3 minutes and in that time we dropped down to 11th position on the grid.

In the Supertwins qualifying session we managed to get some clear track and put in a 1:16.8 which put us on the front row of the grid in 3rd place.

With a big gap until the races began, we had a bite to eat and watched some WorldSBK racing on the laptop  :-)

Being a special weekend for NG Road Racing - with the weekend featuring bike parades as well as the "King of Combe" races - there were numerous special guests from the British Superbikes paddock, including Tommy Bridewell (featured doing some commentary below) and Charlie Nesbitt who took ~1.5 seconds off the circuit lap record during the weekend on his BSB Honda machine. Truly impressive!

Our first race was Open ​600 Race 1. A great start from our 11th place grid spot moved us into 6th position by the time we entered Quarry corner. During the race we managed to pass Bevan Plumley to take 5th place and then chased down Michael Rees. We gained a bit, then lost a bit, but eventually crossed the line in 5th position, just ahead of a chasing Jed Bird.

After a short break, we were out again into Supertwins Race 1. We got a decent start on the Aprilia for once and on the entrance to Quarry corner we were third on track, with the leaders right in front of us. We kept on their heels for a couple of laps before they slowly disappeared. We did a series of laps in the 1:16s and brought home a solid 3rd place finish - with our fastest lap just 0.2 of a second away from our PB lap.

With the bikes prepped for the Sunday races, we took a much-needed shower and then the girls took to the track themselves to do some roller skating.

Sunday Race Day
An early start saw official club photographer Colin Hill collect a bag of broken Kawasaki ZX6R parts from us - they will hopefully become part of one of his legendary handmade trophies. The overnight rain had cleared, but the weather forecast showed that further rain was due to appear - the only question was: When?

When we ventured out for Open 600 Race 2, there was rain drizzle falling. The drizzle was not enough to wet the track surface properly, but was enough to be constantly streaming across the helmet visor. We went as quick as we felt comfortable to, but for others it made no difference. At the chequered flag we finished in 7th place.

After a short 15-minute break it was time to head out again for Supertwin Race 2. By the time the race started the rain had got heavier and then on lap 2 the race was red flagged. After switching to wet tyres, the race was restarted. There was a lot of standing water but plenty of grip available around the circuit with the exception of one section of track (from Old Paddock to Tower). We were in 3rd place for almost the entirety of the race, but caught up to 2nd-placed Edward Giles halfway through the race. We thought about making a pass but had too many moments (which included some aquaplaning!) and decided to bring the bike home to the finish, crossing the line in 3rd place.

But with a few more championship points gained this weekend, the tables have changed once again. We have moved up to 2nd position in the Supertwins championship and moved down to 5th in the Open 600 championship.

Open 600 Championship Standings (Top 10)
George Edwards  306
Ricky Elder          294
Michael Rees       168
Jed Bird              134
David Carson    122
Lewis Jones           75
Brandon Brinded    53
Aaron Matthews     53
Paul Messenger     50
Lucca Allen           46

Supertwins Championship Standings (Top 10)
Brody Crockford   243
David Carson    175
Steve Moody       166
Edward Giles       145
William Holland   124
Alex Sinclair         95
Jamie Ingham      87
Jamie Coward      75
Tony Parker         75
Luis Calado          54

In less than two weeks we will be back on track for Darley Moor Round 4 on Sunday 13th August, immediately followed by (our final NG race meeting of the season) NG Anglesey on Friday-Sunday 18th-20th August.
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