Here are some photos from the May rounds of the 2025 Darley Moor championships, taken by official Darley photographer Tony Else...

The recent good weather continued to bless us at Darley Moor and delivered a weekend of beautiful sunshine! And even though we didn't take home any trophies from this meeting, we did walk away with some sunburn...

Having decided that 159 laps had used the best of our tyres, we decided to treat the Aprilia to some new rubber (as well as front brake pads) for this meeting. We decided to run a simplified setup this weekend, with only one machine and no awning - making the set-up (and clear-down) a much more enjoyable affair.

​After the usual scrutineering/sign-on activities were complete, we completed a lap of the circuit (with the girls on rollerblades) before watching some MotoGP sprint race and NW200 action. In case you were wondering, Dave Snr was unable to attend this meeting due to being on a Caribbean cruise.

Out into our single qualifying session on the Sunday morning, we decided to take it easy for the opening laps to bed in the tyres and pads. After a couple of laps we decided to go quicker but then the red flag was shown. After sitting there for around six minutes the session was restarted, so we took a couple of laps to make sure everything was up to temperature before pushing on. We did an initial lap of 1'04.12 and then the chequered flag was out... So we ended up qualifying 7th on the Darley Cup grid and 6th in the Supertwin class (9th on the combined grid), which wasn't a great result.

With a big time gap until our races we took the opportunity to buy some ice-cream and watch some of the racing.

Round 3
Our first race of the day was the Darley Cup. A decent start saw us enter the Wilsons chicane in 5th position, just behind Nick Clare. Whilst we were trying to get passed Nick, Jonathan Trezins popped passed us at the hairpin on lap 2 to demote us to 6th position. Nick ran wide at the hairpin on lap 4 which allowed us to move back up to 5th position, where we started to chase down Jonathan. Then on lap 7 Jonathan ran across the Wilsons chicane which allowed us to move into 4th position. From there we set our best lap of the race (1'01.31) and crossed the line in 4th position.

With just a one-race-gap between the Darley Cup and Supertwin races, the "one-man support team" (aka Dave Jnr) hurriedly popped on the tyre warmers, refuelled the bike, cleaned the barrage of bugs from the helmet visor and screen, then drank as much water as possible before being called up for the Supertwin race.

A super-quick change of the light caught out a number of riders, including ourselves. We entered the Wilsons chicane in 9th position (our grid position) and moved up to 8th position by the end of the opening lap. From there we caught and passed one person per lap for the next four laps, setting a best lap of 1'01.25 along the way. On the final lap we made our way onto the back of Stephen Taylor and momentarily passed him before he let off the brakes and swept across the front of our bike (leaving a small gap of ~8 inches). We composed ourselves, fumbled through the corner and crossed the finish line just 0.23 of a second behind Stephen. When we returned back to the paddock we discovered that we had been battling for 3rd place on the final corner! If we would have known then we might have tried to attack a but more, but so be it - we had secured another 4th placed finish, and captured some decent onboard footage...  ;-)

A lunchtime trip inside the refurbished Chequered Flag Cafe showed that we now feature within some of their framed photos  :-)

Round 4
After another big gap in proceeding we started the second round of races, with the Darley Cup race up first. A poor start saw us enter the Wilsons chicane in 6th position, just behind  Jonathan Trezins. We followed Jonathan for the majority of the race until - on lap 7 in an almost identical repeat of the opening race - he ran across the Wilsons chicane which allowed us to move up to 5th position. On the last lap we managed to set our best lap time of 1:01.62, as we crossed the line in 5th position.

​After another quick turnaround by the "one-man support team" it was time for the final race of the day, the Supertwin race. A poor start saw us enter the Wilsons chicane in 10th position. We were moving forward at a rate of one-position-per-lap when the red flag was shown due to a faller at Townleys. The first part of the race is shown below.

This meeting has reinforced my understanding that since announcing our "retirement from championship competition" - or "semi-retirement" or whatever else it should be called - that we have 'lost' something and at the moment I'm not sure whether it will return or not. As mentioned earlier, there are no trophies from this meeting (albeit we did get close) but we did get a new HelloDave Racing hoodie (thanks Dave!), some almighty sunburn - and had great fun from a 'social event' and 'family day out' perspective!

Our next time out on track will be Darley Moor Rounds 5 & 6 on Sunday 15th June (which is Father's Day). With Dave Snr back in the country, we may even try to make a return with both machines...

Here are some more photos from the opening rounds of the 2025 Darley Moor championships, taken by Colin Lindley.

Here are some photos from the opening rounds of the 2025 Darley Moor championships, taken by official Darley photographer Tony Else...

Since announcing our "retirement from championship competition" at the end of last year, we started our "semi-retirement" journey with a trip to Darley Moor for Rounds 1 & 2 of their 2025 championships. With a test day prior to the race day we decided to give both bikes a run out - but the bikes were essentially as they ended the 2024 season, even including the tyres from last season!

We arrived to the circuit on the Friday evening in lovely conditions. After getting setup we watched some of the MotoGP Friday practice action from Qatar, along with enjoying some pizza and a couple of beers.

Saturday Test Day
​On Saturday morning we were asked to perform a special task - to lead the course car around the circuit and to video a lap of the track when all safety lights were flashing and all marshal flags were waving. A steady lap was requested, so we tootled around with a 1:27 lap - hopefully the slowest lap we would do all weekend!

​During the Saturday test day we rode both bikes to perform a shakedown. We identified and fixed a few small issues and reduced our lap times to a 1:01.6 on the Kawasaki and to 1:02.5 on the Aprilia, which was around 2 seconds a lap slower than our 2024 pace. Not great, but in the ballpark.

Some other riders didn't have a smooth Saturday, as Tim Poole suffered a brake issue which led to a crash and in a separate incident Ian Emson unfortunately ended up in hospital following a crash. Anthony Thane suffered gearbox issues with his Kawasaki ER650 and Jonathan Trezins filled his bellypan with fuel when the fuel tap broke! We were able to help Jonathan get back on track with an Araldite fix to the fuel tap pipe which had unusually escaped! And quite a tidy repair it was too...  :-)

With our mechanical fixes out of the way we watched the WorldSBK race from Assen. A curious (Isle of Man TT racer and nice bloke) Shaun Anderson joined us in the awning to watch some of the racing action.

With race day prep and scrutineering out of the way, we signed on and discovered that we are on the front of the race programme! After a bit more WorldSBK and MotoGP action, we headed off to bed for an early night!

​Sunday Race Day
On Sunday morning we awoke to a cloudier day. With the video-conditions being more optimal we were asked to perform a repeat of "Saturday's special task". But this time we needed to slow down to a 2:09 lap to capture more of the flag-waving action!

Our first qualifying session was on the Aprilia for the Supertwins and Darley Cup races. There was a lot of traffic during the session and we just didn't feel comfortable diving up the inside of slower riders, which meant that many of the laps in the session were aborted. Our best lap time of 1:04.03 placed us 5th on the Darley Cup grid and 7th on the Supertwins grid.

After a short break we headed out for the Open 600 qualifying session. Again we struggled to get a clear lap. We got the majority of a clear lap - which was only blocked at the last corner - and set a 1:01.78. That time placed us 9th on the grid, but if we were just half a second quicker we would have been in 5th...

In a change of naming convention (and trophy allocation) Darley Moor now runs two "rounds" at each event, with trophies given to the 1st/2nd/3rd-placed riders in each race. We will also use that terminology in our race reports and videos to try to avoid any confusion!

Round 1
Our first race of the day was Open 600 Round 1. When we ventured onto the warm-up lap some light rain began to fall and then continued through parts of the race, sometimes lighter and sometimes heavier. A good start saw us enter the Wilsons chicane in 6th position. We stayed in 6th position for the first half of the race, unable to find a way through on the riders ahead - then Matt Zschiesche and Liam Lowther came passed on lap 5 to demote us to 8th position. But after regrouping we managed to pass Adam Mather on lap 7 and then pass Antony Lewis on the final corner to finish the race in 6th position.

A good start in Darley Cup Round 1 saw us move up to 3rd position by the Wilsons chicane, behind Josh Froggatt and David Glossop. The trio of us closely circulated in that order until some backmarkers let Josh break free at the front. At the chequered flag we crossed the line in 3rd position, just 0.11 of a second behind David. Josh took the win and also set his first sub-minute lap of Darley Moor with a 59.98 - only the second ever rider on a "Supertwin" machine to have done so!

​After a short break we were out into Supertwins Round 1. We weren't so lucky with the race start this time and entered into the Wilsons chicane in 9th position. We were still struggling to make passes on other riders and were often taking unusual lines to try to get through, which ultimately cost us time. Once we got through on a rider we would then close the gap to the next group quickly - but then once again struggled to make passes. At the end of the race we finished 7th, but had set a lap time quicker than the 3rd-placed finisher...

Round 2
After a break for lunch we set off in Open 600 Round 2. A decent start saw us enter the Wilsons chicane in 6th position, then on lap 3 we managed to pass Peter Fell to move up to 5th position. On lap 8 we were heavily impeded by a backmarker which allowed Adam Green to come through, so we finished in 6th position once again.

Our start in Darley Cup Round 2 moved us up to 5th position into the Wilsons chicane, then we passed Connor Woodman before the back esses to take 4th position in the race. By the end of the opening lap we into a lonely race - with the gaps both in front and behind of us getting bigger. We crossed the line in 4th position.

There was only a short break until Supertwins Round 2 started, but we noticed indications of a minor water leak so decided not to race. As we were exhausted anyway this was probably the right decision! Out on track, Josh Froggatt took a clear victory from a close-finishing David Glossop and Andy Whale. Josh also set himself a new Personal Best lap time of 59.77 in the race, which matches the best-ever Twin lap that we have previously set (twice!). But the way Josh is going, it won't be too long before he sets a new outright fastest lap time on a Twin around the Darley Moor circuit  :-)

Our 3rd place in Darley Cup Round 1 meant that we don't walk away empty-handed from this meeting - we get a fine plastic pot to display to our house guests!

Upon leaving the circuit we weren't too sure how to take the results from the day. It was our first time riding a bike in six months and we lacked aggression on track, but equally we enjoyed riding again.

On Sunday evening we decided to compare our quickest Aprilia lap from the weekend against a quick (59.95) Aprilia lap from the 2024 season - we found that the lap traces overlayed almost perfectly, but with just a few differences. We were 2mph slower through Wilsons chicane and 3mph slower through through the back esses - but the big difference was that we were braking earlier into Park and Paddock corner (but carrying the same apex speed and accelerating out at the same rate). This was encouraging, as it indicated that maybe with a bit more seat time we might be able to chip off a bit more lap time and maybe even learn how to pass people once again  ;-)

Our next time out on track will be Darley Moor Rounds 3 & 4 on Sunday 11th May. We will probably only take one machine to that meeting so that we can enjoy a more relaxed atmosphere - we just need to decide which bike to take...
​

Back in 2014 we wrote an article advising how we use data to help us lap faster. Technology has moved on and some of the challenges that we previously faced can now be resolved using “out of the box” functionality in the datalogging software.

​The problem hasn’t gone away though… We are always wondering “how can we lap as quickly as possible?“
 
With the advancements in technology since 2014 – along with the reduction in cost meaning that the relevant equipment can now be acquired by amateur racers (such as ourselves) – we thought that it was time to revisit how we can use today’s available data streams to monitor and improve our performance.
 
 
Opening Notes
A key ingredient of fast lap times is consistency. Unlike four-wheeled motorsport, where the machine makes more difference than the man (or woman!) – with two-wheeled motorsport the rider makes the majority of the difference in overall performance. Making the rider comfortable on the machine can help them to be more consistent, which will eventually help them to be faster.
 
But there are other variables – such as changing track conditions, weather, temperature, etc – which may make data comparison and/or analysis between different days (or even different sessions within a day) more difficult.
 
 
Where to begin
It is necessary to have a clear understanding of “where you are now” so that you can progress closer to “where you want to be”.

• A machine set-up sheet such as that used by Two Daves Racing can help you to capture all applicable machine settings. This will help with consistency when visiting multiple tracks – as you can always refer back to what the settings were last time you headed out on track.
• A dyno sheet will document where the strengths of your machine exist, by plotting torque and bhp against engine rpm – so that you can attempt to utilize the ideal rpm range. Below is an example dyno sheet for our Aprilia RS660 Trofeo. You may notice that the torque and power values on any dyno sheet will cross at exactly 5252rpm – this is because power (bhp) is a mathematical equation of… ((torque multiplied by RPM) divided by 5252). Due to how a dynamometer works, it can only measure the torque applied to the machine via the tyre – so a conversion is necessary to obtain the power (bhp) values.

• Data capture hardware: On our Aprilia RS660 Trofeo we are using an AiM Solo2 DL GPS lap timer and datalogger, which includes a connection to the ECU data in addition to the “where am I in the world” and “how fast am I going” information that the GPS data provides. If you are interested in the installation of the hardware and a complete list of all of the available data channels then click here.
• Data analysis software: AiM provide their own data analysis software (Race Studio 3) which will be used for the examples in this article.

 
 
Using the collected data
With the above data available to you (and following a series of consistent laps by the rider), you are now in a position to analyse the data and perform some checks.
 
It could be argued that the analysis can be split into two sections – factors that are influenced by the machine configuration and those that are influenced by the rider. Let’s take a look at some examples.
 
Machine Behaviour
As indicated on the dyno sheet, our machine has strong torque between ~7700rpm and ~11500rpm, so ideally, this should be the range that is used during the lap. By using a histogram we can view the percentages of where the engine speed was during the lap. Two similar laps are shown below, with both having the majority of time spent within our desired range.

​This provides a high-level indication that the machine’s gear ratios may be close to correct – but by overlaying the gear selection over the track map (then for even closer inspection the engine rpm over the track map), we can confirm whether the gear ratios are appropriate – or whether we are curious that a change could be beneficial. A discussion with the rider to validate why certain gears were used in certain corners may also be beneficial here.
 
Note: Following a change to machine setup we can revisit the data and perform a before/after comparison of the setups to validate whether or not they had the intended consequences.

​​Riding Behaviour
As you may expect, the majority of the improvement is likely to come via monitoring and changes to rider behaviour.
 
A good starting point to check for consistency is to overlay multiple laps to check for discrepancies. Although discrepancies may indicate a lack of consistency, they also provide an opportunity for analysis – as taking a different approach to a corner may actually yield an unexpected improvement. In the screenshot below we display a comparison of two similar laps using the GPS speed, with the time comparison displayed at the bottom.

​A quick view shows that the laps are very similar, but the red lap has a few areas where additional speed is carried through the corners – except for the final corner where the blue lap had the advantage. We can then dig down further to see the racing lines taken on track (and can even view the racing lines over a satellite image) to see where the time was saved.

We can also use this view of the GPS Speed data to answer questions such as:

• Are the braking positions consistent?
• Are the deceleration rates (per corner) consistent?

 
Once we are happy that we have identified all useable aspects from the GPS data alone, then we can start to add in elements of the ECU data channels. I have decided to add in the Throttle Position sensor to answer questions such as:

• Is the throttle being fully opened to 100%?
• Is the “power on” position consistent over multiple laps?
• Are there any instances of coasting? (i.e. neither being “hard on the power” nor “hard on the brakes”)

​The data looks consistent, which is a good sign, but there is a series of unexplained throttle closings at the start of section 9. Further data channels will need to be added to investigate and explain this.
 
If we add in the ECU data channels for Pitch Rate and Front Wheel Speed, we can see that following the application of 100% throttle the machine pitches and then the front wheel starts to slow (which is an indication that it is airborne and no longer being driven by contact with the track surface). Following a brief reduction of the throttle to ~80% the front wheel lands and then the throttle is increased to 100% again.

​The rate of GPS Speed increase appears unaffected by this short reduction in throttle opening, and the closing of the throttle appears to be consistent, so this is nothing to worry about!
 
A final couple of checks that we can make are:

• Is the rider consistently upshifting at the same RPM?
• Is the rider hitting the rev limiter?
• Is there an ideal RPM to upshift at various points of the circuit?

To answer these questions we can compare the RPM and Gear selection ECU data streams.

A curiosity of the comparison of these laps above is that the Gear selection data value for the red lap briefly displays as “1st gear” within section 4. Looking at the RPM values, it appears that the gear selection was never made (as the RPM would have spiked). The elapsed time is too short for the rider to have selected from 2nd–1st–2nd so an assumption will need to be made that either the sensor configuration is not quite right or that the rider was heavy-footed. Irregardless, we can ignore the data point at this time unless it becomes a recurring issue that requires resolution.
 
The differences detailed above are minute, but close analysis does advise that there is no benefit in exceeding 11,000rpm. This knowledge is useful to feedback to the rider, as less stress on the engine may help to improve reliability.
 
We have discussed several areas that checks can be made. Further checks can also be made against:

• Traction Control intervention – to analyse the lost time and help to refine your setup.
• Lateral and Longitudinal acceleration – to check that consistent forces are being applied through the tyres. This is also good to check in the event of a crash to understand what may have gone wrong.
• Suspension movement (via potentiometers, not available within this setup) – to help improve the chassis setup of your machine.

 
 
Closing Summary
In practical terms, here is a procedure to quickly get up to speed on a new track:

1. Do a couple of sessions and use the data-logger to find the most important corners that make the difference to lap times, using the GPS Speed channel to identify those corners on the quickest laps.
2. Concentrate on one corner at a time and experiment with methods for that corner, so you can find a formula to achieve the fastest way through that corner.
3. More often than not, the most important corners are long fast sweepers which require careful speed control, or corners that lead onto a straight. However, this isn't always the case and your datalogger can reveal hidden secrets to quicker times around your track, which could be information that your competition may not have picked up on!

 
Working in this way with the GPS Speed channel is going to give you a great feel for using your datalogger. Eventually, you will then want more information to work with – which will help you to refine your approach, start to look at more data channels, and as a result lap faster and faster…