The Darley Moor season is upon us once again! And the good news for us is that, following completion of all preparation activities, we got to ride our new toy - the Aprilia Racing RS660 Trofeo!
We were once again graced with dry (but cold) weather conditions for the two days on track, with a Saturday test day and Sunday race day making up the weekend's activities.
We were once again graced with dry (but cold) weather conditions for the two days on track, with a Saturday test day and Sunday race day making up the weekend's activities.
 Motorbikes in the awning... |  ...and motorbikes in the caravan! |
Saturday Test Day
We pulled the bikes out of the van and gasped in horror when we saw the water temperature reading on the Aprilia RS660 show just 1C! Fortunately, the water in both bikes resisted the almost freeing temperatures and they escaped unscathed. Our first job of the day was to put the RS660 through the noise test (as it was the only machine being used on the test day), so we switched on the bike and pressed the starter button and... nothing happened! No starter motor whizzed into life, no noises were heard and nothing changed on the dashboard... After switching the machine off and on a few times Dave Snr coaxed the machine into life! Since then everything has run smoothly, so we're not sure what happened there - but we hope it never returns!
We pulled the bikes out of the van and gasped in horror when we saw the water temperature reading on the Aprilia RS660 show just 1C! Fortunately, the water in both bikes resisted the almost freeing temperatures and they escaped unscathed. Our first job of the day was to put the RS660 through the noise test (as it was the only machine being used on the test day), so we switched on the bike and pressed the starter button and... nothing happened! No starter motor whizzed into life, no noises were heard and nothing changed on the dashboard... After switching the machine off and on a few times Dave Snr coaxed the machine into life! Since then everything has run smoothly, so we're not sure what happened there - but we hope it never returns!
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Out onto track and we needed to run the calibration procedure for the A-PRC system (Traction Control, Wheelie Control, Quickshifter, etc). The safest way we could think to perform this was to do an out lap and then run the calibration procedure on the paddock return road. So we hopped on the new bike for the very first time, briefly commented on how tall it felt, then went out onto track.
On the approach to the circuit exit we learned that the relevant menu cannot be accessed when the machine is moving - so briefly stopped on the return road, found the menu, kicked off the procedure, held the bike at the required speed, then immediately turned off the bike (whilst still moving) and waited for the stated 60+ seconds before restarting the machine. This gap left just enough time for us to be told off for stopping in a precarious location! Oops!! With all of messing around (or rather, necessary configuration) we performed, we only managed to put in a single flying lap - so didn't learned much more about the new bike except that the quickshifter worked and all of the levers were in an acceptable location.
On the approach to the circuit exit we learned that the relevant menu cannot be accessed when the machine is moving - so briefly stopped on the return road, found the menu, kicked off the procedure, held the bike at the required speed, then immediately turned off the bike (whilst still moving) and waited for the stated 60+ seconds before restarting the machine. This gap left just enough time for us to be told off for stopping in a precarious location! Oops!! With all of messing around (or rather, necessary configuration) we performed, we only managed to put in a single flying lap - so didn't learned much more about the new bike except that the quickshifter worked and all of the levers were in an acceptable location.
We decided to use the second session to become more accustomed with the new bike. We set all riding aids to maximum (Wheelie Control on, Traction Control on Level 8) with the view to reducing them until they didn't hinder us. On the first lap, we exited the hairpin and once fully upright cracked opened the throttle... The bike coughed and spluttered and the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree! After a few seconds it dawned on us that the rider aids were being activated - they were a lot more easily invoked than we expected! Fortunately, the Traction Control settings can be adjusted on-the-fly, so we turned the setting down to level 7, then 6, then 5, and then settled on level 4. Following the changes, only when getting a decent drive from the hairpin (but only the hairpin) would the dashboard lights flash, so we thought that might be due to the Wheelie Control activating - we turned that off for the following session and it fixed the issue.
Next up was testing our preferences for the Engine Braking and Engine Map settings. In all honesty, we tested all three settings for both options but couldn't really tell a massive difference between them. At the time we were a couple of seconds off our usual pace, so that might have been the reason. It might be something to revisit in the future - but we don't think there is much performance to be gained from changing these settings.
Prior to our final session we double-checked that the "out of the box" suspension settings matched Aprilia's recommendation sheet, which they did except for on the fork rebound. For anyone interested, we ended up with the Engine Map set to level 2, the Engine Braking set to level 2, the Traction Control set to level 4 (reduced to level 3 by the end of the weekend) and the Wheelie Control switched off. With no big changes or configurations to test, we used this session to just ride and get used to the bike. By the end of the session we put in a 1:01.66 lap, which was just over half a second slower than our PB lap on the Kawasaki Supertwin which we've run for the past 9 seasons - which was a great indication of the bike's potential, especially as the sprocket ratio was so high that we were only able to run 5 gears down the half-kilometre-long Pope Straight!
Prior to our final session we double-checked that the "out of the box" suspension settings matched Aprilia's recommendation sheet, which they did except for on the fork rebound. For anyone interested, we ended up with the Engine Map set to level 2, the Engine Braking set to level 2, the Traction Control set to level 4 (reduced to level 3 by the end of the weekend) and the Wheelie Control switched off. With no big changes or configurations to test, we used this session to just ride and get used to the bike. By the end of the session we put in a 1:01.66 lap, which was just over half a second slower than our PB lap on the Kawasaki Supertwin which we've run for the past 9 seasons - which was a great indication of the bike's potential, especially as the sprocket ratio was so high that we were only able to run 5 gears down the half-kilometre-long Pope Straight!
Sunday Race Day
The Sunday started cold but the sun was occasionally shining! Our first qualifying session, for the Twins, was the second session on track. The air temperature was 6C so we didn't want to do anything too silly on a cold track. Once out on track we found there was a lot of traffic, so when we came across some free space we put in a decent lap of 1:02.09 to qualify 2nd on the grid. 2021 Darley Moor Formula 600 champion Albert Walker acquired the 2018 Darley Moor Twins championship winning machine over the winter break and was running very well on it. He took pole position with a 1:01.71 lap. Darley Moor regular Ian Robinson was also running an Aprilia RS660 for the first time at this meeting and qualified with a 1:06.01.
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For the Formula 600 qualifying session we had a new pair of tyres to scrub in so took it easy for the first few laps. British-championship (and "Stars at Darley") regulars Richard Cooper and Milo Ward were competing in our class today. Half-way through the session Milo came passed so we (unsuccessfully) tried to hang on, but we did manage to qualify 3rd on the grid - ahead of all the other club regulars!
Next up was the first race of the Darley Moor season (and our first ever race on the Aprilia Racing RS660 Trofeo). We picked a 19th grid position "out of the hat" and then had shocking start! All weekend we had been warned that the RS660 can be difficult to launch, but we'd had some spirited launches on the test day so thought that it wouldn't be a problem... We now know differently! As the Allcomers contains a variety of machines - and most are slower than a brand new Factory-built racer - despite the awful start we were able to move up to 5th position by the end of the opening lap, then into 3rd position at the end of lap 2 (of 10 laps). Unfortunately, by this point the race leaders were 5.16 seconds up the road - so we decided to use the race to get some more seat-time and become more familiar with the bike.
Next up was the first race of the Darley Moor season (and our first ever race on the Aprilia Racing RS660 Trofeo). We picked a 19th grid position "out of the hat" and then had shocking start! All weekend we had been warned that the RS660 can be difficult to launch, but we'd had some spirited launches on the test day so thought that it wouldn't be a problem... We now know differently! As the Allcomers contains a variety of machines - and most are slower than a brand new Factory-built racer - despite the awful start we were able to move up to 5th position by the end of the opening lap, then into 3rd position at the end of lap 2 (of 10 laps). Unfortunately, by this point the race leaders were 5.16 seconds up the road - so we decided to use the race to get some more seat-time and become more familiar with the bike.
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We put in clean laps, got more comfortable, and it turned out that we were set new Personal Best lap time after new Personal Best lap time - with a best of an incredible 1:00.41! We caught up to the back wheel of leaders Jim Hodson and Albert Walker by the end of lap 7 and moved into 2nd place at the end of lap 8. With our overgeared machine we were able to match the ER650 speed on the straights but couldn't gain on them (but hopefully at Round 2 that will change!). We followed Albert and were thinking hard about where to attempt a pass, when he hit a false neutral on the entry to the hairpin on the final lap and ran wide to allow us through. From there we were able to take the win on our first ride - the thing that dreams are made of! The comeback through the field makes for a great onboard video...
Formula 600 Race 1 was next. From our front-row grid spot we had a disappointing start to finish the opening lap in 5th place, but managed to move passed Liam Weston on the second lap to move up to 4th position, where we remained until Ben Dale crashed out of the race at Park corner on lap 5. That elevated us to 3rd place, just ahead of a hard-charging Milo Ward in 4th. We crossed the line in 3rd place!
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After a short gap it was time for Twins Race 1. Our race start went from "appalling" to "average" (which is at least an improvement!) as we were still trying to figure out how to launch the new bike. But we lost a lot less time at the start and were able to move into the race lead on the opening lap. We then tried to put in clean laps, which we did until the final lap, when we overshot into Park corner and thought we were heading into the gravel. Fortunately we were able to haul up the bike in time, then had our quick look behind us. Albert Walker was around a second behind, so we managed to get away with our mistake and take the win! We also secured the fastest lap of the race with a 1:00.94.
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After the lunch break we were back with Formula 600 Race 2. A great start saw us finish the opening lap in 3rd place, just behind the 2nd-placed Stephen Parsons. We tagged onto Stephen in an attempt to move up another spot - but I wasn't alone - and what ensued was a 4-rider battle for the runner-up spot involving us, Stephen, Albert Walker and Milo Ward. The group was eventually split up on lap 7 (of 8) by unfortunate timing of a backmarker. A highly entertaining and hard-fought race, we would eventually finished 4th on track - however, as double-winner Richard Cooper decided to not be classified in the championship results, we managed to walk away with a 3rd place trophy for our efforts!
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The final race of the day was Twins Race 2. With upcoming Isle of Man TT commitments Jim Hodson decided not to race. Fellow RS660-racer Ian Robinson retired after the sighting lap due to quickshifter issues. We finally got a decent start and got the holeshot and then led the race from flag-to-flag - but that doesn't tell the entire story. Once in the lead we put in consistent laps around the 1:01-mark knowing that in Twins Race 1 the other riders were averaging 1:01.3 laps - so thought that would be enough.
On lap 5 (of 8), we took a look behind to see whether we had created a gap but Albert Walker was right on our back wheel! With this knowledge we then increased the pace and reduced our lap times, putting in a race fastest lap of 1:00.50, which was enough to take the win! After crossing the line and arriving to Park corner on the cooldown lap, we saw Albert waving at us from behind the fence - it turned out that he had unfortunately fallen on lap 7 whilst chasing us. The pace was so hot that we won the race by 34.83 seconds and broke the Twins race record which has been in place since 2014!
On lap 5 (of 8), we took a look behind to see whether we had created a gap but Albert Walker was right on our back wheel! With this knowledge we then increased the pace and reduced our lap times, putting in a race fastest lap of 1:00.50, which was enough to take the win! After crossing the line and arriving to Park corner on the cooldown lap, we saw Albert waving at us from behind the fence - it turned out that he had unfortunately fallen on lap 7 whilst chasing us. The pace was so hot that we won the race by 34.83 seconds and broke the Twins race record which has been in place since 2014!
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To summarise, it has been a great debut weekend for the new bike - 3 wins from 3 starts! Backing that up with decent Formula 600 results has made this a fantastic experience. Looking back to our pre-season aims for Darley Moor, we have already made great progress as we have moved up to 2nd in our "Fastest Twin Laps of All Time" ranking. Albert Walker has now entered the ranking after his seriously impressive performances this weekend.
We don't have to wait long until our next outing, which is at the Brands Hatch Indy circuit with NG Road Racing on the weekend of 22nd-24th April. Except for the fitment of an R&G radiator guard (which has now arrived) there will be no machine changes occurring before that meeting.
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As a closing remark we would just like to thank everyone for the interest shown in the new machine over the weekend. We don't think we have ever received so many visitors before - but it was great to talk bikes with everyone! It seems that people are interested to hear about the development journey we are embarking on with the Aprilia Racing RS660 Trofeo, so we'll continue to share more information as and when we learn it! :-)
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