We arrived at Darley Moor Round 2 straight from Aintree Round 2 which meant a late setup in the paddock. Unfortunately, the rain that hit Aintree also landed at Darley - meaning that everywhere was soaking wet - but once setup we watched some of the day's British Superbike action via the laptop.
Once again it was an early start to the day to get the scrutineering and sign on activities out of the way. Rain had fell overnight but stopped around 5am. The ground was wet but drying quickly. Fortunately we didn't need to do a single wheel swap during this meeting!
Once again it was an early start to the day to get the scrutineering and sign on activities out of the way. Rain had fell overnight but stopped around 5am. The ground was wet but drying quickly. Fortunately we didn't need to do a single wheel swap during this meeting!
Getting ready for action (Photo by Graham Mallen)
Out into the Open 600 qualifying session and most corners had a dry line, with just the Pope Straight having wet patches. Things went well and we quickly got into the swing of things, catching and passing riders. We then decided to find some space so that we could attempt a quick lap - we found the space but when we came to the line to start our lap the chequered flag was already out... Our lap time of 1:02.47 was good enough for a front-row grid start (3rd position) and not too far away from the pole position time of 1:02.06.
Our next qualifying session (on the Aprilia RS660 Trofeo) would provide our grid position for both the Darley Cup and 700cc Twins races. A 1:00.98 lap time put us in pole position for both classes.
Our first race was the 10-lap Darley Cup Race 1. We got a good launch (for us) and entered the Wilson chicane 3rd in class, behind Nick Clare and Mark Pattinson. By the end of lap 5 we had managed to move into 2nd position but were 6.61 seconds behind the race leader. We put in some solid laps and set the fastest lap of the race (1:00.26) but at the chequered flag we finished in 2nd position, 4.25 seconds behind race winner Mark. We were hoping that we might be able to put a challenge to Mark in race 2...
Our next qualifying session (on the Aprilia RS660 Trofeo) would provide our grid position for both the Darley Cup and 700cc Twins races. A 1:00.98 lap time put us in pole position for both classes.
Our first race was the 10-lap Darley Cup Race 1. We got a good launch (for us) and entered the Wilson chicane 3rd in class, behind Nick Clare and Mark Pattinson. By the end of lap 5 we had managed to move into 2nd position but were 6.61 seconds behind the race leader. We put in some solid laps and set the fastest lap of the race (1:00.26) but at the chequered flag we finished in 2nd position, 4.25 seconds behind race winner Mark. We were hoping that we might be able to put a challenge to Mark in race 2...
Photo by Tiger Snaps
The grid numbers were low for the 700cc Twins at this meeting. Following a dispute with the organisers, the always-quick Sean Seddon decided to leave before the meeting had started. Josh Froggatt (son of Anthony Froggatt and current EMRA Supertwins championship leader) made a guest appearance to add some spice to the mix.
After another decent (but not great) start we entered the chicane in 3rd position and then moved up into 2nd position by the end of the opening lap. We followed Josh for several laps, looking for an opportunity to move passed and (with hindsight) should probably have taken advantage of an opportunity to take the lead into Park corner on lap 5. Some unfortunately-timed backmarkers created a gap that we couldn't bridge and despite setting the fastest lap of the race (1:00.10) we crossed the line to take 2nd place, 1.65 seconds behind Josh who deserved the victory.
After another decent (but not great) start we entered the chicane in 3rd position and then moved up into 2nd position by the end of the opening lap. We followed Josh for several laps, looking for an opportunity to move passed and (with hindsight) should probably have taken advantage of an opportunity to take the lead into Park corner on lap 5. Some unfortunately-timed backmarkers created a gap that we couldn't bridge and despite setting the fastest lap of the race (1:00.10) we crossed the line to take 2nd place, 1.65 seconds behind Josh who deserved the victory.
Photo by Kevin Randle
Heading out to Open 600 Race 1 there was a long delay in the assembly area due to recovery of a kart and driver. Then when we went out onto track it started raining! On the third lap we took the overall race lead and then a few corners later the race was red-flagged. You can see this abandoned race below.
The race was restarted after the lunch break in much better conditions. On the opening lap, coming out of the chicane in 4th position we moved into 3rd position into Park corner and then into 2nd position into Paddock corner - which put us just over a second behind race leader Mark Goodings. We managed to claw our way onto the back of Mark's bike (which was looking quite loose at the rear on corner entry) but a passing opportunity never presented itself. Despite setting another fastest lap of the race (59.40), we crossed the line in 2nd position once again, just 0.13 of a second behind the race winner.
Photo by Ian Kinnear
After a short break we headed out into Darley Cup Race 2. A lacklustre start put paid to our hope of challenging Race 1 winner Mark Pattinson, as we struggled to pass a bum-waggling Nick Clare. With the introduction of riders from other classes, the race leader disappeared into the distance whilst we just scrapped amongst ourselves. Our fastest lap time of 1:02.19 showed how much pace we had in reserve, but in this race it wasn't to be. At the end of the race we finished 3rd in class, just 0.26 of a second behind Nick.
Photo by Tiger Snaps
At the start of Twins Race 2, the bike electronically dropped revs at the start which resulted in a poor start for us. One day we'll sort out our starts... Entering the Wilsons chicane in 5th position, we managed to move up to 2nd on track by the end of the opening lap - but were 2.11 seconds behind race-leader Josh Froggatt. Try as we might - even by putting in a couple of 59-second laps with a fastest lap of 59.95 - we decreased the gap but could only finish in 2nd place, 1.41 seconds behind race winner Josh at the flag.
Carrying some lean angle through the hairpin (Photo by Kevin Randle)
Our final race was Open 600 Race 2. We were 5th into the chicane and remained there until lap 3 when Adam Green ran wide whilst attempting an overtake at Park corner, then later in the lap we overtook Adam Mather into Paddock corner. Now in 3rd position - but 3.40 seconds behind 2nd placed Joe Holdsworth - we had some clear track to put in some clean laps. Once again we set the fastest lap of the race (58.80) and on the last lap were on the back wheel of Joe. We tried an optimistic move into Paddock corner on the final lap which was ultimately unsuccessful. Mark Goodings took the win by 2.63 seconds from Joe, with us just a further 0.08 of a second behind in 3rd place.
Photo by Kevin Randle
With the meeting now complete we reflected on the fact that we had set the fastest lap in 5 of our 6 races, but we didn't win any! We will take away the positive that we clearly had the speed this weekend and will try to put things in place for the future to capitalize on that. As the saying goes - you can't win them all...
A very Happy Fathers Day indeed!
The championship tables at the end of this meeting look as follows.
700cc Twins Championship (Top 5)
David Carson 54
Josh Froggatt 30
Sean Seddon 24
Aron Redmond 20
Tom Hodge 8
Darley Cup Championship (Top 5)
David Carson 52
Nick Clare 46
Mark Pattinson 30
Aron Redmond 20
Martyn Cooper 16
Anthony Thane 16
Open 600 Championship (Top 5)
Mark Goodings 57
David Carson 42
Joe Holdsworth 39
Adam Green 32
Chris Stuart 22
We don't have long to wait until riding again, as we will be racing at the Wirral 100 Anglesey meeting this coming weekend (22nd-23rd June). We'll let you know how that goes!
700cc Twins Championship (Top 5)
David Carson 54
Josh Froggatt 30
Sean Seddon 24
Aron Redmond 20
Tom Hodge 8
Darley Cup Championship (Top 5)
David Carson 52
Nick Clare 46
Mark Pattinson 30
Aron Redmond 20
Martyn Cooper 16
Anthony Thane 16
Open 600 Championship (Top 5)
Mark Goodings 57
David Carson 42
Joe Holdsworth 39
Adam Green 32
Chris Stuart 22
We don't have long to wait until riding again, as we will be racing at the Wirral 100 Anglesey meeting this coming weekend (22nd-23rd June). We'll let you know how that goes!
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