The second round of the Darley Moor championships took place on the same weekend as the North West 200 races and the French round of MotoGP, so we arrived as early as we could just so that we could get our essential viewing out of the way!
 Early arrival = empty paddock |  Multi-screen setup :-) |
The paddock was a little emptier than usual on the Saturday evening so we took the opportunity to get an early night, but had to change the gas bottle at 2am so that we could put the heater back on - even in May it can still be chilly overnight sleeping in a caravan!
Sunday race day had a windy start but was forecast to be (and was) dry all day. With no karts at this meeting, the organisers had scheduled long sessions for the day - 17-minute qualifying sessions and 12-lap races.
We were to be the very first session out on track for the Open 600 Qualifying, so changed the 600's wheels to wets so that we could keep the dry tyres on warmers whilst we went to noise testing.
After a quick wheel change, we headed out for the Open 600 qualifying session. The conditions were very windy during the session - with wind catching us on the exit of the Wilsons chicane, at Townleys and along the Pope straight (elongating our braking distance). We qualified 5th on the grid with a best lap of 1:01.48.
Sunday race day had a windy start but was forecast to be (and was) dry all day. With no karts at this meeting, the organisers had scheduled long sessions for the day - 17-minute qualifying sessions and 12-lap races.
We were to be the very first session out on track for the Open 600 Qualifying, so changed the 600's wheels to wets so that we could keep the dry tyres on warmers whilst we went to noise testing.
After a quick wheel change, we headed out for the Open 600 qualifying session. The conditions were very windy during the session - with wind catching us on the exit of the Wilsons chicane, at Townleys and along the Pope straight (elongating our braking distance). We qualified 5th on the grid with a best lap of 1:01.48.
Photo by Graham Sansome
Our combined Supertwins/Darley Cup qualifying session was over an hour later, which allowed the wind to reduce substantially. Our best time of 1:01.58 qualified us 2nd on the Darley Cup grid and on Pole Position for the Supertwins races.
Caution... Hot exhaust!
Our first race was Open 600 Race 1. We got a good start and entered the chicane in 4th position, but by trying to hang onto the leading trio (and making mistakes along the way), we were slowly losing touch with them. On lap 2, Joseph Busfield passed us so we tagged onto the back of him. We followed Joseph for the majority of the race and on the final lap the red flag was shown when Ben Dale crashed at Townleys corner. We would like to send our best wishes to Ben, who I'm sure will be doing his best to return for the next round! With the race result declared, we finished in 4th position - just 0.44 of a second behind Joseph in 3rd-place.
 Photo by Graham Mallen |  Photo by Graham Mallen |
After the "early-called lunch break" we headed out for Supertwins Race 1. From our pole position starting position we entered the chicane in 3rd position. Knowing it was a long race, we planned our overtakes to be as careful and considered as possible. On lap 2 we took the class lead and then on lap 4 we took the overall race lead. For the remaining 8 laps we set clean and consistent laps and won the race.
We were next out in Darley Cup Race 1. From the start we were 3rd into the chicane (2nd in class) and on the opening lap moved up to 2nd on track (still 2nd in class). The length of the race made it interesting - as we would catch race-leader Jonathan Trezins, then be held up by a backmarker, then catch him up again, etc... This went on throughout the race (making for a very interesting video) and at the chequered flag we were just 0.15 of a second behind race-winner Jonathan when he crossed the line. We finished in 2nd place but did set the fastest lap of the race with a 1:00.76.
Photo by Graham Mallen
Due to a number of stoppages through the day, the second set of races was shortened to 6-laps each.
In Open 600 Race 2 we got a relatively poor start which relegated us to 7th position into the chicane. But through the race we made pass after pass and by the chequered flag we had made it back to finish in 4th position.
In Open 600 Race 2 we got a relatively poor start which relegated us to 7th position into the chicane. But through the race we made pass after pass and by the chequered flag we had made it back to finish in 4th position.
Photo by Graham Mallen
In Supertwins Race 2 we were 3rd into the chicane (2nd in class) but took the class lead into Park corner on the opening lap, then took the overall lead by the end of the opening lap. A series of clean laps saw us stretch a lead at the front and we won the race as well as setting the fastest lap.
Our final race of the day was Darley Cup Race 2. We entered the chicane in 4th position (3rd in class) and struggled to get passed the 600cc bike of Daniel Bradley. On lap 3 we made a successful move and took 2nd place in class - but by this point the leading pair had disappeared! With some clear track we were able to get our head down and we set the fastest lap of the race to secure our 2nd place finish.
A decent day - a thumbs-up from us!
With all races completed we walked away with 4 trophies, 2 working bikes and a rider in one piece - which pleased Lorna as we have a holiday planned soon!
4x Carson podiums!
Our next planned event is Darley Moor Rounds 3 & 4 on Saturday-Sunday 20th-21st June. We'll let you know how we get on!
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