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.
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.
Ready to roll!
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!
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!
Waiting to do the slowest lap of the day!
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... :-)
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... :-)
A beautiful bead of effective epoxy...
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!
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!
We're famous!! :-)
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.
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.
 Photo by Tony Else |  Photo by Graham Mallen |
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!
Photo by Graham Mallen
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...
Photo by Ian Kinnear
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.
A very busy Open 600 grid
 Photo by Graham Mallen |  Photo by Graham Mallen |
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.
 Photo by David Chapman |  Photo by Graham Mallen |
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!
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!
Our first trophy of the year!
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...
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...
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