With a weekend of racing lined up we took a half-day off work on the Friday to make the journey up to Darley Moor, so that we could get scrutineering out of the way on the Friday evening. With loads of time available, it made for a very relaxed evening - and we even had the chance to watch the Czech MotoGP practice sessions.
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As a nice surprise, Richard Fogg was also in attendance for this meeting on his brand new Aprilia RS660 Factory machine. Back in the mid-nineties when we started out, Richard was just starting racing too. We even shared a few battles at Darley Moor...
Darley Moor Assembly Area, Formula 125 in 1996 (We are #88 and Richard is #11)
Saturday - Round 3
On the Saturday morning we were the first qualifying session out on track. After finding ourselves stuck in some traffic we left the circuit and then rejoined - finding some clear track that allowed us to set a 1:00.65 lap time which was good enough for 3rd on the Open 600 grid.
About an hour later we headed out for the combined Supertwins and Darley Moor qualifying session. Our 1:01.40 lap was good enough for 2nd on the Darley Cup grid and Pole Position for the Supertwins races.
It was then time for the races and Open 600 Race 1 was first. An OK start saw us retain our 3rd position into the Wilsons chicane and from there we maintained that position to the flag, finishing in 3rd place.
 Photo by Graham Mallen |  Photo by Ian Kinnear |
After a very short break we headed out for Supertwins Race 1. Entering the Wilsons chicane in 3rd position we managed to take the overall race lead into Park corner on the opening lap, then retain that lead for the 8 lap race - eventually winning the race by 14.79 seconds from GSX8R-mounted Jamie Badhams in 2nd position, with Richard Fogg taking the final podium spot.
Photo by Graham Mallen
Darley Cup Race 1 was unusual, as we secured a rare DNF in this race. The race started well, with us entering the chicane in 2nd position behind Jonathan Trezins, and then stretching a 10-second-gap over 3rd-placed David Wilson. But on lap 7 of 8, exiting Park corner (around 6:40 on the video below) the bike's dashboard started flashing like a neon sign in a cheap motel! It appeared that the Traction Control was being triggered by something, so my first thought was to disable the "assistance" and finish the race. Unfortunately that made little difference to the situation - but when I eventually pulled in the clutch I could feel the bike continue to decelerate as if the front brakes were still engaged. With this new info, I decided to retire to the pits to investigate - as we were out in another race just a few minutes later...
After playing with the brakes on the return journey and eventually reaching our "pit", things seemed a bit more normal. After some thorough checking, the best that we can surmise is that some small debris (such as a stone) may have got wedged between the outside pad and the caliper which caused the brake to drag on one side...
The left caliper, pads and discs were fine. The right caliper had no stuck pistons - but the pads (shown below) had had some serious heat through them and the outer face of the disc looked like it had been machined flat. We found out problem - we just didn't know why it had happened...
After playing with the brakes on the return journey and eventually reaching our "pit", things seemed a bit more normal. After some thorough checking, the best that we can surmise is that some small debris (such as a stone) may have got wedged between the outside pad and the caliper which caused the brake to drag on one side...
The left caliper, pads and discs were fine. The right caliper had no stuck pistons - but the pads (shown below) had had some serious heat through them and the outer face of the disc looked like it had been machined flat. We found out problem - we just didn't know why it had happened...
Those pads have been roasty-toasty!
Unsure of what was happening with the Aprilia, we hopped on the Kawasaki and ventured out into Open 600 Race 2. A poor start saw us enter the chicane in 7th position and have to fight our way through the pack to eventually finish in 3rd position, setting a fastest lap of 59.46 along the way.
 Photo by Ian Kinnear |  Photo by Graham Mallen |
After fitting a brand new set of pads to the right caliper, we cautiously headed out for Supertwins Race 2. We spent the first half of the race bedding in the pads and being (overly?) cautious of the bike, trying to sense whether it was going to do anything weird. We settled into 3rd on track whilst building up confidence then made clean overtakes to take the race lead. We won the race ahead of Jamie Badhams and Richard Fogg.
 Photo by Graham Mallen |  Photo by Graham Mallen |
Our final race of the day was Darley Cup Race 2. On the warm-up lap, pole-sitter Jonathan Trezins had machinery issues so did not start the race. From the start we got the holeshot and led the entire race to take our first Darley Cup win of the season.
Our results from the day had secured us with five trophies.
Quite the collection...
As a mini-celebration we got some hot food from the Darley Diner, opened a few beers and watched both the Czech MotoGP and Knockhill BSB action on TV...
Sunday - Round 4
Sunday was a special day - not just for being Round 4 of the championships - because it celebrated Father's Day. The family dressed up the caravan with balloons and both Daves were blessed with presents and cards from our loved ones!
Sunday - Round 4
Sunday was a special day - not just for being Round 4 of the championships - because it celebrated Father's Day. The family dressed up the caravan with balloons and both Daves were blessed with presents and cards from our loved ones!
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Out on track it was a very similar scenario to the Saturday - with us qualifying 3rd on the Open 600 grid, 2nd on the Darley Cup grid and Pole Position for the Supertwins (albeit with quicker lap times than on the Saturday).
Open 600 Race 1 was a quite lonely race for us. After entering the chicane in 3rd position, the leaders (Ricky Tarren and Ben Dale) extended away from us - whilst we increased our gap over 4th-placed Peter Fell. By the end of the 8-lap race there was a 10-second gap ahead of us and a 10-second gap behind us! We crossed the line in 3rd, which we were happy with.
Open 600 Race 1 was a quite lonely race for us. After entering the chicane in 3rd position, the leaders (Ricky Tarren and Ben Dale) extended away from us - whilst we increased our gap over 4th-placed Peter Fell. By the end of the 8-lap race there was a 10-second gap ahead of us and a 10-second gap behind us! We crossed the line in 3rd, which we were happy with.
 Photo by Graham Mallen |  Photo by Ian Kinnear |
Supertwins Race 1 was run in two parts (both shown below) due to a red flag. In the opening segment we entered the chicane in 3rd position behind Jamie Badhams and Richard Fogg. At the end of the opening lap Richard suffered an unfortunate crash, then on his second lap Anthony Thane had an unfortunate low-side at the hairpin - but the bike regripped and barrel-rolled itself, which resulted in some fluid escaping.
After a lengthy delay we were thankfully given two warm-up laps to reheat our tyres before our shortened 5-lap race. At the restart we entered the chicane in 2nd position and then took the race lead into Park corner on the opening lap. At the end of race, we won from Jamie Badhams with Russell Dodds taking the final podium position.
After a lengthy delay we were thankfully given two warm-up laps to reheat our tyres before our shortened 5-lap race. At the restart we entered the chicane in 2nd position and then took the race lead into Park corner on the opening lap. At the end of race, we won from Jamie Badhams with Russell Dodds taking the final podium position.
 Photo by Ian Kinnear |  Photo by Ian Kinnear |
Darley Cup Race 1 was another lonely race. After entering the chicane in 2nd position we stayed there for the entire race.
 Photo by Graham Mallen |  Photo by Graham Mallen |
After the lunch break, it was time for Open 600 Race 2 which was another lonely race. With the day's heat we were glad when the flag dropped and we took another 3rd-place finish.
 Photo by Graham Mallen |  Photo by Ian Kinnear |
Next up was Supertwins Race 2, which again was run in two parts (both shown below) due to a red flag at the hairpin. On the restart we managed to take the race lead into Park corner on the opening lap, then extended our lead to win the race from Jamie Badhams and Russell Dodds.
Our final race of the weekend was Darley Cup Race 2. On paper it shows that we held 2nd position all race long - but it was hard-fought, as through the weekend GSXR600-mounted Martyn Cooper had been getting quicker and quicker. At the chequered flag we were happy to secure another 2nd position finish to top off a great weekend.
With all races completed we ended up with a total of 11 trophies (5x wins, 2x 2nds & 4x 3rds) from the weekend, which we think is a record for the team! When we got home we had some pizza delivered to celebrate - whilst we watched Sunday's Czech MotoGP and Knockhill BSB action of course!
 Lots of trophies... |  ...makes for a very full dash! |
There is now a short break until our next event - the Welsh park road race of Aberdare Park will take place on Saturday-Sunday 1st-2nd August, with Darley Moor Round 5 taking place just a week later on Sunday 9th August. As always, we'll let you know how we get on! :-)
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