The last weekend in June hosted a double-header for the Darley Moor Club Championships, with rounds 4 and 5 taking place. It was a weekend of mixed weather (but mostly good), a pole position, some fastest laps, a brace of runner-up finishes, a solitary win - and no broken bikes! :-)
ROUND 4
After a six week break off racing the first few laps of qualifying were a bit rusty, but we were soon back on form and managed to take pole position for the Formula Darley races.
The Mini Sound of Thunder qualifying session was next but only lasted for three laps before Tim Poole locked handlebars with another rider and the pair of them crashed out. All track activity stopped for 90 minutes whilst the air ambulance came and took the unlucky rider to hospital with a broken femur and arm. Tim Poole was OK but his machine was damaged beyond repair at the circuit, so that was the end of his weekend. The qualifying session was re-run for an additional four laps, but after a moment where we almost ran into back of classic bike we pulled in and accepted our 3rd place grid position (7th on the combined grid).
After a six week break off racing the first few laps of qualifying were a bit rusty, but we were soon back on form and managed to take pole position for the Formula Darley races.
The Mini Sound of Thunder qualifying session was next but only lasted for three laps before Tim Poole locked handlebars with another rider and the pair of them crashed out. All track activity stopped for 90 minutes whilst the air ambulance came and took the unlucky rider to hospital with a broken femur and arm. Tim Poole was OK but his machine was damaged beyond repair at the circuit, so that was the end of his weekend. The qualifying session was re-run for an additional four laps, but after a moment where we almost ran into back of classic bike we pulled in and accepted our 3rd place grid position (7th on the combined grid).
New rider in training!
In Formula Darley race 1, we had an OK start and were running in 3rd place but were slowly catching up to 2nd placed Stuart Hall. At Park corner on the final lap, Stuart outbraked himself whilst trying to overtake a 125GP machine. We took the opportunity to take a tight line and make a pass - as we did the 125GP machine swung back onto the racing line - resulting in a "close encounter of the 125 kind". With a good run for the rest of the lap, we managed to catch Stuart again but were unable to make a pass, crossing the finishing line only 0.15 of a second behind and less than two seconds behind race winner Brad Vicars.
Close racing all weekend!
In the first of the Mini Sound of Thunder races, Stuart Hall got into the lead from the start and we got into a battle with Brad, which meant that Stuart was able to sneak away. After a few laps, we stopped wasting time overtaking each other and worked together to close the gap to the leader, which was accomplished on lap 7 of 8. With the battle for the win now on, the overtaking moves were back on! When we got onto the back straight, we were in the lead. A yellow flag on the last corner meant that a last corner overtaking manoeuvre was not possible, so we kept our line (relatively) clean and managed to win the race by only 0.10 of a second! We got the victory but missed out on the fastest lap by 0.01 second, with a 1'02.93 lap.
On our way to victory!
Formula Darley race 2 was a solid but largely uneventful race. Stuart Hall pulled out of the race on lap 3 with a mechanical issue and we did our best to keep Brad honest, crossing the flag 2.61 behind him at the end of the race.
Mini Sound of Thunder race 2 provided us with the closet finish of our weekend - a gap of just 0.06 at the flag! Unfortunately, we came in 2nd place but we did get the fastest lap of the race with a 1'02.93 (exactly the same laptime as in Mini Sound of Thunder race 1).
Mini Sound of Thunder race 2 provided us with the closet finish of our weekend - a gap of just 0.06 at the flag! Unfortunately, we came in 2nd place but we did get the fastest lap of the race with a 1'02.93 (exactly the same laptime as in Mini Sound of Thunder race 1).
ROUND 5
Despite perfect racing conditions for Round 4, rain fell overnight for Round 5. It wasn't to last, however, as the track was only wet for qualifying and had dried by the time the races started.
In a reversal of order, the Mini Sound of Thunder qualifying (and races) were first at Round 5. The wet laps were our first wets laps of the season (believe it or not!). We slowly got ourselves up to speed and as we got used to the wet riding conditions we secured 3rd position (8th on the combined grid), one second off pole position.
The track conditions had already started to improve when we went out for the Formula Darley qualifying, with the track being damp and the only puddles being off the racing line. As soon as we got back into the paddock, we switched to dry tyres which stayed on for the rest of the day.
The track conditions had already started to improve when we went out for the Formula Darley qualifying, with the track being damp and the only puddles being off the racing line. As soon as we got back into the paddock, we switched to dry tyres which stayed on for the rest of the day.
After laying 3rd in Mini Sound of Thunder race 1 coming out of the first chicane, it took us until lap 7 of 8 to catch up with 2nd placed Stuart Hall. With good drive onto the straight, we took 2nd place and managed to stay ahead until the flag (0.76 of a second of Stuart).
In Formula Darley race 1, we were again 3rd out of the first chicane. We managed to catch and pass both Stuart Hall and Brad Vicars to take the lead! After a great battle with the lead changing hands many times, we were leading into the final corner when we were too cautious overtaking a backmarker. We took the flag in 2nd place, half a second behind Brad at the line.
In Formula Darley race 1, we were again 3rd out of the first chicane. We managed to catch and pass both Stuart Hall and Brad Vicars to take the lead! After a great battle with the lead changing hands many times, we were leading into the final corner when we were too cautious overtaking a backmarker. We took the flag in 2nd place, half a second behind Brad at the line.
Mini Sound of Thunder race 2 was most definitely a low point of the Darley Moor club's organisation skills - the phrase "couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery" would fit well here to describe the situation. There were, of course, incidents that caused this. The first of which was a collision between two racers on the sighting lap - two riders were weaving from left to right to warm up their tyres and they crashed into each other! This brought a halt to proceedings whilst the riders were carted off in the ambulance and ONE of the machines was cleared up. The other machine had managed to clear two fences and was sitting in the field on the inside of the circuit, so the organisers decided to leave it there until all races had been completed.
So then the race was restarted, we got a good start and were approaching the final corner on lap 2 when seven bikes were cruising with their hands up (as if the race had been stopped) - then they suddenly started going again. And then half a lap later the race was stopped. Apparently a faulty light board was intermittently showing as red, which caused the confusion.
So we got back to the start line again and there was a further delay. Our engine was getting hot so we switched it off until we headed out onto the sighting lap - except that the organisers had decided NOT to run a sighting lap, so we were actually racing - except we didn't know until the end of lap 1 when we were not flagged off the circuit! So, we were now racing again and had dawdled around for a lap. Fortunately, due to the confusion, most of my competitors were close by to me, so we managed to finish the race and salvage a 2nd place finish from the mess. Some good news was that we managed to record the fastest lap of the race :-)
So then the race was restarted, we got a good start and were approaching the final corner on lap 2 when seven bikes were cruising with their hands up (as if the race had been stopped) - then they suddenly started going again. And then half a lap later the race was stopped. Apparently a faulty light board was intermittently showing as red, which caused the confusion.
So we got back to the start line again and there was a further delay. Our engine was getting hot so we switched it off until we headed out onto the sighting lap - except that the organisers had decided NOT to run a sighting lap, so we were actually racing - except we didn't know until the end of lap 1 when we were not flagged off the circuit! So, we were now racing again and had dawdled around for a lap. Fortunately, due to the confusion, most of my competitors were close by to me, so we managed to finish the race and salvage a 2nd place finish from the mess. Some good news was that we managed to record the fastest lap of the race :-)
And it seems that we saved the best race until last! Formula Darley race 2 had 30 changes of lead throughout the 8 lap race (Yes - 30! See the video here). In an epic duel that went down to the final corner of the final lap, we came out in 2nd place, 0.16 of a second behind the race winner at the finishing line.
With a fantastic weekend of racing over, we had accumulated: 1x win, 6x 2nds & 1x 3rd as well as a pole position and some fastest laps. The net result is that we lead the Mini Sound of Thunder championship (by a single point) and are in 2nd Position in Formula Darley championship.
 Smiles all around! |  Trophies from the meeting |
All onboard race videos have been uploaded to our YouTube channel.
Our next race meeting will be Darley Moor Round 6 on Sunday 26th July.
We have also received some bad news about the BEMSEE Brands Hatch GP race meeting. Our entry into the meeting has been refused due to an oversubscribed field, with priority being given to riders competing in the entire BEMSEE championship series :-(
Our next race meeting will be Darley Moor Round 6 on Sunday 26th July.
We have also received some bad news about the BEMSEE Brands Hatch GP race meeting. Our entry into the meeting has been refused due to an oversubscribed field, with priority being given to riders competing in the entire BEMSEE championship series :-(
See you next time!! :-)
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