NG Anglesey - Race Review (2023)

We apprehensively approached the NG Anglesey meeting as "we were 3-for-3", with 3 trips to Bangor hospital from the last 3 visits to the circuit. Fortunately, we made it through the weekend (mostly) unscathed...

Arriving at the circuit only 90 minutes after the paddock opened on the Thursday evening, most of the paddock was already roped off - but we managed to find a spot on hard standing, nearby to the cafe and toilet block and got everything setup.

All setup for the weekend - or were we??

Despite being at the circuit we decided to skip the Friday test day. As we were at a loose end, we helped Daniel Nurrish with some track observations, bike change recommendations and also did some data analysis for him.

With time to kill we decided to go up to the top part of the circuit to watch, which allowed us to see some parts of the track that reminded us of the early days of Anglesey circuit (prior to its redevelopment), which was nostalgic.

The old start finish straight...

...and pit lane wall

With the routine scrutineering and sign-on tasks out of the way, we settled down and waited for the forecast wind to arrive - hoping that it wouldn't affect us too much...

By 00:10 ​we were outside clinging onto the awning as (at that time) 45-50 mph gusts of wind were trying their best to drag the awning across the paddock. At its worst, the wind gusts reached almost 70mph and decimated a lot of paddock setups!

After taking the sides off the awning the situation didn't improve much, so we decided to take the awning down completely. We put as much stuff as possible into the back of the van and then just prayed that the wind didn't blow the bikes over. By the time the morning arrived we had barely had any sleep...

We took a walk around the paddock at 06:30 and took some of the photos shown below - but this wasn't all of it, as some people never managed to find their awning! Ian Robinson said "It was like something out of the Wizard of Oz, as the awning just flew up into the air and disappeared off into the distance..." 

Due to the continuing wind there was no real track action on the Saturday. We sat around until 4pm when the organisers allowed some free practice sessions to run. We decided to go out but on the out lap it was obvious that the winds prevented any useful information gathering. I'm not sure whether the on-track action was done to avoid the organisers having to provide any sort of refund to competitors, but regardless, I don't believe that bikes should have been let out on track. The downside to the Saturday cancellation was that this meant there was one fewer race that we could score championship points in...

After taking a much-needed shower, we packed everything neatly into the van, then the girls then did some roller skating on track before we joined some other competitors in the cafe bar for some light refreshments.

After an early start to unload everything once again, we had a couple of practice sessions to get ourselves up to speed. It had been decided that there would not be any qualifying sessions, so instead, grid slots for the opening races would be determined based on championship points (which was good for us!). We would start from 4th on the Open 600 grid and from 8th on the combined Supertwins/PreElectronic600 grid.

A very simple setup...

...with just the essentials

Our first race was Supertwin Race 2. An OK start saw us manage to gain a few positions into The Banking on the opening lap and then to pick off some riders one-by-one through the race. After getting into clear track on the final lap we managed to set our fastest lap of 1:14.608 and finished 2nd in the Supertwin race.

After a short break we were out into Open 600 Race 2. Starting from 4th on the grid it felt like we were being hunted - especially after getting a good start! We pushed on and managed to set a 1:13.798 lap time (for reference, our Personal Best is a 1:13.357) which we were happy with, and crossed the line to finish in 6th place. 

Photo by Lorna Carson

After the lunch break it was time for Supertwin Race 3, which seemed to be a lot windier and slippier than the previous races. We pushed as hard as we could and secured another 2nd place finish.

The final race of the day was Open 600 Race 3, where another good start saw us targeted by the faster guys once again. With a best lap of 1'14.239 we were again not quite as fast as earlier in the day, but still managed to bring home another 6th place finish. Straight after the race we then had a new rear tyre fit, ready for the next meeting.

With a few more points gained this weekend, the championship tables have changed once again. As it stands we are currently in 2nd position in the Supertwins championship and in 5th in the Open 600 championship.

However, as there is one NG event remaining (which we cannot attend) then we forecast/estimate that we will probably end the season in 4th position in the Supertwins championship and in 5th position in the Open 600 championship.

Time will tell on that, but for now we would just like to congratulate Brody Crockford on securing the 2023 NG Supertwins championship (showing that he really might be "the faster Crockford")!

Open 600 Championship Standings (Top 10)
George Edwards   356
Ricky Elder          334
Michael Rees       168
Jed Bird              156
David Carson    142
Aaron Matthews    83
Lewis Jones          75
Brandon Brinded    53
Paul Messenger     49
Lucca Allen           46

Supertwins Championship Standings (Top 10)
Brody Crockford   293
David Carson    215
Edward Giles       177
Steve Moody       166
William Holland   124
Alex Sinclair         95
Tony Parker         94
Jamie Ingham      87
Jamie Coward      75
Mark Hughes       64

Our next outing is in a few weeks, where we will return to Darley Moor on Sunday 10th September for Round 5 of their championships.
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