Darley Moor Round 4 marks the midway point in the Darley Moor club championships. After an 8-week break since the previous Darley meeting it seemed like a very long time since we were last at the circuit, but we soon felt at home again. We expected a fully dry weekend, but some unexpected rain arrived to add some challenges along the way...

​After getting setup on the Saturday evening, we took a now customary visit to the pop-up food stands and then settled down in the awning to watch Saturday's British Superbike action on TV.

It was a relaxed Sunday morning where we managed to catch up with lots of people prior to the qualifying sessions.

​We were out in the opening two qualifying sessions. Whilst sat in the assembly area light rain started to fall and continued throughout the sessions. We didn't have chance to swap tyres so were on dry tyres and didn't really feel comfortable, so tried not to make any silly mistakes. We put in a 1'11 lap in Twins qualifying and then a 1'18 lap on the Kawasaki ZX6R. Surprisingly, these results were good enough for 7th on the Darley Cup grid, 6th on the Formula 600 grid and 5th on the Twins grid. Only a couple of riders managed to switch to wets and they were massively quicker than anyone else.

Our first race was Darley Cup Race 1. The rain had stopped and the track was drying quickly. After speaking to some riders in an earlier race about the current track conditions, we decided to fit a wet front tyre and a dry rear tyre. The assembly area was a mix from full slicks to full wets! Out onto track there were some damp sections at Park corner and at the hairpin, but dry tyres would probably have been the right choice - especially when the sun started to shine! We finished the opening lap in 6th position and then managed to work our way up to 2nd position by the end of lap 4. With some clear track we managed to set the fastest lap of the race, but as the leader was around 5 seconds up the road that was as far as we could get. We finished in 2nd place.

After a quick front wheel change (to a dry tyre), it was time for Formula 600 Race 1. From our 6th place grid position we ended the opening lap in 4th place, before moving into the lead by the end of lap 4. We then managed to set the fastest lap of the race along with the race win.

After a short wait we headed out for Twins Race 1. An OK start saw us manage to get up to 4th position by the end of the opening lap, before slowly picking off 1 rider per lap to take the race lead on lap 4. We were happy to get back into the 59-second bracket with a 59.92 fastest lap and took the race win.

After the lunch break it was time for the "final" races, where the points and trophies were awarded.

First up was Darley Cup Race 2. We managed to get a great start and got the hole shot - from here we decided to push as hard as we could and set a 59.72 lap on the opening lap, followed by a 58.96 on lap 2. This gave us a 5.98 second lead by the end of the second lap! From here we just tried to put in clean laps and eventually won the race by 10.90 seconds from Isle of Man TT racer Mark Goodings.

Another good start in Formula 600 Race 2 saw us take the race lead on the opening lap and then hold it until almost the end of lap 9 (of 10). Throughout the race, despite us putting in laps as good as 58.56, Mark Goodings slowly but surely caught us up and was on our tail. Trying to push hard we were just too greedy on the brakes into Paddock corner on lap 9 and ran wide, which allowed Mark to take the lead and cruise to victory. You can also see his onboard footage here. We took 2nd place, content that we had given all that we could!

Our final race of the weekend was also the final race of the day, Twins Race 2. Unfortunately, the camera battery expired before the race started - which is a shame as some of the footage would have been great to watch.

We got an OK start but Nick Clare and Adam Sheriff (both in the PreElectronic 600 class) separated us from race leader Andy Whale. Due to the different bikes having different strengths/weaknesses, it look us until the end of lap 3 to move into 2nd place on track - and 3.68 seconds back from Andy who was putting strong and consistent laps in. We dug in and managed to catch Andy and then spent a few laps figuring out how to make a pass. On lap 9 we made a successful move for the lead and then with the clear track ahead pushed as hard as we could to set a new Twins Personal Best lap time of 59.77! After a clean final lap we took the win and then stopped to wish Andy all the best as he heads off to the Manx Grand Prix later this week.

​With 42 (out of a possible 45) championship points captured this weekend, we have moved up to become championship leader in two classes and into 2nd place of the Formula 600 class:

Darley Cup Championship (Top 5)
1st: David Carson     45
2nd: Adam Green        35
3rd: Stephen England  24
4th: Matthew Rostron  20
5th: Nick Clare            15

700cc Twins Championship (Top 5)
1st: David Carson    45
2nd: Anthony Thane   37
3rd: Ben Wilkinson     34
4th: Andy Whale        24
5th: Matthew Birks     20

Formula 600 Championship (Top 5)
1st: Mark Goodings      31
2nd: David Carson    27
3rd: Matthew Rostron  24
4th: Adam Green         22
5th: Jack Worth           21

With a great weekend behind us, there isn't long to wait until our next racing action - as we will be heading to the NG Anglesey meeting in just a few days. Due to calendar clashes, the NG Anglesey meeting will be the last NG meeting that we will attend this season.

Here are some photos from July's Castle Combe round of the 2023 NG Road Racing championships, taken by official photographer Colin Hill...

Round 5 of the NG Road Racing championships took us back to Castle Combe. It was a 3.5 hour drive to the circuit on the Thursday evening and when we arrived we discovered that someone had already parked in "our usual spot" - so we setup close-by on the grass. After getting setup we went for a walk (at around 10pm) but the paddock was very quiet so we retreated back to the caravan, only to have security knock on the door at 11.03pm to instruct us to switch off the generator.

Out into the Open 600 qualifying session, and lots of bikes on track meant that there was lots of traffic. We managed to put in a 1:16.7 on our third lap, then the red flag was shown and we were directed back to the paddock. We were 7th on the grid at that point. We decided that was good enough but they restarted the session for 3 minutes and in that time we dropped down to 11th position on the grid.

In the Supertwins qualifying session we managed to get some clear track and put in a 1:16.8 which put us on the front row of the grid in 3rd place.

With a big gap until the races began, we had a bite to eat and watched some WorldSBK racing on the laptop  :-)

Being a special weekend for NG Road Racing - with the weekend featuring bike parades as well as the "King of Combe" races - there were numerous special guests from the British Superbikes paddock, including Tommy Bridewell (featured doing some commentary below) and Charlie Nesbitt who took ~1.5 seconds off the circuit lap record during the weekend on his BSB Honda machine. Truly impressive!

Our first race was Open ​600 Race 1. A great start from our 11th place grid spot moved us into 6th position by the time we entered Quarry corner. During the race we managed to pass Bevan Plumley to take 5th place and then chased down Michael Rees. We gained a bit, then lost a bit, but eventually crossed the line in 5th position, just ahead of a chasing Jed Bird.

After a short break, we were out again into Supertwins Race 1. We got a decent start on the Aprilia for once and on the entrance to Quarry corner we were third on track, with the leaders right in front of us. We kept on their heels for a couple of laps before they slowly disappeared. We did a series of laps in the 1:16s and brought home a solid 3rd place finish - with our fastest lap just 0.2 of a second away from our PB lap.

With the bikes prepped for the Sunday races, we took a much-needed shower and then the girls took to the track themselves to do some roller skating.

Sunday Race Day
An early start saw official club photographer Colin Hill collect a bag of broken Kawasaki ZX6R parts from us - they will hopefully become part of one of his legendary handmade trophies. The overnight rain had cleared, but the weather forecast showed that further rain was due to appear - the only question was: When?

When we ventured out for Open 600 Race 2, there was rain drizzle falling. The drizzle was not enough to wet the track surface properly, but was enough to be constantly streaming across the helmet visor. We went as quick as we felt comfortable to, but for others it made no difference. At the chequered flag we finished in 7th place.

After a short 15-minute break it was time to head out again for Supertwin Race 2. By the time the race started the rain had got heavier and then on lap 2 the race was red flagged. After switching to wet tyres, the race was restarted. There was a lot of standing water but plenty of grip available around the circuit with the exception of one section of track (from Old Paddock to Tower). We were in 3rd place for almost the entirety of the race, but caught up to 2nd-placed Edward Giles halfway through the race. We thought about making a pass but had too many moments (which included some aquaplaning!) and decided to bring the bike home to the finish, crossing the line in 3rd place.

But with a few more championship points gained this weekend, the tables have changed once again. We have moved up to 2nd position in the Supertwins championship and moved down to 5th in the Open 600 championship.

Open 600 Championship Standings (Top 10)
George Edwards  306
Ricky Elder          294
Michael Rees       168
Jed Bird              134
David Carson    122
Lewis Jones           75
Brandon Brinded    53
Aaron Matthews     53
Paul Messenger     50
Lucca Allen           46

Supertwins Championship Standings (Top 10)
Brody Crockford   243
David Carson    175
Steve Moody       166
Edward Giles       145
William Holland   124
Alex Sinclair         95
Jamie Ingham      87
Jamie Coward      75
Tony Parker         75
Luis Calado          54

In less than two weeks we will be back on track for Darley Moor Round 4 on Sunday 13th August, immediately followed by (our final NG race meeting of the season) NG Anglesey on Friday-Sunday 18th-20th August.
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Here are some photos from the Pembrey round of the 2023 NG Road Racing championships, taken by official photographer Colin Hill...

After a leisurely 5 hour drive, we arrived at Pembrey for Round 4 of the NG Road Racing championships. Due to the short gap between Darley Moor Round 3 last weekend and this meeting, we decided to skip the Friday test day and used the day to travel instead.

With both bikes fully repaired and prepared (and our trusty yellow van working again!), once we had unpacked we popped to scrutineering and then did a track walk with Darley-regular Daniel Nurrish.

The weather was forecast to be dry all weekend - so we put the bikes on paddock stands (and on unplugged tyre warmers) and headed for a peaceful night's sleep - on what would end up being an eventful weekend!

Saturday Race Day
We were hopeful that the unexpected overnight rain had disappeared by the time we awoke, but it wasn't to be! So we swapped the wheels for wet tyres and headed out into practice on the Kawasaki ZX6R and then the Aprilia RS660. These sessions gave us the chance to reacquaint ourselves with the circuit, which was getting drier by the minute...

Into the Supertwins qualifying session and we had chosen to go with wet tyres. A dry line had started to appear and after a few laps the wet tyres were starting to overheat so we pulled in - we qualified 6th in class (10th on the combined grid). Next up was the Open 600 qualifying session. Knowing what we knew, we had changed back to dry tyres - but in the assembly area the rain started to fall again! We went as quickly as we dared but were only able to qualify in 15th position on the grid.

​By the time Supertwins Race 1 began the track was fully dry (and no further rain appeared all weekend). Despite our optimism at Darley Moor for improving our race starts, a poor race start demoted us to 13th on track after the first corner. We then spent the remainder of the race attempting to regain positions, putting in decent laps any time we came across clear track. At the end of the race we finished 4th in class (5th on track) and were only 0.03 of a second away from the winner's pace - which was both disappointing and optimistic at the same time!

We then headed out for Open 600 Race 1. A good initial start was thwarted when we were too cautious into the first corner and we lost a bunch of places. Once again we found ourselves just trying to lap as quick as we could and trying to pass anyone that appeared in front of us. A little dejected, we returned to the paddock only to be informed that we had finished 3rd place in the Open 600 race!

Sunday Race Day
We used the Sunday warm-up session to scrub in the new front tyre on the Aprilia RS660 and to get ourselves up to speed for the day.

Our first race was Supertwins Race 2, from our improved grid position on the second row. Our race start was appalling and the first corner was messy. Once again (there seems to be a theme occurring here...) we set about lapping as quick as we could in order to pass as many people as we could - and this time we managed to finish in 3rd position, once again being the second-quickest person on track! It appeared that we have the speed, but are struggling to put all the pieces together in order to capitalise on our strength.

​We started Open 600 Race 2 from the second row and got a good start. Throughout the race we lost a few places and made a few places, but put in the best lap time of our weekend (a 1'02.600) and finished in a respectable 5th position.

​For Supertwins Race 3 we got to start from the front row of the grid. Yet another poor start meant that we were demoted several places on the start, but we managed to recover a few positions following some chaos at turn 1 - coming out in 5th position (4th in class). This time we could actually see our competitors on the opening lap - we just needed to catch them... Unfortunately at the start of lap 3 we were pushed wide at turn 1 from a late move by a PreInjection 600 rider and then we spent the rest of the race involved with them, eventually crossing the line 7th on track (5th in class).

After partially-packing up whilst waiting around for our last race of the weekend (in anticipation of the long drive home), we eventually started Open 600 Race 3. We got a good start and made a clean entry into turn 1, when a rider behind knocked us to the ground...  :-(

Our leg trapped underneath the bike, we were initially unable to move until a marshal lifted the bike - but fortunately all of our fellow competitors managed to avoid us. Sat on the side of the track after having a bang to the head, we assessed the damage. Our bike was not too bad but our shoulder was aching. We were taken to the medical centre (but can't actually remember how) and assessed with a mild concussion and presumed shoulder muscle damage. The rider was advised that he would not be driving home today!

With some more solid points gained, we have started moving further up the championship tables. Unfortunately, due to missing both the opening and closing rounds of the NG championship season we are not able to put in a proper championship challenge this year - but after this weekend we have moved into 4th in the Open 600 championship and remain 3rd in the Supertwin championship.

Open 600 Championship Standings (Top 5)
Ricky Elder           238
George Edwards   231
Michael Rees        128
David Carson     102
Jed Bird               101

Supertwins Championship Standings (Top 5)
Brody Crockford    223
Steve Moody        166
David Carson     143
Alex Sinclair           95
Edward Giles          94

There is now a 4-week gap until our next race meeting, when we will be returning to Castle Combe for Round 5 of the NG championships on 28th-30th July.
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Here are some photos from Round 3 of the Darley Moor championships, taken by official Darley photographer Tony Else...