This weekend marked the final time during the 2024 season that we would compete at two different circuits on two consecutive days. We had the Wirral 100 meeting at Oulton Park on the Saturday followed by Darley Moor Round 3 on the Sunday.
We left Two Daves Racing HQ straight after work on Friday evening and arrived at Oulton Park slightly earlier than the quoted arrival time, which meant that we were asked to queue with the other early arrivals on the internal rally course. As we had time to kill we decided to take the van and caravan for a lap around the tarmac section - no lap records (or plates/mugs/etc) were harmed during our first run around the section! :-)
We left Two Daves Racing HQ straight after work on Friday evening and arrived at Oulton Park slightly earlier than the quoted arrival time, which meant that we were asked to queue with the other early arrivals on the internal rally course. As we had time to kill we decided to take the van and caravan for a lap around the tarmac section - no lap records (or plates/mugs/etc) were harmed during our first run around the section! :-)
Photo by Malc Brunt
We setup in "our usual spot" before doing scrutineering and sign-on and then had a relaxed evening prior to our early start on Saturday.
Noise testing began at 7.45am and bikes were on track for 8.45am. We had a warm-up session on each bike prior to the qualifying session. Some light rain drizzle made things interesting but it quickly dried up. We used the warm-up sessions to bed in tyres/pads and to refresh our memory of this wonderful circuit layout. Unfortunately - just like the Oulton meeting earlier this season - the final instructions forbid cameras being carried so we don't have any video coverage from this event...
Our first qualifying session was for the Supersport 600 class. During the session some light (mental) rain made an appearance, but our lap time of 1:51.695 put us 2nd in the Pre-2011 class and 13th on the overall grid.
In the 820cc Twins qualifying session our 1:51.873 lap time put us 6th in class (10th on the combined grid). We were circulating nicely in this session until we almost crashed at Hislops Chicane on our final lap - when we ran over some spilled fluids and subsequently lost the rear end! After being ejected from the seat we fortunately landed back on the seat, so merrily made our way to the chequered flag...
Noise testing began at 7.45am and bikes were on track for 8.45am. We had a warm-up session on each bike prior to the qualifying session. Some light rain drizzle made things interesting but it quickly dried up. We used the warm-up sessions to bed in tyres/pads and to refresh our memory of this wonderful circuit layout. Unfortunately - just like the Oulton meeting earlier this season - the final instructions forbid cameras being carried so we don't have any video coverage from this event...
Our first qualifying session was for the Supersport 600 class. During the session some light (mental) rain made an appearance, but our lap time of 1:51.695 put us 2nd in the Pre-2011 class and 13th on the overall grid.
In the 820cc Twins qualifying session our 1:51.873 lap time put us 6th in class (10th on the combined grid). We were circulating nicely in this session until we almost crashed at Hislops Chicane on our final lap - when we ran over some spilled fluids and subsequently lost the rear end! After being ejected from the seat we fortunately landed back on the seat, so merrily made our way to the chequered flag...
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Onto the races and our first race was Supersport 600 Race 1. The race started as dry but there was light rain during race. We ended up chasing Tom Harrison for the Pre-2011 class lead, eventually finishing 2nd in class (8th overall) with a fastest lap of 1:49.660. When the rain fell we were actually the quickest on track, with the overall race leaders in the 1'58s whilst we were in the 1'54s - so we got a special mention on the commentary!
Ready for another start!
Out into 820cc Twins Race 1 and we set a new Personal Best lap time of 1:49.805 on our way to 7th in class (10th overall). During the race start we got boxed to the outside of the track and were at the back of a pack of twin-machines. Coming into Shell Oils hairpin we lost some time when a Kawasaki ER6 broke down in front of us and couldn't decide where to go. We tried to close the gap to the pack but kept making mistakes, which made the gap even bigger! When we finally stopped trying to push then we managed to put in our new PB lap.
Exiting Old Hall corner
After the lunch break we started Supersport 600 Race 2. The race assembly caught out some of the front-runners as the entire front row was absent from the start - they were late to the assembly area and had to start from the back of the grid, but they soon made their way back through the pack. As the race developed there was a big battle between 8th-14th places on track which we were a part of. We kept looking for ways to move through the pack but never made a pass. We put in a best lap of 1:49.773 and finished 14th overall, which was 3rd in the Pre-2011 class. Tom Harrison took the Pre-2011 class win to extend his championship lead.
Our final race, 820cc Twins Race 2, was the penultimate race of the day and started close to 6pm. As we moved onto the starting grid the engine management light lit up on the dash. Being an Aprilia we tried a key-off/key-on to reset the electronics but the light persisted. We set off on the warm-up lap and the bike was running fine so we decided to start the race. We got a great start and moved into 6th position overall (3rd in class) at the first corner. Then on the opening lap Mike Bampton's Calon Racing Aprilia suffered a catastrophic engine failure which elevated us to 2nd position in class. After a few laps some additional warning lights regarding the ABS/TC appeared on the dash. We tried our best to ignore them and managed to finish the race in 2nd place in class (5th overall) and set a best lap of 1:51.097 - which indicated to us that there wasn't much wrong mechanically with the bike.
Our final race, 820cc Twins Race 2, was the penultimate race of the day and started close to 6pm. As we moved onto the starting grid the engine management light lit up on the dash. Being an Aprilia we tried a key-off/key-on to reset the electronics but the light persisted. We set off on the warm-up lap and the bike was running fine so we decided to start the race. We got a great start and moved into 6th position overall (3rd in class) at the first corner. Then on the opening lap Mike Bampton's Calon Racing Aprilia suffered a catastrophic engine failure which elevated us to 2nd position in class. After a few laps some additional warning lights regarding the ABS/TC appeared on the dash. We tried our best to ignore them and managed to finish the race in 2nd place in class (5th overall) and set a best lap of 1:51.097 - which indicated to us that there wasn't much wrong mechanically with the bike.
Another three trophies for the collection!
At the end of a long and tiring day, the championship point standings now look as follows.
Pre-2011 Supersport 600 Championship Standings (Top 5)
Tom Harrison 116
David Carson 103
Caleb Williams 79
Matthew Perry 59
Rhys Forrest 42
820cc Twins Championship Standings (Top 5)
Louis Dawson 125
Scott McCrory 103
David Carson 83
Andy Herd 44
Robert Williams 43
There is one more weekend of racing (two race days) left in the Wirral 100 championship. The final round will take place in October at the Anglesey circuit.
But for now we had a more pressing matter to deal with - another race meeting to attend! So we packed up and headed straight to Darley Moor for Round 3 of their championships - you can read that race report here!
Pre-2011 Supersport 600 Championship Standings (Top 5)
Tom Harrison 116
David Carson 103
Caleb Williams 79
Matthew Perry 59
Rhys Forrest 42
820cc Twins Championship Standings (Top 5)
Louis Dawson 125
Scott McCrory 103
David Carson 83
Andy Herd 44
Robert Williams 43
There is one more weekend of racing (two race days) left in the Wirral 100 championship. The final round will take place in October at the Anglesey circuit.
But for now we had a more pressing matter to deal with - another race meeting to attend! So we packed up and headed straight to Darley Moor for Round 3 of their championships - you can read that race report here!
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