STARS HEAD TO DARLEY FOR SEASON FINALE

Tuesday October 6, 2015 at 3:04pm

This forthcoming weekend, Saturday 10th – Sunday 11th October will see the 2015 Darley Moor Motorcycle Road Race Championship season come to a close, at the circuit near Wyaston, Ashbourne, Derbyshire (DE6 2ET).

As always the Club have invited a number of the Country’s top motorcycle road racers to battle it out with the Darley Moor regulars in the two 10 lap Stars at Darley races. On top of this there are still twelve champions to be crowned in the regular classes that see a huge twist compared to previous Rounds. Rather than the usual 6 and 8 lap races for each class there will be just one 15 lap race, but with double the normal points tally available at each round, giving the winner the opportunity of 36 points for the victory!

For the Stars at Darley races the Club have, so far, received entries from the following;

Daniel Cooper – Dan Cooper Racing

Richard Cooper – Buildbase BMW

Current Stars at Darley Champion Peter Hickman – RAF Reserves

Lee Jackson – Hawk Racing

Lee Johnson – East Coast Construction

Dan Kneen – Padgetts of Batley

Daley Mathison – Road Racing Ireland

Billy Mellor – Buildbase BMW

John McGuinness – Honda Racing Team

Michael Rutter – Honda Racing Team

Add in the Darley Moor regulars of Brendan Brown, Jim Hodson, Carl Morris, Anthony Redmond and you know it will be two excellent races.

In addition to the two ‘Stars’ races Brown will be in action, and hoping for a further three titles to be collected on the day. With just a handful of points between him, at the head of the Peak Cup and Open Solo tables, and Simon Bowyer, they are sure to be another two fiercely contested races. His GP125 Championship lead is larger, but there is still the opportunity to be overhauled if things do not go to plan.

Lloyd Shelley, Brad Vicars and Chris Moore are another three racers who could leave Darley Moor on Sunday evening as a multiple champions. Shelley currently heads the Sound of Thunder class with a slim 9 point advantage over Paul Gibbs and Gary Henriksen trailing by an extra 6 points, in third place. Shelley’s lead in the Formula 600 class is a much healthier 35 points, but machine failure, or a crash could hand the championship to Jamie Medhurst.

Brad Vicars is in a similar position to Shelley, holding a slim advantage of 11 points over David Carson in the Mini Sound of Thunder class, but with a 22 point lead over the same rider in the Formula Darley class.

2015 Lightweight Champion Chris Moore heads the Pre 98’s (up to 500cc) class by 27 points over Jamie O’Brien, just finishing ahead of his rival will be enough to secure this championship, or securing a further 9 points.

The Open Sidecar Championship is another with just a small advantage between those at the head of the table and second place, Anthony Eades/Nick Roberts having just a 7 point margin over Ray Thomas/Neil Aslaksen.

In the remaining three classes Anthony Porter holds a 15 point advantage over Dean Ephgrave in the Steel Framed 600 class, Howard Baker/Mike Killingsworth hold a 23 point lead over John Chandler/Karl Schofield in the Formula 600 Sidecars, whilst in the Pre98’s (up to1300cc) class Virgil Stevenson leads Richard Stubbs by 30 points.

The weekend will start off with a Test Day, for all riders on Saturday 10th October, kicking off at 10am until 6pm, with the Stars at Darley competitors scheduled to have an hour’s track time from 2.30pm. Adult admission to the Test Day is £6.00, Senior Citizens 65 and over £4.00.

On Sunday 11th October; Practice from 10am, with the first race scheduled for 12 noon. Adult admission price is £16.00 and Senior Citizens £10.00, Children under 16 years Free, programmes costing just £3 and Paddock Transfer is Free.

There is ample room for spectators to camp and caravan at Darley Moor over the race weekends. The cost is £5.00 per unit per night. Camping will normally be available from 4.00 pm on the Friday evening until 10.00 am on the day after the meeting or by special arrangement with the circuit management – Call 01335 343833.

Darley Moor is one of the few circuits in which dogs are welcome, provided they are kept on a lead at all times during race day and the owners act in a responsible manner.

Championship positions (after Round 7)

Peak Cup

1st Brendan Brown, 77pts; 2nd, Simon Bowyer 72pts; 3rd Carl Morris, 33pts

Open Solo

1st Brendan Brown, 84pts; 2nd, Simon Bowyer 69pts; 3rd, Carl Morris, 37pts

Open Sidecars

1st Anthony Eades/Nick Roberts 76pts; 2nd Ray Thomas/Neil Aslaksen, 69pts; 3rd Tony Thompson/Jack Jones, 37pts

Lightweight

1st Chris Moore 75pts; 2nd Darren Spruce, 33pts; 3rd Matty Whelan, 26pts

GP125

1st Brendan Brown, 82pts; 2nd Derek Clark, 54pts; 3rd Richard Mortimer, 46pts

Formula 600