MOORE RECORDS THE MOST AT DARLEY MOOR

Wednesday July 13, 2016 at 8:55pm

Round 5 of the Darley Moor Motor Cycle Road Race Club Championship was held on Sunday 10th July 2016 at the Darley Moor Motor Sports Centre, near Ashbourne (DE6 2ET) and despite the weather threatening to spoil the day early on the majority of races were run on a dry track with spectators enjoying the bulk of the day under warm sunny conditions.

With some races having several classes running it may not be obvious to many that the most successful rider of the day was Chris Moore (High Peak) who secured four race wins and four fastest laps. Moore’s first win came in the combined Formula Darley, GP125 and Lightweight race, taking his Lightweight machine to 2nd Overall behind David Carson (Northwich) on his larger Formula Darley machine. Moore and Carson each recorded an identical Fastest Lap for their respective classes. In their second ‘encounter’ Moore was able to turn the tables on Carson after shadowing him around on the first lap he made a pass on the second lap and was able to keep him at bay for the remainder of the race. On this occasion Moore’s fastest lap was over 0.6sec quicker than Carson’s. Within the same races there were two fantastic battles for the GP125 honours between Graeme

Wilson (Kidsgrove) and Emma Franklin (Peterborough). Wilson may have come out on top on both occasions but it was far from easy after having to make up for a slower start in the first race, passing Franklin on Lap 3 and managing to keep her at bay until the chequered flag, the pair finishing 3rd and 4th overall. The second race was a little easier for Wilson after making a much better start and Franklin trying to recover from a poor start. After being 5th Overall on the first lap, Wilson was able to squeeze into 4th with Franklin back in an Overall 7th place, but still Runner Up in the GP125 class.

Moore was also out in the Pre98’s races, which are split into two classes (Up to 1300cc) and (Up to 500cc), again Moore was using his much smaller machine to great effect taking the (Up to 500cc) class victory and fastest laps in both, whilst recording an Overall 5th and 6th place finish. Honours in the (Up to 1300cc) class were not so clear cut; Jamie Pearson (Derby) taking a ‘flag to flag’ victory in the first race, with Andrew Lowe (Stone) following in his wake throughout the 10 lap race. With Pearson not making it to the line for the second encounter Lowe may have been considered the favourite but, after his 3rd place in the opening race, Mark Brailsford (Chesterfield) had other ideas and was faster off the line than Lowe. By Lap 3 Lowe was on his tail and made the pass into the lead on Lap 4, but handing the lead back to Brailsford, and the victory, after failing to finish the fifth lap.

Prior to the opening Pre98’s race Pearson had already taken his Pre Injection machine to a start to finish victory in the combined Steel Framed 600/Pre Injection 600/Sound of Thunder race. Although up until the point of Lloyd Shelley’s (Burntwood) exit from the race, on his Sound of Thunder machine, it was never going to be a comfortable victory. After finishing the opening lap in 6th place, Shelley had made his way up to 3rd place by Lap 5, lapping slightly quicker than Pearson, but unfortunately he failed to finish the lap and handed the class victory to Jamie Horner (Newark) who was 2nd Overall. Antony Porter (Chesterfield) was shadowing Horner for the entire race on his Steel Framed 600 machine, just 0.3sec behind at the flag to for 3rd Overall, but top SF600. The second race saw Pearson fail to finish the opening lap and but that was certainly not the end of any chal-lenge for Shelley, who despite recording a start to finish victory came under severe pressure from Porter, with Andrew Lowe (Stone) taking his Pre Injection machine to 3rd place.

Whilst Moore may have quietly been the top performer on the day Steven Procter (Wakefield) very nearly equalled his record, but in full view of everybody after taking his 600cc machine to three victories, over Carl Morris’ (Etwall) 1000cc machine, in both Peak Cup races and the second Open Solo/Formula 600 race, his downfall being the first combined Open Solo/Formula 600 race in which he failed to finish Lap 3, while leading, although he did complete a full set of fastest laps. The Open Solo class was the class to give Carl Morris his taste of victory this time as despite recording Overall 2nd and 3rd in the Open Solo/F600 races, Shelley and

Proctor were registered in the Formula 600 class and these races were certainly the highlight for the spectators, the winning margin being 0.6sec in the first and just 0.35sec in the second encounter.

James Hind (Nettleton) was the star of the combined Classic/Formula 125 races after recording two overall Runner-Up places on his Formula 125 machine behind David Bradley’s (Matlock) Classic 1000 machine.

With a number of front runners suffering from a ‘dnf’ (did not finish) and dropping points to their rivals they will be eager to get back out on track and make amends, good job then that Round 6 is not too far away on Sunday 7th August 2016.

As always the on track action begins with Practice begins at 10am, whilst the first race is scheduled for 11.30 am. The cost of adult admission to Darley Moor for all meetings, except the end of season Stars at Darley meeting, is £12.00 per day, children under 16 are free, and Senior Citizens are £8.00. Parking and Paddock Transfer is free and a programme costs just £3.00. Adult admission to the Test Days is £6.00, Senior Citizens 65 and over £4.00.

For the Stars at Darley event on 9th October the adult admission price is £16.00 and Senior Citizens £10.00.

Advance Tickets at discount prices are also available on-line just visit the Darley Race Shop for full details - http://www.darleymoorstore.co.uk/.

With Darley Moor being 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, it can be another excuse to get away from the house and enjoy the summer. 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.

2016 Championship standings after Round 5

Peak Cup

1st Carl Morris, 73pts; 2nd Steve Proctor, 56pts; 3rd Jim Hodson, 24pts;

Open Solo

1st Carl Morris, 84pts; 2nd, Alan Hughes, 41pts; 3rd, MJ Morgan, 37pts

Open Sidecars

1st Ray Thomas/Neil Aslaksen, 57pts; 2nd Keith Waddington/Julia Hardisty, 31pts; 3rd Rupert Archer/Steve Thomas, 27pts

Lightweight

1st Neil Lloyd, 48pts; 2nd Chris Moore, 45pts; 3rd Tony Limer, 36pts

GP125

1st, Graeme Wilson 65pts; 2nd Emma Franklin, 43pts; 3rd, Gavin Mills, 42pts

Formula 600