The Darley Moor Motor Cycle Road Race Club are readying themselves for a bumper weekend of racing this weekend, 18th – 19th June 2016 at the Darley Moor Motor Sports Centre, near Ashbourne DE6 2ET. With Round 3 of their Championship on Saturday 18th and Round 4 on Sunday 19th June there is a huge opportunity for competitors to take a big advantage over any rivals that may suffer machine problems, or possibly not able to partake in the event for whatever reason.
There are plenty of local riders already entered for the meeting and some having an excellent season to date, amongst those is a rider who must be one of the closest visitors to the circuit, Carl Morris. Morris has put himself at the head of both the Peak Cup and Open Solo Championships, with a 15 points advantage over another local rider, MJ Morgan in the Open Solo class and is 9 points ahead of Jim Hodson in the Peak Cup class.
Nick Gilman is currently 2nd in the Lightweight class and will be looking to close the gap the championship leader.
Graeme Wilson finds himself in 3rd place after the first two rounds of the GP125 Championship, just 6 points from the head of the table.
Anthony Porter and Dean Ephgrave are currently 1st and 2nd respectively in the Steel Framed 600 class, Porter already enjoying a 14 point advantage over Ephgrave who is just 4 points ahead of 3rd place.
Kev Bond is currently 3rd in the Mini Sound of Thunder Championship, just 4 points behind the 2nd place position.
Lloyd Shelley is in 2nd place, only 4 points adrift of the Sound of Thunder Championship lead.
Andrew Lowe is currently heading the Pre98’s (Up to 1300cc) class, having a 5 point advantage at the top of the table, whilst Mark Brailsford is 3rd, just 3 points behind that Runner-Up spot.
The Classic racing classes are looking exceptionally good for local riders; Brian Prescott already with a huge 24 point advantage over second place in the Classic 350 Championship and David Bradley with the same advantage in the Classic 1000 class. However, the Classic 500 series is a totally different story Gordon Thorpe with a very slim 3 point lead over 2nd place man Gary Widdowson.
Saturday’s meeting will also see the return of the popular Thunderfest event, open to any motorcycle, road or race, built before 1978, from 50cc through to 990cc and with almost 40 riders registered there will be huge selection of machines out on track bringing the sounds of the past back to life. After practice, the riders set their own target speed and attempt to lap the circuit for 20 minutes, as close to this time as possible, the rider nearest to their target wins. With the huge variety of machinery on track at the same time this requires a high degree of riding skill and concentration, in the past the winner has managed to lap within 0.05mph of his target! There will be several local riders taking part on their classic machines including –
John Tucker, 920cc Norton
Robert Head, 740cc BSA/Norton
George Whittaker, T500 Suzuki
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 is easy to make the weekend one to get away from the house. 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.
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/.
2016 Championship standings after Round 2 Peak Cup 1st Carl Morris, 33pts; 2nd Jim Hodson, 24pts; 3rd Steve Proctor, 13pts
Open Solo 1st Carl Morris, 33pts; 2nd, MJ Morgan, 16pts; 3rd, Jim Hodson, 15pts
Open Sidecars 1st Ray Thomas/Neil Aslaksen, 30pts; 2nd Rupert Archer/Steve Thomas, 18pts; 3rd Roy Tansley/Chris Judge, 17pts
Lightweight 1st Chris Moore, 27pts; 2nd Nick Gilman, 19pts; 3rd Wayne Martin, 18pts
GP125 1st Emma Franklin, 22pts; 2nd Gavin Mills, 18pts; 3rd Graeme Wilson, 16pts
Formula 600 1st Jamie Hodson, 33pts; 2nd Steve Proctor, 18pts; 3rd Brad Vicars, 13pts
Formula Darley 1st David Carson, 25pts; 2nd Jamie Hodson, 18pts; 3rd Stuart Hall, 15pts
Formula 125
1st James Hind, 30pts; 2nd Adam Warner, 20pts; 3rd Joey Thompson, 18pts;
Formula 600 Sidecars 1st Gary Knight/Dan Evanson, 24pts; 2nd Howard Baker/Mike Killingsworth, 16pts; 3rd John Lowther/Jake Lowther, 15pts
Steel Framed 600 1st Anthony Porter, 36pts; 2nd Dean Ephgrave, 22pts; 3rd Dave Marsden, 18pts
Pre Injection 600 1st Mark Pattinson, 17pts; 2nd A Leach, 16pts; 3rd Jon Skelson, 14pts
Mini Sound of Thunder 1st David Carson, 28pts; 2nd Adam Child, 18pts; 3rd Kevin Bond, 14pts
Sound of Thunder 1st Jamie Horner, 22pts; 2nd Lloyd Shelley, 18pts; 3rd Jay Bellars-Smith, 18pts
Pre 98’s Up to 500cc 1st Chris Moore, 27pts; 2nd David Smith, 6pts
Pre98’s up to 1300cc 1st Andrew Lowe, 22pts; 2nd A Leach, 17pts; 3rd Mark Brailsford, 14pts
Classic 250 1st Glenn Atkinson, 30pts; 2nd Andy Wilson, 20pts; 2nd Geoff Hadwin, 18pts
Classic 350 1st Brian Prescott, 33pts; 2nd Jim Barnett, 9pts
Classic 500 1st Gordon Thorpe, 27pts; 2nd Gary Widdowson, 24pts; 3rd Oliver Presswood, 9pts
Classic 1000 1st David Bradley, 36pts; 2nd Gary Porter, 12pts; 3rd Andrew Lee, 10pts