CRMC Darley Moor Race Report

[sidecar bloke]

DARLEY MOOR – MOGLI’S MAIDEN MARVEL

At last – they’re off – after the bitter disappointment of Brands Hatch which, a bit like premature whatsit, left everyone feeling a bit cheated and wanting a little bit more - sun, warmth, and a dry track, perfect for racing; add six sidecar races and we had near perfection!
The balls had been left to rest due to the six races so the stop watch was back in action to set the grid, which pleased Sean Reeves and Martin Pither who plainly prefer this method even though they have never had the joy of ball selection. The likes of Terry Foxon also get some degree of pleasure as he passes as many Period 3’s on the beautiful red plated 750 BMW as he can.
Half the sidecars were out in Practice 1 and the other half in Practice 2. We were out in the first and we thought things had gone quite well – we hadn’t been overtaken by anybody so were fairly confident. Then we watched the second practice and thought “crikey he’s going well” and “he’s not hanging around”. So when the dust settled Nick Houghton and Paul Thomas found themselves top of the pile, closely followed by Brian Gray and Vicky Cooke. Top 750 was Terry Foxon and Roy Cunningham followed by Steve and Byron Reilly.
Race 3 was our first race; a great start saw us leap from our second row start to third into the Chicane behind David Johnson and Des Kingsmill. At Park Nick and Paul came through; into The Esses it looked tight in front between David and Nick – nothing a bit of polish wouldn’t fix. A few laps later the No.66 machine of Kevin Hunt and Alan Cracknell squeezed past at Park. I should really change my line there on hindsight! We had passed and been re-passed on at least two occasions by the No.52 Woods³ Imp of David and Des; with one lap to go we were doing the chasing but I had a plan – sadly the plan required me to not make mistakes on the last lap and therein laid the flaw! The winner of Period 3 was Nick and Paul closely followed by Brian and Vicky – so closely that on the last corner Brian’s fairing wouldn’t be seen again all weekend. Kevin and Alan held on to a solid third, followed by David and Des – we followed David over the line – he would only have sulked if we’d beaten him!! Period 1 honours went to Terry and Roy with Steve and Byron second and in Period 2 Andy Rayner and Loraine Bown, with Yamaha power now, held off Reg and Kerry Charlesworth still using the BSA as their preferred power supply.
Race 10 saw the other half of the Period 3’s take to the grid. Eddy Wright and Keiran (Mogli) Clarke sat on pole – clearly Mogli’s first pole with this being his first race! 0.07seconds back sat Clint Faulkner and Ben Gray aboard their new chariot – so new it came in release agent black. First person to really catch your eye was Jason and Dan Reilly when their outfit caught alight – Jason valiantly fought to extinguish the flames by hand, desperate not to get the bike covered with extinguisher powder but in the end powder won the day. Clint and Ben obviously liked their new machine, taking it to it’s maiden victory ahead of Eddie and Mowgli and Colin Lewis and Ian Nickels. Mike Bellaby and Karl Underwood had to pull off on lap four with a lost gear linkage after some close racing. Terry and Roy were again taking Period 1 honours followed by Steve and Byron and Russell Bleach and Penny Daws. Reg and Kerry won Period 2 ahead of Chris Adams and Bruce Pope.
Race 20 should have been Saturday but it was carried over to Sunday morning. A degree of confusion was caused, probably by me stalling the Imp on the grid. In my defence the clutch failed to disengage the drive – so not really a clutch. On lap 3 Brian and Vicky pulled off with oiling issues; out also went Clint and Ben – another fire, this time contained in Clint’s clutch. The Woodsᶟ front runner was Mike and Karl showing the No.52 of David and Des the way home. So at the flag it was another win for Nick and Paul, Eddy and Mogli second, some 8 seconds back after slowing with engine issues, and Kevin and Alan another good third.
Race 24 – It’s all go at Darley Moor- by now the hectic programme was taking its toll on the outfits. Still going strong was Nick and Paul and in the 750 brigade Terry and Roy were giving several Period 3’s a run for their money. Out went the Hunt/Cracknell Imp with ignition problems; David and Des were holding a good second; however, Clive Stirrat and Andrew Johnson (David’s cousin) had found some pace over the winter and were on a charge. Behind Steve Reilly was Russell and Penny, Norton powered, who were entertaining the crowd at Paddock corner a bit like someone else we know on a big wheeler – great to watch!! Another win to Nick and Paul, David and Des second with Clive and Andrew third. Top Period 1 Terry and Roy followed by Steve and Byron; Russell and Penny first home in Period 2 with Reg and Kerry second.
Race 30 – Some six races later and the chairs were out again – this was the last race for the 750 outfits so the last chance for Terry and Roy to hassle some of the Period 3 boys and the last chance for Russell and Penny to entertain the crowd at Paddock with some sideways action. Clint and Ben were out on lap one; their pace so far would have made them favourites for this race but Jason and Dan Reilly on the No.58 BMW did their best to keep Eddy and Mogli honest, with the Kawasaki green of Sean and Martin’s 836cc Honda in a steady third place. Top 750 was indeed Terry and Roy, fourth on the road on their immaculate Simper BMW. Reg and Kerry were grass-tracking – Kerry was thinking her Dad had been in the sun too long, not his usual driving style – Reg on the other hand thought Kerry was already on the Stella – in reality both rear shocks had failed causing the erratic handling, although both other options had legs. At the flag the Period 3 winners were Eddy and Mogli with Jason and Dan second and Sean and Martin third. Period 1 winners Terry and Roy with Steve and Byron second and Jeff Smith and Evelyn Fox third. In Period 2 the sideways action of Russell and Penny was ahead of the wobbly action of Reg and Kerry with Chris Adams and Bruce Pope third.
Race 34 – Just the four race gap this time and all Period 3’s. Out front was Nick and Paul with Brian and Vicky in hot pursuit, then after a small gap came – well, everybody else, David and Des, Clint and Ben, Clive and Andrew – who were going some 5 seconds a lap quicker now than their practice time – and Jason and Dan. As the lead pair came into Paddock to conclude lap 4 the pair were side by side, the inevitable touch sent Nick and Paul who were on the outside violently left straight into the gravel and out of the race – a great shame. However, behind crews were using back-markers to gain an edge or at least hold an edge; Brian and Vicky took a comfortable win over David and Des with Clint and Ben third.
A great weekend packed with sidecar racing action on every lap. To the newcomers, a huge welcome; Jeff Smith and Evelyn Fox and Ron Blakely and Belinda Colston both in Period 1. In Period 3 Ian Ashley had dipped his toe back into the sidecar world with Alan Bedford in the chair; Ginny Bourne had paired up with Tony Sawyer after Carol’s retirement due to injury, and of course the boy now turned man Mogli gone from polishing and pushing to passengering.
I tell you, that was so much fun, let’s do it all again at Anglesey 18-19 May.
Ian Johnson

[Eddy Wright]

Good report Mogli will love it !

[Kieran Clarke]

Excellent! Cant wait for Anglesey

[666]

Ian , Thank you for a great report.

[Ginny Pigg]

Excellent report Darley was my first time racing. Qualifying was my first time on a classic sidecar. It was a rather steep learning curve for me and the scariest fun I have had in years. We trashed the gearbox in our third race so that was the end of our weekend. However we are building a new engine over at Tony's and carrying out some other modifications to the handling that should help us improve our performance at Anglesey. Really looking forward to our next time out in the meantime I am off to Pembrey this weekend to support a friend passengering in her third meeting on F1s and going out on one in Friday's practice sessions - gulp.

[den etheridge]

Good report Sidecar Bloke. Well done MOGLI guess you must have had a Haircut to get a Crash Helmet On.

[Eddy Wright]

Thought you might have come to Darley Den. Have you got the outfit ready ?

[den etheridge]

Eddy, Bike ready, We have entered the next meetings.