Darley Moor Monday 4th May 2015

The Spectator's latest meeting was a last minute decision to go to Darley Moor. Located just South of Ashbourne in Derbyshire, the 1.5 mile circuit caters only for motorcycle racing. Although Darley is but 20 miles away from where I live, this was only my 7th ever visit. My first love will always be car racing but desperate to get trackside again for the first time in 3 weeks I ventured to the edge of the Peak District on May Day.
Darley is a fearsomely fast place, not for the feint hearted, and that's just spectating! The ex-airfield triangular layout means that it's essentially straight-corner-straight-corner-straight-corner. From the startline there is a fast chicane that leads to Park, a basic 90 degree right-hander. Then a flat out blast to another quick chicane before the circuit's most infamous corner-Townleys. This quick left hander has zero run-off and on my first visit to Darley in 2001 I witnessed a fatal crash there.A very tight right-handed hairpin follows Townleys then it's the long Pope Straight back towards Paddock..another 90 degree right.
I don't usually like watching on straights but standing on the grass bank halfway down Pope Straight gives you an impression of how phenomenally fast modern racebikes are.....
The majority of the circuit's meetings are run by their own club and 23 races on the day catered for all types of 2 wheeled machinery. There were also 2 races for Gearbox Karts aswell and if bikers are mad to race here then karters are really mad! The day didn't start well though as there were 4 red flags in the morning's 6
practice sessions, a combination of crashes and oil down. It was with some relief though that racing was relatively trouble free and the days activities finished at 5.20pm.
Standout performance were the 4 race wins for Lee Johnston, preparing for the North West 200 on his 1000cc BMW. His sideways entry to Park corner lap after lap was a joy to see. World-class Sidecar racing brothers, Ben & Tom Birchall won both races in a completely white/unsponsored outfit. Having recently withdrawn from the World Championship in acrimonious circumstances it's good to see them race at a Club meeting.
Overall I enjoyed my visit to Darley. Will I be going again this year?...probably not though. Basic in terms of spectator facilities, it does however tend to get large crowds. A combination of Peak District holiday makers and bike riders on a day out seem to swell the spectator banks. A lick of paint wouldn't go amiss in certain areas and the toilets are old-school roofless affairs. This is part of the charm of the place though. Admission was £12 with programme £3


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