CHARLIE NESBITT THE RICHARDSON STAR OF DARLEY
What a way to finish the 60th season of racing off, a Stars at Darley to be remembered for some excellent racing, the weather providing challenges both ends of the spectrum to really define THE Star of Darley.
Who could have predicted the superb weather on Saturday 5th October, good enough to witness the fastest ever lap around the Darley Moor circuit, near Ashbourne, DE6 2ET (or What3words: bounty.behalf.charm), then a huge change for race day two on Sunday 6th October 2024, when the Darley Motor Cycle Road Race Club, Marshals and Officials tried to keep to the scheduled programme for the RICHARDSON Stars at Darley. Firstly, a big ‘Thank You’ to the Club’s volunteers for braving the conditions and doing their best to keep things running smoothly.
Secondly, a Thank You to West Midlands businessman, motor cycle road race fan, Martyn Richardson, for supporting this 49th Stars at Darley meeting.
The fastest qualifiers for this year’s Richardson Star of Darley were the top two from last year’s event Charlie Nesbitt (Swindon) almost 1.5sec faster than Ben Luxton (Bredbury).
Last year’s STAR proved that it was most definitely no fluke, or down to luck lifting the Trophy at his first attempt. As the flag dropped on Saturday’s race, he was quickest off the line, finishing the opening lap, almost a 1sec ahead of the nearest challenger, Rob Hodson (Wigan), who was also 1sec ahead of Luxton, with Barry Burrell (Kirkby Mallory) and John McGuinness (Lancaster) ahead of the first Club regular Mark Goodings (Doncaster), 6th. The top6 stayed in this order until Lap6 when Jake Hopper (Durham), on his first race aboard a 1000cc machine, passed Goodings for 6th place. These places may have remained unchanged throughout the remaining six laps, but it certainly did not stem any excitement. Hopper was impressive in his first race, lapping consistently in the 56’s throughout, but Lap11 saw an incredible achievement from the new master of Darley Moor, Nesbitt, shattering the outright Lap Record by 0.69sec and being the first rider to post a sub 52sec lap. Improving on Peter Hickman’s best, from 2015, 52.66sec, down to an incredible 51.97sec, an average speed of 103.91mph. Nesbitt’s victory margin was 11sec over Hodson, the only other rider posting a sub 54sec lap, with a best lap of 53.73, 1.8sec slower than Nesbitt!
Sunday’s Richardson Stars race was in different conditions following persistent rain throughout the day, reducing the race down to 8laps. Different conditions it may have been, but quickest out of the blocks was Nesbitt again, this time with a 2.4sec advantage over Luxton, after the opening lap! McGuinness, a further second behind, in 3rd, closely followed by Hodson, Grant Thomson (Port St Mary, Isle of Man) and Hopper. Other than Hopper passing Thomson on Lap3, then Hodson moving ahead of McGuinness on Lap4, the positions remained static, but this time the lap times were a little closer. The top 4 of Nesbitt, Luxton, Hodson and McGuinness all posting their fastest lap times at 60sec. Nesbitt’s winning margin this time was still 5sec. His impressive tally now showing 4 Stars races and 4 victories. The aggregate result showing Rob Hodson, 2nd, Ben Luxton, 3rd and McGuinness, 4th. The winner of the G & S Trophy, for best 600cc rider, was Jorel Boerboom, the Dutchman on his first ever visit to Darley Moor and the John Newbold Trophy, for highest placed Club rider, was Grant Thomson, with an Overall 7th.
Onto the Club Championships and the ‘small’ matter of thirteen Championships to be decided and the opening race of the weekend, the combined Wilson Trophy and Darley Cup race. A perfect start for both Championship leaders; firstly David Carson (Northwich), 26points ahead of his only championship rival, Nick Clare (Winsford) who failed to complete the opening lap whilst Carson was never headed and went on to take the overall victory, stretching a 26point advantage out to 41pts, with just 45pts left for the taking. Peter Fell (Burton on Trent) leading the Wilson Trophy class by just 2points from Matt Zschiesche (Stoke on Trent) and Jordan Poole (Stoke on Trent) a further 12points back. Not the ideal start to the race for Fell, who was 8th overall, after the opening lap, whilst Zscheische was 3rd, chasing eventual class winner Troy Jeffrey (Kelso), but Poole suffered the same fate as Nick Clare and failed to complete the opening lap! By Lap3, Fell was up to an Overall 3rd, almost 5sec behind Zschiesche, still in 3rd place. Lap4 saw Fell pass another rider to move up a place, but his biggest advantage came when Zschiesche failed to finish the lap, helping Fell up to 4th place Overall. Another lap and another place higher up for Fell, now 3rd overall, but 2nd in Class, behind Jeffrey, who was recording his first points of the season. The second race allowed Carson to be Champion before the flag had dropped with Clare unable to make the grid, not that it stopped Carson from recording another start-finish victory. For Fell, it was a better start, finishing the opening lap 4th overall, with Zschiesche just behind him, whilst Jeffrey was 2nd Overall and 1st Wilson Trophy machine, whilst Poole was another who failed to make the grid. By Lap3 Fell was up into 3rd Overall, chasing down Jeffrey, with Zschiesche, still 5th. After putting in his quickest and the fastest in Class, Fell found a way through on Jeffey on Lap5 and managed to stretch out a 1.5sec advantage over him at the flag, with Zschiesche, 3rd in class, almost 9sec behind the pair and giving Fell a 19pts advantage over him in the standings.
The combined Open Solo and Pre-Injection Open classes were next to the grid and with Matthew Bell (Sheffield) 12points behind Mark Goodings, in the Open Solos, he certainly showed his intentions, recording a start – finish victory in the opening race. Adam Walters (Derby), 3rd in Championship, finished the opening lap in 2nd place, with Goodings, 3rd. The next lap saw Goodings move in to 2nd, 2.5sec behind his championship challenger, with Walters dropping to 4th, behind Stephen Parsons (Carnforth) and there they remained for the duration of the 6lap race, Bell stretching his lead to 5sec over Goodings at the flag but reducing the gap at the top of the table to 7points. The Pre-Injection Open Solo Championship has Daniel Stubbs (Derby) leading Mark Brailsford (Chesterfield) by 20points. The opening lap saw Brailsford in 8th and Stubbs, 12th Overall, 2sec between them, 2nd and 3rd in class, with Jordan Giddings (Derby) recording his first points and leading the class, with an Overall 5th. Giddings was successful in hanging-on battling with the leading Open Solo machines, but Brailsford slid back a couple of places, just as Stubbs was getting the better of some battles with those around him and moving towards his Championship rival. At the Chequered flag it was Brailsford who had clung on to 2nd in the class, still with that 2sec advantage he enjoyed after the opening lap. With Bell not making the grid for the second race it was Walters who finished the opening lap at the head of the field with Goodings, 2nd and Giddings, 3rd, whilst Brailsford was 7th, with Stubbs down in 13th place. Goodings hit the front on Lap3 and within two laps had stretched out a lead of almost 3sec over Walters. However, hampered by backmarkers, by the end of the 8lap race Walters had reduced it significantly, down to less than a second at the flag. Pre-Injection leader Giddings held his 3rd place Overall until the penultimate lap when Alan Hughes’ (Rugeley) Open Solo machine passed him, dropping him to 4th overall. The Championship battle took on a similar pattern to the first encounter, although Brailsford just dropped one place Overall to finish 7th, but 2nd in class and again with Stubbs the next machine home, albeit 10sec back, with another 3rd place in the class. Championship advantage swaying towards Goodings after doubling the gap and Brailsford reducing the gap to the head of the Pre-Injection Solos Championship to 16points.
With the size of the Formula 600 Sidecar entries filling the grid on their own the Open Class outfits had the track to themselves for this weekend, whilst Alan Molyneux/Rob Coppock (Ormskirk/Runcorn) only needed to register a handful of points over the weekend to claim the Championship. Not wishing to take any chances the pair recorded two start – finish victories for maximum points and another Championship decided early in the weekend.
Back to solo machines with the two classes for Twin Cylinder machines, whilst David Carson had already secured the Championship for 655 – 700cc machines it wasn’t going to stop a battle towards the front of the field to keep the spectators entertained. Whilst the fast-starting Andy Whale (Birmingham) managed a start – finish victory in the first race, enjoying a 3sec lead after just two laps, whilst Dave Glossop (Wilmslow) and Carson were involved in a battle throughout the six laps, along with Anthony Thane (Stoke on Trent), 2nd place in the ‘Up to 650cc’ class. With needing to close a 9point gap to Championship leader, Daniel Pearson (Brough). The opening lap saw Thane, 2nd, Carson 3rd, Glossop, 4th, with Pearson 5th. Lap2 and Carson drops Thane to 3rd, with Glossop coming through on Lap3, then helped by the Fastest Lap of the race, Glossop drops Carson to 3rd place and held the advantage to the flag. Behind them the battle for the smaller class was as frantic, although despite Pearson recording the fastest lap for the class, he could only reduce the gap between him and Thane from 1.3sec on Lap3, down to 0.3sec at the chequered flag. Race 2 saw the trio of 655 -700cc competitors battle it out at the front once more, Glossop leading across the line on each lap, with Carson split by no more than 0.2sec from Lap2 until the final lap when he hit the front and opened out a lead of 0.4sec at the chequered flag. The battle for the smaller class honours continued between Pearson and Thane from the opening lap, 5th and 6th initially, then 4th and 5th from Lap2 onwards, but by Lap3 Thane held a small advantage, until they crossed the line, with identical times, on Lap6, Thane finally taking the class victory by just 0.06sec, reducing the gap in the table to just 3points.
Adam Sheriff (Barnsley) had already secured the Forgotten Era & Classic Up To 1300cc class and continued his dominance with a start – finish victory ahead of the championship battle for the Up To 500cc machines between Steve Price (Stockport) and Iain Davis (Ashbourne), 2nd and 3rd, Price with a 30point lead coming into the Round. Davis trailed Price by 1.4sec after the opening lap, then passed his rival on the 2nd lap and held the advantage until the penultimate lap, when Price resumed Overall 2nd spot and the class victory by over 4sec. The second race provided a battle between the two Championship leaders, Sheriff and Price, the pair never separated by more than 0.5sec throughout the race, until Price, after leading across the line for all bar Lap3, managed to stretch out a 0.6sec advantage on the final lap, securing the Class Championship, with a 36pt margin over Davis.
Along with Joe Holdsworth (Huddersfield) Mark Goodings and David Carson were out to settle the Open 600 class honours. Goodings having a 21point advantage over Holdsworth with Carson just a further 4points back. However, it was Grant Thompson who was to secure two start – finish victories, having extra races alongside his Stars at Darely entry. Of the championship challengers it was Holdsworth who put the pressure on Goodings, finishing the opening lap 3rd, with Goodings 4th. Then on Lap2 Holdsworth moved into 2nd and despite recording the fastest lap of the race could only reduce the gap to leader, Thompson, down to 2.3sec at the flag, with Goodings maintaining his 4th place throughout. Their second race kept the spectators entertained, Goodings,5th and Holdsworth, 8th after the opening lap, 2.2sec separating the pair. By the end of Lap2 Holdsworth was chasing Goodings down, split by just 0.6sec, now 4th and 5th, Lap3 saw Holdsworth take Goodings, then move into 3rd place on Lap4, with Goodings moving up to 4th on Lap5, the pair remaining in these positions until the flag, but Goodings was unable to stay with Holdsworth, finishing almost 5sec behind. Championship advantage for Goodings down to 15points.
Unlike the Open Class Sidecars, the Formula 600 Championship was still to be decided, but with a full grid of machines it was going to be difficult for the regular Championship contenders, however with the absence of Championship leaders Dan Knight/Ben Hughes it was an ideal opportunity for reigning Champions Howard Baker/Mike Killingsworth (Sutton Coldfield/Lincoln) to close the 13point gap to the leaders. Although, with Richard Butler/Josh Saunders (Leicester/Mansfield) just a further 6points behind there was to be no easy day. As the flag dropped in the first race the Baker/Killingsworth outfit was one of three that were able to make a break away from the rest of the pack. Finishing the opening lap in 2nd place behind David Schofield/Josh Smith (both Rossendale), with Maria Costello MBE/Alice Smith (Northampton/Chipping Campden), 3rd whilst Butler/Saunders were down in 6th. Schofield/Smith were first across the line after each lap and the top three always split by less than 2sec, with Baker/Killingsworth holding 2nd throughout reducing the absentees’ advantage to just 1point. For Butler/Saunders ‘disaster’ struck on Lap4 when they dropped down to 9th place and only reclaiming one place by the time of the chequered flag. The second race saw the same result for the podium places although the Costello/Smith partnership had to work much harder after finishing the opening lap 7th and not into 3rd spot until the 8th and final lap. Another 2nd for Baker/Killingsworth put them into the Championship lead, with a 11point lead over Knight/Hughes, who were just 1point ahead of Butler/Saunders.
The first recipient of the Ben Godfrey Trophy, Matthew Bell came into the meeting with a 24point advantage over last year’s Runner-Up, Mark Goodings, with Adam Walters 3rd, a further 17points behind and the three have been having some fantastic battles throughout the season. The opening lap saw Bell out of the blocks quickest and proving he wasn’t going to hand the Trophy over easily, he was lapping almost 1sec quicker than Walters, in 2nd place. Goodings was a little slower out of the gate, finishing the first lap 4th, but up to 3rd by Lap2 and there the Top3 remained, despite Goodings recording the Fastest Lap in the 5th circulation, he could only get to within 0.2sec of Walters, 5sec behind Bell. With Goodings a little quicker off the line in the second race, the Championship top two battled it out at the head of the field for the eight laps, with Bell just having the advantage at the front, but finishing just 1.1sec ahead of Goodings at the flag. Walters was ahead of Goodings for the opening lap but was then left to defend his 3rd place from Grant Thomson, scoring his first points of the year. Other than Lap7 this pair were never separated by any more than 0.5sec throughout the race, then with 0.8sec splitting them on the penultimate lap, it seemed over, but with the help of backmarkers, Thomson found the quicker route through and finished 1.3sec ahead of Walters.
Adam Sheriff had a 12point advantage at the top of the Pre-Injection 600 Championship, over Nick Clare, but after his demise in the opening race of the day and unable to fix the machine in time, it made Sheriff’s job a lot easier. Brandon Russell (Fife), recording his first points of the year, two start – finish victories, followed home by Stuart Bradbury (Belper) on both occasions, with Sheriff finishing 3rd each time, enough to take his points tally beyond Clare’s reach.
The final race of the day, the combined Lightweight and Honda CB500/Suzuki Bandit just required both Championship leaders to maintain their 100% records of victory at each Round to secure their respective titles, Peter Fell was the one who succeeded, taking an Overall victory in the opening race and a class victory, 3rd Overall in the second. Unfortunately for Matt Zschiesche several Stars at Darley entrants had brought extra machines to the meeting and were battling it out at head of the field, but despite this, two 5th places, in class, 7th Overall, were enough to retain the title this year.
Sunday, the final race day of the season and still with seven championships to be decided, the closest with just 3points separating Championship leader from the Runner-Up spot, whilst another has 24points splitting the two positions.
Opening the race action again was the combined Wilson Trophy/Darley Cup race and the 2023 Champion, Peter Fell requiring a small handful of points to prevent last year’s Runner-Up, Matt Zschiesche, from lifting the Wilson Trophy, again. David Carson, 2023 and 2024 Darley Cup Champion, secured a start – finish victory leaving Fell to battle it out with Troy Jeffrey (Kelso) for Wilson Trophy honours, with Zschiesche. The trio were together for the opening couple of laps until Zschiesche dropped down to 5th on Lap3, finally finishing 6th Overall, but importantly, 4th in the Wilson Trophy. Ahead of him Jeffrey and Fell battled throughout the race, Fell finally finishing 0.6sec behind in 3rd place Overall, but 2nd Wilson Trophy machine, 23points ahead of Zschiesche, to add the Wilson Trophy to his Lightweight success.
Another combined race, the Open and Pre-Injection Open classes, both with Champions to be decided. A 24point advantage for Mark Goodings over 2023 Open Champion, Matthew Bell and a 16point lead for Daniel Stubbs over Mark Brailsford in the Pre-Injection class. Bell did all he could by taking a start – finish victory, easing off towards the end to finish just 0.2sec ahead of Stephen Parsons, with Goodings 3rd, over 12sec back, but scoring enough points to secure the 2024 Open Solo title. The Pre-Injection class was won by Jordan Giddings (Derby), with Daniel Stubbs, 3rd (6th and 8th Overall, respectively) and more importantly ahead of nearest challenger Brailsford, enough to secure the Pre-Injection Solo Championship.
The Up To 650cc Twins class was going to need both races on Sunday to decide the Champion with 3points separating leader Daniel Pearson from Runner-Up Anthony Thane. Lap1 sees Pearson lead, with Thane just 0.5sec behind him, until the next lap when they cross the line, split by 0.8sec, but with Thane in front. Consistently lapping quicker throughout the race, Thane was able to pull a 12sec gap over his rival, in the tricky conditions. Championship standings, both riders on equal points!! Race 2 and Pearson takes the hole-shot, finishing Lap1 0.6sec ahead of Thane, but the fightback starts and Lap2 sees Thane lead across the line by just 0.06sec, stretched to 0.8sec on Lap3 and 1.1sec by Lap4. However, Pearson wasn’t giving up yet, recording the fastest lap of the race on the penultimate lap, the gap was reduced by a tiny margin on Lap5, still 1sec though, then Pearson’s final lap, was again quicker than Thane’s, but only enough to reduce the victory margin to 0.9sec, allowing Thane to snatch the title away from Pearson by just 3points at the final opportunity.
The Open 600 championship had a 15point gap between prospective Champion, Mark Goodings and 2nd placed, Joe Holdsworth, who needed to finish ahead of Goodings to keep his championship hopes alive. Exactly what he did in the opening race, lying 2nd after the opening lap and dropping to 3rd on Lap2, then maintaining his position throughout the six-lap race. Goodings however finished the opening lap in 4th and kept his position throughout the race, but by Lap2 was over 2.5sec behind his rival, eventually finishing 12sec behind, at the flag. Championship gap down to 13points, still possible, but a points finish from Goodings would be enough. This final time sees Holdsworth, 2nd on the opening lap and able to hold his position, but Goodings, although 6th after Lap1, also maintained his position, doing enough to take the title by 6points.
The Formula 600 Sidecar class had 11points splitting the top 2 teams, last year’s Champions, Howard Baker/Mike Killingsworth holding the advantage over the absent Dan Knight/Ben Hughes, with 3rd place Richard Butler/Josh Saunders in with a mathematical chance, 24points back from the leaders. The first lap saw Baker/Killingsworth in 2nd place, with Butler/Saunders in 6th place, but while the championship leaders held their position Butler/Saunders could only make-up one place, on Lap5 of 6, by then almost 14sec behind Baker/Killingsworth, who succeeded in holding onto the Championship.
The Ben Godfrey Trophy race, held back in the timetable due to being restarted on several occasions, the final race only having Adam Walters, from the top3, line up on the grid, but after finishing 4th he could only overhaul Mark Goodings’ Runner-up position, leaving Matthew Bell to retain the Trophy, with 21point advantage.
That brings the 60th season for the Darley Moor Motor Cycle Road Race Club to a close, work is already underway on organising next year’s Championship, but prior to this there will be the Annual Presentation of Trophies to be organised for all the 2024 Champions. Be sure to check the website, www.darleymoor.co.uk for details soon.
By Brian George Photography/PR
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