DARLEY MOOR MOTORCYCLE ROAD RACE CLUB
PRESS RELEASE
BELL AND RUSHBY STEAL THE SHOW AT DARLEY MOOR
4th August 2025
With three race meetings held by the Darley Moor Motor Cycle Club already this season, in excellent conditions, you would have thought the weather would continue to play ball on the first weekend of August, but no, Storm Floris blew in a mixed bag of conditions ensuring that any potential championship winner was going to be able to master the track at the Darley Moor Sports Centre, near Ashbourne, DE6 2ET (What3words: bounty.behalf.charm) in all conditions.
Helping ease the ‘testing’ conditions for both competitors and spectators alike were the excellent battles between Jordan Rushby (Hull) and Matt Bell (Sheffield) in the Open Solo and Ben Godfrey Trophy races. Their first encounter in the Open Solo race may not have given any inclination of the action in the following races with Matt Bell taking a relatively comfortable start-finish victory. Finishing the opening lap 3sec ahead of Mark Ball (Southampton), Adam Walters (Derby) a further 1sec back with Rushby another 0.5sec behind. Lap 2 saw Bell stretch his advantage to over 5sec, but with the trio in the same positions, split by just 0.4sec. Lap3, with 8.5sec now Bell’s advantage over Ball and Rushby, who crossed the line alongside each other, with Walters almost 1sec back. Lap4 saw Rushby gain the advantage over Ball, with Walters now 1sec back, whilst Bell held a 10sec lead over them. Lap5 saw Walters take 3rd place from Ball and the four then remained in those positions to the chequered flag, Bell enjoying a 12sec advantage over Rushby. This quartet returned to the grid for the first Ben Godfrey Trophy race and despite the lap chart showing a similar pattern to the first Open Solo race with Bell heading the field as they crossed the line each time it was certainly under different conditions. The first three laps saw Bell at the front, Walters 2nd, Rushby 3rd and Ball, a slightly distant 4th. Lap4 saw Rushby move ahead of Walters, but just over 2sec behind Bell, then Lap5 saw the gap halved, with Rushby recording the fastest lap of the race on Lap6 it was down again to 0.2sec. Bell then upped his own pace and was able to pip Rushby to the flag by just 0.12sec, with Walters and Ball, 3rd and 4th respectively. The second Open Solo race saw Walters take the hole shot from Bell, with Rushby, 3rd and Ball, 4th after the opening lap. Walters dropped to 3rd on Lap2, Bell resuming his spot at the head of the field, but Rushby had other ideas and took the lead on Lap4, 0.17sec ahead of Bell as they crossed the line. Lap5 saw Rushby’s lead stretch out to almost 1sec, but then Bell recorded the fastest lap of the race on Lap6 and reduced the gap back down to 0.2sec. Backmarkers played a part on the final lap with Bell losing almost 2sec to Rushby, crossing the line 2.1sec behind him at the flag. The final race of the day, the second Ben Godfrey Trophy race saw them line-up on the grid again and this time it was Bell who was quickest off the line, with Walters, 2nd, Rushby, 3rd Jordan Poole (Stoke on Trent) and Matt Zschiesche (Stoke on Trent) ahead of Ball this time. Lap 2 and 3 saw Rushby reduce the deficit to Bell until he managed to squeeze pass on Lap4, with the help of the Fastest Lap of the race, heading Bell across the line by just 0.28sec, but that was to be his biggest advantage for the next three laps, but Bell had one last push and was able to pass Rushby on the final lap and take the victory by the same winning margin as the first Trophy race, 0.12sec, with Walters 10sec back, in 3rd.
The second race of the day, Golden Supersport 600 had the crowd entertained with a four-way battle at the front, Benjamin Dale (Warrington) heading the field after the opening lap from Liam Ashton (Hyde) 2nd, Robin Newbold (Dronfield), 3rd and Jonathan Trezins (Wisbech), 4th. Lap2 saw Dale drop to 3rd, Newbold go from 3rd to 1st, whilst Ashton and Trezins in 2nd and 4th. Lap3 saw Ashton drop to 4th, whilst Dale climbed back to 2nd and Trezins up to 3rd and maintained station for Lap4. Trezins then dropped Dale down to 3rd on Lap5 and began to chase Newbold down, 1.6sec adrift as they crossed the line, but halving the advantage on the next lap, with Dale 2sec back from him. The penultimate lap saw Newbold stretch the advantage again to 1.2sec, but a fantastic effort from Trezins saw him pass Newbold on the final lap to win by just 0.2sec. The second race saw Dale lead the field throughout the 8lap race, having a 13sec advantage at the flag, but behind him Ashton and Trezins were having a good battle for 2nd place. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to last the race, Ashton leading Trezins until Lap5, but then failing to finish Lap6, leaving Trezins to take 2nd place.
The first combined Wilson Trophy and Darley Cup race gave Dale a start – finish victory, but with Josh Froggatt (Worksop) tailing him throughout, around 1sec separating the pair during the first half of the race, but Froggatt reducing it to just 0.5sec at the flag. Adrian O’Connor (Bristol) claimed the Wilson Trophy victory, finishing 9th Overall. The second race gave Dale another start-finish victory, unfortunately for Froggatt, who finished the opening lap in 2nd place, with Stephen Gorton (Leigh), 3rd, but Froggatt failed to finish Lap2, handing Gorton 2nd place in the Darley Cup. O’Connor was able to claim the Wilson Trophy honours again with a 10th Overall.
The combined SuperTwins and 250GP/Mini Twins races proved much more fruitful for Froggatt than the Wilson Trophy races, taking two start-finish victories on his SuperTwin machine, the first over Anthony Thane (Stoke on Trent), who took the 250GP/MiniTwin victory, the only rider to get within 18sec of Froggatt in the opening race. Race 2 saw him finish with a 12sec advantage over Gorton, on a similar machine. Whilst the 250GP/Mini Twins class victory went to Peter Fell (Burton on Trent), after finishing 4th Overall.
The opening combined Lightweight and Honda CB500/Suzuki 600 Bandit race saw Gorton and O’Connor battling it out at the head of the field, albeit in separate classes. The opening lap saw Richard Hughes (Wolverhampton) first across the line on his CB500, with Gorton, on a Lightweight machine, tucked in behind, with O’Connor and Zac Leigh (Middlewich) crossing the line alongside each other in 3rd place, on 600 Bandits. Lap2 saw Gorton hit the front with O’Connor in tow, dropping Hughes to 3rd spot, with Leigh staying 4th. By the end of the 8lap race Gorton had stretched out a 10sec lead, claiming the Lightweight victory, with O’Connor holding a similar advantage over Hughes for HondaCB500/Suzuki 600 Bandit honours. The second race saw Gorton claim a start – finish victory, this time ahead of Richard Hughes and despite O’Connor claiming the Fastest Lap in the CB500/Bandit class, he finished 5th Overall, 3rd spot in class. Gorton claimed two more victories in the Golden Formula 400 races, taking two start-finish wins, the first with a 9sec margin from his nearest challenger and doubling the advantage in the second race.
The first Open 600 race saw Stephen Parsons (Carnforth) lead the opening two laps until Jack Worth (Barnsley) found a way through on Lap3 and stretched out a lead of over 6sec at the flag. Parsons had the quicker start in Race2 and was able to secure a start – finish victory, but behind was close battle between Worth and Zschiesche. After Lap1 Worth held a 1sec advantage over Jordan Poole (Stoke on Trent) who was battling with Zschiesche until he claimed 3rd place on Lap4, then claimed 2nd spot from Worth on Lap6, but he wasn’t giving-up, battling for the spot until the flag, where he was just 0.07sec behind at the chequered flag.
Although there was a small entry for the Sidecar classes, due to a Revival event elsewhere it certainly didn’t stop Howard Baker/Mike Killingsworth (Sutton Coldfield/Lincoln) claiming two start-finish victories on their Formula 600 Sidecar outfit, whilst Anthony Eades/Ash Gibson (Hyde/Tameside) claimed the Open Class honours, only being headed by the Baker/Killingsworth outfit.
This meeting saw a Round of the ACU’s Ultra Lightweight Championship for machines based on production 125cc four-stroke machines or 85cc two-strokes. The opening race saw a battle between David McGlone (Hull) and Paul Livesey (Glossop) at the head of the field, Livesey leading after Lap1, only for McGlone to lead for Laps2,3 and 4. Livesey then reclaimed the lead for Laps 5, 6 and 7 only for McGlone to pass him on the final lap and take a second win. Behind this pair was a frantic four-way race-long battle finally finishing with Stephen Colville (Carmarthen), 3rd, Hayden West (Lincoln), 4th, Henry Greenway (Kinlet), 5th and Morgan Fulop (Bolton), 6th, but split by just 0.8sec. The second race saw Livesey make a slower start, 4th place after the opening lap and caught up in another four-way battle which prevented him getting on terms with McGlone, allowing him a start-finish victory, with Livesey getting clear of the battle for 3rd, finishing 8sec behind the winner. Behind these was another frantic battle between Colville, West and Fulop finishing in that order, but split by just 0.8sec again.
A difficult day for competitors and, of course, the marshals who sit through whatever our weather decides to throw at us, so a huge Thank You for this willing ‘army’ of volunteers, who without them there would be no racing.
The next motorcycle event will be the Classic Racing Motorcycle Club’s two-day meeting on 6th & 7th September followed by the headline event of the season’s racing calendar at the Darley Moor Sports Centre, The 2025 RICHARDSON Stars at Darley meeting, with the final four Championship Rounds on Saturday 11th October – Sunday 12th October 2025.
2025 Championship Standings (after Round 8)
Golden Formula 400
1st Stephen Gorton, 105pts; 2nd Steve Price, 70pts; 3rd Corey Brown, 48pts
Wilson Trophy
1st Stephen Gorton, 90pts; 2nd Mike White, 86points; Corey Brown, 60pts
Darley Cup
1st Benjamin Dale, 99pts; 2nd Josh Froggatt, 93pts; 3rd Jonathan Trezins & David Glossop 58pts
Ben Godfrey Trophy
1st Matthew Bell, 120pts; 2nd Adam Walters, 92pts; 3rd Mark Ball, 51pts
Open 600cc
1st Stephen Parsons, 97pts; 2nd Matt Zschiesche, 91pts; 3rd Jack Worth, 80pts
Golden Superbike
1st Mark Brailsford, 75pts; 2nd Emmett Burke, 48pts; 3rd Joshua Allen-Douce, 20pts
Open Solos
1st Matt Bell 114pts; 2nd Adam Walters, 81pts; 3rd Mark Ball, 62pts
Golden SuperSport 600
1st Ben Dale, 115pts; 2nd Liam Ashton, 78pts; 3rd Jonathan Trezins, 75pts
Mini Twins & GP250
1st Peter Fell, 105pts; 2nd Ben Wilkinson, 73pts; 3rd Mikey Taylor, 68pts
Super Twins
1st Josh Froggatt, 120pts; 2nd Stephen Taylor, 80pts; 3rd David Glossop, 62pts
Lightweight Class
1st Stephen Gorton, 114pts; 2nd Mike White, 54pts; 3rd Corey Brown, 40pts
Honda CB500 & Suzuki Bandits
1st Richard Hughes, 99pts; 2nd Zac Leigh, 95pts; 3rd Lyndon Williams, 58pts
Formula 600 Sidecars
1st Howard Baker/Mike Killingsworth, 112pts; 2nd Bill Roberts/Nick Roberts, 69pts; 3rd Richard Butler/Josh Saunders, 50pts
Open Sidecars to 1300cc
1st Alan Molyneux/Rob Coppock, 90pts; 2nd Anthony Eades/James Etchells, 86pts; 3rd Keith Waddington/Kyia Illman, 44pts
By Brian George Photography/PR
briangeorgepr@aol.co.uk
01926 423452/07841 571237
