Darley Moor Motor Cycle Road Racing Club
Press release
Firstly, the Club are grateful again for the help and co-operation from Martyn Richardson, West Midlands businessman, motor cycle road race fan, for supporting this 51st Stars at Darley, the 4th RICHARDSON Stars at Darley meeting.
Weather conditions on Saturday were very testing and resulted in several races being red flagged, including the RICHARDSON Stars at Darley race. Former Darley Moor Club regular Rob Hodson (Wigan) lead TT legend and six times Stars winner, John McGuinness MBE (Morecambe) across the line after the opening lap, with 0.5sec advantage. Behind these were Cameron Hall (Barnsley), TJ Toms (Bridgenorth), Jake Hopper (Durham), Richard Cooper (Papplewick) and Tom Fisher (Castle Donington), crossing the line in that order until the red flag was brought out following an incident at Park Corner. Unfortunately, by the time this was cleared and the track ready for racing again the rain had started, and the decision was made to abandon this race and reduce the Club Championship races to just 4laps, to fit all the remaining races in.
Sunday, the weather was back to what we have all been used to this year, sunshine, maybe not as hot, but it is October, dry and ideal racing conditions and the RICHARDSON Stars at Darley raced proved it. McGuinness was quickest off the line, closely followed by Hodson, with Joey Thompson (York), Hopper, Toms, Hall chasing. Highest placed club regular was Mark Goodings (Doncaster) in 9th. Lap2 saw Hodson, still on the tail of McGuinness, but the pair managing to stretch a 2sec gap between themselves and the next bunch, led by Thomson, 3rd, through to Hall, 6th, with Goodings now 8th. Lap3 and the gap between the leaders is just 0.1sec, but there is now a 3sec gap to Thomson etc. The enthralling two-way battle at the front and then a three-way battle for 3rd is keeping everybody on their feet, whilst Goodings also makes some progress, into 7th on Lap5. On Lap10 McGuinness and Hodson, still split by just 0.1sec come across a backmarker and Hodson makes his move to the front, crossing the line a full 1sec ahead, adding a further 1.5sec to his advantage after the full 12laps and winner of the RICHARDSON Stars at Darley Trophy. Behind the three-way between Thomson, Hopper and Toms are split by less than 1sec, with Hall a further 6sec back and Goodings another 7.5sec back, in 7th, but taking the John Newbold Trophy for Highest Placed Club Competitor.
In addition to the headline Richardson Stars at Darley races there was the matter of all but one championship to be decided and Saturday proved to be a very good day for some. The opening race of the weekend was the combined Super Twin and Mini Twin race and Anthony Thane (Stoke in Trent) was on the verge of sealing the Mini Twin title, but could only race on the one day, so needed to record enough points to put the title out of reach of nearest challenger, Liam Clements (Stafford). SuperTwin leader, David Carson (Northwich) had a little more work to do, with a much smaller points difference. Steve Gorton (Leigh) recorded a start-finish victory in the opening race, finishing over 20sec ahead of his nearest challenger, but behind him, Paul Evans (Awsworth), was increasing his championship hopes no end, currently 3rd in the standings, was the closest to Gorton throughout the race, coming 2nd overall, with Thane, 3rd overall and highest placed Mini Twin. Current Runner-up in the Super Twin class, Russell Dodds (Bedale) finished 4th Overall, 3rd placed Super Twin, following a battle with the Mini Twin of Edward Flower (Leicestershire) , who eventually finished overall 5th, but 2nd Mini Twin. With Thane’s closest Championship challenger, Liam Clements (Stafford), being the 5th placed Mini Twin, this was enough for Thane to secure the Championship, with three races remaining. Super Twin championship leader, David Carson could only finish 6th Overall, 3rd placed Super Twin. The second race saw the Super Twins dominate, as would normally be expected, with Gorton repeating his start – finish victory, but his time followed home by David Glossop (High Peak), with Aron Redmond(Ballaugh) 3rd, Richard Fogg (Bolton) 4th, Paul Evans (Awsworth) 5th and Carson 6th, once more. Thane was the first Mini Twin home in 7th, followed by Flower, with Clements down in 6th place.
The Ben Godfrey Trophy class saw Stephen Parsons (Carnforth) secure a start – finish victory, with Matt Bell (Sheffield) slotting into 2nd place from Lap2, finally 10sec back at the flag. Sean Crone (Isle of Man) 3rd, Ricky Tarren (Swadlincote) 4th and closest championship challenger, Mark Goodings (Doncaster), down in 5th place, which was enough for Bell to claim his fourth Ben Godfrey Trophy, the only other name on the silverware. The second race saw a frantic battle in the opening laps between Parsons, leading until Lap4, when Sam Johnson (Minskip) slipped through to lead for the final two laps and take the victory, closely shadowed by Tarren throughout the race.
The Open Solo class was another in which Goodings was the only person able to prevent Bell adding his name to another trophy. However, it was Parsons, once again, who took maximum points, with another start-finish victory, with Bell following throughout, finishing 5sec behind at the flag. Unfortunately, Goodings was in 9th after the opening lap and could only find his way through to 7th place at the flag, allowing Bell to claim the Open Solo Championship. The second race was not good for Goodings, who failed to complete the opening lap, or Parsons who failed to finish Lap2, when he was leading, handing the lead to Sam Johnson, who took the victory, 5sec ahead of Danny Lewis (Wirral), who had passed Joey Thompson at the flag, taking 2nd by 0.05sec.
Ricky Tarren only needed a small handful of points to lift the Open 600 Championship over Ben Dale (Warrington) and whilst he was not able to challenge Josh Bannister (Nuneaton), who was ineligible for Championship points, he was able to hold off a challenge from Sean Crone, who almost benefitted from the backmarkers on the final lap. Starting the lap separated by 0.5sec, the pair then crossed the line, split by just 0.15sec. Dale finishing the opening lap 8th, could only finish 6th and allowing Tarren, the title. Crone claimed a start-finish victory in the second race and Dale was able to turn the tables on Tarren, the pair finishing the opening 2nd and 4th respectively. Whilst Tarren was able to get into 3rd spot, on Lap2, Dale was able to lap quicker, stretching an advantage at the flag, of over 9sec.
The Honda CB500/Suzuki Bandit Championship was a little easier for Richard Hughes (Wolverhampton), with his closest challenger absent, securing the championship with a start – finish victory, just ahead of Shane Watson (Sutton in Ashfield), who had Jon-Lee Carter (Runcorn) closing him down, from being almost 4sec behind on Lap2, crossing the line, on Lap6, just 0.4sec. After failing to finish the second lap in the opening race James Tucker (Lichfield) made amends in the second, finishing the opening lap in 2nd, but 2sec back from Hughes. Lap2 saw the gap reduced by 0.6sec, then Lap3 Hughes’ advantage was just 0.3sec then Tucker hit the front on Lap4 and increased his lead to just under 1sec at the flag, with Watson in 3rd place, throughout, just a further 0.4sec back.
The Formula 600 Sidecars dominated Saturday’s races, taking the top five positions, with the ‘guest teams’ securing 1st and 3rd positions, Marty Ramsden/Ben Snell (Halifax/Crewe) taking a start – finish victory, ahead of brothers Thomas and Jamie Stringer (Huddersfield), 2nd and Bruce Moore/Josh Smith (Southam). With regards to the Championship, current Runners-Up, Richard Butler/Derek Taylor (Leicester/Eccles) were 3rd after the opening lap, whilst leaders the father and daughter pairing of Mark and Amelia Berry (Bolton) were 6th. With Butler/Taylor dropping just one position, on Lap3, the Berry’s’ were moved into 4th on Lap2 but could not reduce the gap to their championship rivals. The highest placed Open class sidecar was that of another guest team, Gerald Hall/Lindsey Richardson (Holywell/Hensall), who were 7th on the opening lap, moving up to 6th on Lap3 and keeping championship leaders, Alan Molyneux/Courtney Anderson (Rufford/Houghton le Spring), who had finished the opening lap 5th overall, but dropped a position on Laps 2 and 3, to finish 7th Overall, but collecting maximum points towards their championship, whilst challengers Keith Waddington/Kyia Illman (Barnsley/Crewe) finished 3rd in class, leaving the points difference to the championship leaders, too great to overcome with the number of races left. The second race saw the two-guest Formula 600 teams secure 1st and 2nd, leaving the three championship teams to battle throughout the race, the Stringers’ managing to stay ahead of the Berry’s’, who had passed their championship rivals on Lap2. The three machines finishing split by 2.5sec at the flag. The new Open Class Champions, Molyneux/Anderson secured the class victory with 6th Overall.
The first Darley Cup race had to be red flagged after just 3laps due to the weather conditions, the top three positions, being the only riders on the same lap, lapping everybody up to 4th place! 2026 Champion Jonathan Trezins (Wisbech) 1st, Aron Redmond, 2nd and Paul Evans, 3rd. The second race finished with the same top three, but with the weathers conditions staying consistent all riders were able to complete the four laps.
Unsurprisingly, with just 2pts separating Benjamin Dale and Jonathan Trezins at the head of the Golden Supersport 600 table, these races provided some of the closest finishes of the day. Dale had the advantage in the opening two laps, but then Trezins found a way through on Lap3 and managed to put a backmarker between himself and Dale, finishing with a 1.3sec advantage. Returning from yet another ‘retirement’ Chris Sammons (Chesterfield), put his vast knowledge of the circuit to good use and finishing 3rd. In addition to being a competitor, again, Sammons is one of the Club’s small army of willing volunteers who help maintain the circuit, he also shares his knowledge of the track, being one of the instructors at the Club’s Track Days. The second race played out in similar way with Dale quickest off the line, only to be passed by Trezins on Lap2 and stretching out a 3sec advantage at the flag, again with ‘Sammo’ circulating in 3rd place Lightweight Class
Disaster struck for the Lightweight Championship leader, Ant Porter (Chesterfield) in the opening race when he failed to finish Lap2 after being down in 9th, after the opening lap. Porter was a helped a little by Stephen Gorton taking the victory ahead of another Chesterfield competitor, Freddy Oakley and current Runner-Up, Steve Price finishing 5th, behind Ryan Whitehall (Ventnor), 3rd and Iain Davis (Ashbourne), 4th. Oakley secured a start -finish victory the second race, although he was battling throughout with Whitehall, who was given a 10sec jump start penalty, which dropped him to 3rd place, behind Gorton. A better result for Porter, coming from 7th on the opening lap, up to 4th place, but with Whitehall ineligible for points, securing 10pts for 3rd place, keeping him at the head of the table, but only by 5pts, ahead of Oakley.
Running alongside the Lightweight machines were the new Street Stock machines, aimed at bringing in younger racing talent, Ollie Pearson (Derby) finishing 9sec ahead of Tyler Hartley (Allerton Bywater) in the opening race, but separated by just 0.3sec in the second, with Hartley dropping his lap times by over 3seconds.
More disaster for Championship leader Porter in the first Wilson Trophy race, after circulating down in 12th place during the first three laps, he failed to finish Lap4. However, at the head of the field, as he has been in each race he has contested, Freddy Oakley, was 3rd after Lap1, 2nd after Lap2, then 1st on Lap3 after passing Ryan Whitehall. After finishing the opening lap in 8th place, David Glossop (High Peak) was able to move into 3rd place on the final lap, after a steady progression through the field. Race 2 saw Oakley and Whitehall battling at the head of the field, separated by 1.4sec at the flag, with Oakley taking another victory. Once again Glossop finished 3rd, after being in 6th place after the opening lap. Better news for Porter with a 4th place finish, but now 20pts behind Oakley in the Championship.
Sunday’s Club Championships still had five champions to be decided and thankfully the weather was better. Again, it was the Super Twins/MiniTwins class that got the racing underway and David Glossop was quickest off the line, leading Aron Redmond and Richard Fogg across the line after Lap1. Russell Dodds and Paul Evans, 2nd and 3rd in Championship, were 4th and 5th respectively, with the championship leader, David Carson, 7th. Lap3 saw the lead change, Redmond taking over, whilst Fogg dropped Glossop to 3rd, Dodds was still 4th, but Carson was now up to 5th and Evans down to 7th after Jamie Hanks-Elliott (Birmingham) found her way through. Although the racing at the head of the field was close, the top3 split by just 1sec at the flag, the only change from this order through to the flag was Carson moving into 4th, importantly ahead of his championship rivals and securing the Championship. Edward Flower was the highest placed Mini Twin, 8th Overall. The second race saw a race-long battle between Redmond and Glossop, with Redmond crossing the line first after each lap, other than Lap4, the pair split by just 0.14sec at the flag. Joey Thomson was highest placed Mini Twin, in 3rd, but ineligible for points, meaning Flower recorded another Mini Twin victory, 7th Overall.
Just 2pts separated the leaders of the Golden Supersport 600 class, Darley Cup Champion Jonathan Trezins having the advantage over Benjamin Dale. However, Dale was in no mood for any challenges from Trezins and was quickest off the line, on both occasions to record two start – finish victories, ahead of his nearest challenger Trezins. Taking the first by almost 8sec and the second, by over 6sec to claim the Golden Supersport 600 title, by just 2pts.
Saturday saw Freddy Oakley head the Lightweight points table for the first time, from Ant Porter, and the first race on Sunday, until it was stopped after Lap3, proved he was not intent on relinquishing the lead, crossing the line almost 8sec ahead of David Glossop, with Porter, a further 5sec back in 3rd. The second race was quite different with Glossop leading across the line after each lap, but with Oakley no further than 0.3sec behind him, throughout the 6laps. The pair finally crossing the line just 0.04sec apart, in 3rd place was Steve Price, improving on his first race, 5th, and replicating his championship position. Unfortunately, Ant Porter never made the grid, so Oakley’s 2nd place was enough to seal the Lightweight Championship.
Alongside the Lightweight machines, again, was the Street Stock class and after improving his times between the two races on Saturday, Tyler Hartley continued to improve, pipping Ollie Pearson to victory by just 0.5sec in the first race and 0.3sec in the second race. However, Pearson’s points earlier in the years were enough to add a new Pearson to the Darley silverware, Ollie, being the son of Jamie, a former Darley Moor Champion.
The Formula 600 Sidecar Championship is turning out to be a bit of a family affair with four pairs of relatives in the top five of the Championship! The guest team of Ramsden/Stell again claimed both of Sunday’s races, but the Stringer brothers finished 2nd each time, earning maximum championship points on the day, enough for 3rd in the Championship. However, the father and daughter pairing of Mark and Amelia Berry claimed 3rd in the first race, then followed it up with 4th place in the second race, enough to claim this year’s Formula 600 Sidecar Championship. Proving you do not have to be related Richard Butler/Derek Taylor, finished as Runners-Up after securing 4th and 5th places. Bill and Nick Roberts (Coventry) finished 4th in the standings after securing a 6th and 8th place. Alan Molyneux/Courtney Anderson confirmed their 2026 Open Sidecar Championship title by taking both win in their class, finishing 4th Overall on both occasions.
Freddy Oakley continued his impressive tally in the Wilson Trophy class, winning all races entered, helped by Porter failing to finish in Saturday’s opening race and not racing the Sunday, allowing Oakley to claim the Wilson Trophy and Lightweight Championship. Both Sunday’s races being similar, David Glossop getting the hole shot and holding on to the lead until Oakley passed him on Lap3, then stretched out an 8sec, in the first, and 5sec, in the second.
The second highest points haul of the season went to Jonathan Trezins, who won all but one, which he failed to finish, of the Darley Cup races, 120pts ahead of the Runner-Up, Martyn Cooper ((Stoke on Trent). Finishing Sunday’s races 7sec and 5sec ahead of Aron Redmond.
Whereas, the highest points haul went to Ricky Tarren in the Open 600 class, dropping just 7pts, in total, from two races, but finishing this weekend with two start – finish victories, this time over Sean Crone 2nd and Jack Worth (Barsnley), 3rd.
The first Open Solo race saw Mark Goodings finish Lap1 in 4th, behind Danny Lewis 1st, Adam Walters (Derby) 2nd and Sam Johnson 3rd. By the end of Lap2 he had moved up to 2nd, behind Lewis, then hit the front on Lap4, whilst Johnson dropped Lewis to 3rd. After not making the grid in the first race Joey Thompson was 3rd after the opening lap, in the second race, behind Johnson and Walters, with Goodings 4th. Moving up to 2nd on Lap2 and hitting the front on Lap3, Thompson, then stretched out an advantage of 4.5sec over Johnson, with Walters in his slipstream, 3rd and Goodings just a further 0.7sec back, in 4th, securing 2nd in the Championship, behind Matt Bell.
Zac Leigh (Middlewich) secured two start – finish victories in the Honda CB500/Suzuki Bandit races, finishing 7sec and 2.4sec ahead of Tom Fisher in both races, with Dave Grace (Derby) and Champion, Richard Hughes each taking a 3rd and 4th place. However, in the first race Grace and Fisher were only 8th and 9th after Lap1, but had got to 2nd and 3rd by Lap4, Fisher then passed Grace, for 2nd on the final lap. Better starts from Fisher and Grace, in Race 2, saw them 4th and 5th respectively, after the opening lap, then Fisher moved into 2nd on Lap2, but Grace could not find a way pass Hughes, who finished 3rd, leaving Grace, 4th.
With Champion Matt Bell not making the grid for Sunday’s Ben Godfrey Trophy races, Sam Johnson recorded two start – finish victories, with Adam Walters following Johnson across the line, 3sec back, whilst Ricky Tarren and Mark Goodings fought a race long battle between themselves, swapping the lead each lap until Lap4 and 5 when Goodings crossed the line ahead, only for Tarren to pass him on the final lap, 0.2sec ahead as they crossed the line. The second race saw Goodings finish the opening lap 6th and getting into an early battle with Sean Crone and Jordan Giddings (Derby) for 4th place, eventually securing the position on Lap3, but unable to bridge the gap to Tarren, 3rd, with Walters again finishing 2nd.
What a fantastic day to finish the season on, typical of 2026, warm dry weather, mostly, throughout the only thing left for this season is the Presentation Night early next year. For details, please check the website www.darleymoor.co.uk.
2026 Championship (after Round 16)
Wilson Trophy
1st Freddy Oakley, 180pts; 2nd Ant Porter, 138pts; 3rd Mike Lees, 75pts
Darley Cup
1st Jonathan Trezins, 225pts; 2nd Martyn Cooper, 105pts; Paul Evans, 101pts
Open Solos
1st Matt Bell, 174pts; 2nd Mark Goodings, 145pts; 3rd Adam Walters, 95pts
Ben Godfrey Trophy
1st Matt Bell, 163pts; 2nd Mark Goodings, 133pts; 3rd Ricky Tarren, 111pts
Open 600cc
1st Ricky Tarren, 232pts; 2nd Benjamin Dale, 147pts; 3rd David Carson, 103pts
Darley Cup
1st Jonathan Trezins, 204pts; 2nd Benjamin Dale, 202pts; 3rd Martyn Cooper, 115pts
Golden Supersport 600
1st Benjamin Dale, 204pts; 2nd Jonathan Trezins, 202pts; 3rd Martyn Cooper, 115pts
Mini Twins & GP250
1st Anthony Thane, 187pts; 2nd Liam Clements, 129pts; 3rd Thomas Gallagher, 95pts
Super Twins
1st David Carson, 144pts; 2nd Russell Dodds, 128pts; 3rd Paul Evans, 126pts
Lightweight Class
1st Freddy Oakley, 174pts; 2nd Ant Porter, 162pts; 3rd Steve Price, 156pts
Honda CB500 & Suzuki Bandits
1st Richard Hughes, 216pts; 2nd Paul Evans, 135pts; 3rd Shane Watson, 128pts
125cc Street Stock
1st Ollie Pearson, 102pts; 2nd Hudson Cooper, 60pts; 3rd Tyler Hartley, 54pts
Formula 600 Sidecars
1st Mark Berry/Amelia Berry, 190pts; 2nd Richard Butler/Derek Taylor, 164pts; 3rd Thomas Stringer/Jamie Stringer, 110pts
Open Sidecars
1st Alan Molyneaux/Courtney Anderson, 222pts; 2nd Keith Waddington/Kyia Illman, 148pts; 3rd Sarah Bannister/Tony Porter, 72pts
By Brian George Photography/PR
briangeorgepr@aol.co.uk
07841 571237
