Round 6, the penultimate round of the Darley Moor Motor Cycle Road Race Championship took place on

Sunday 21st September and provided some excellent races and one of the hardest fought battles seen at the circuit, near Wyaston for a while.

The first race of the day was for the Peak Cup riders, and although he had entered the meeting Jim Hodson had decided against risking his cracked pelvis. However this certainly did not hand an easy victory to Tim Poole (Stoke on Trent) as Jamie Medhurst (Long Eaton) got an excellent start and headed the field on his smaller 600cc machine, until Poole was able to squeeze his 1000cc Kawasaki by on the second lap. Medhurst was able to stay in his tracks for several laps, but Poole eventually pulled out 2sec margin by the end of the 8 lap race.

The second encounter proved different, once again Medhurst led away from the line, once again Poole passed him on Lap 2 and extended a lead, this time stretching it to over 3seconds on the sixth lap, but then Medhurst turned the tables and reeled him back in, finally passing Poole on the tenth and final lap, after getting a better run through some backmarkers. Medhurst may possibly have speeded up after getting pit signals highlighting the impending arrival of Shane Pearson (Derby), closing in on the two leaders after a slow start and aided by recording the fastest lap of the day, finishing just 0.14sec behind Poole.

Poole and Pearson also lined up on the grid together in the Open Solo races, both resulting in Poole leading throughout and taking the victory from Pearson, with Steven Hill (Runcorn) taking 3rd place on both occasions.

If the Peak Cup provided an excellent starter, then the combined Classic/Formula Darley and 125 race was an excellent main course. The lap chart shows Brad Vicars (Tadcaster) led across the line for all but one lap, the third which Anthony Porter (Chesterfield) led over the line, however with the exception of Lap 5 the two riders were no more than 0.4sec apart. After being almost one second down on the fifth lap Porter put in a blistering final lap and crossed the line alongside Vicars, the timing screens giving the victory to Vicars by just 0.1sec!

In their second encounter Porter was determined to take the victory, leading across the line on each of the eight laps, but with Vicars never any further than 0.47sec away from him, at the flag the victory margin was just 0.11sec! The 125 class victories went to Mark Tyrrell (Evesham), who finished overall 4th in the first race, but after crashing and remounting was disqualified from the second race results, handing the victory to Justin Brown (West Sussex). The Classic classes saw Jamie O’Brien (Liverpool) being a double winner in the 1000cc class, Richard Hope (Pershore) repeated the feat in the 350cc class. First race winners for the 500cc and 250cc classes were Frank Melling (Manley) and Geoff Hadwin (Cumbria); whilst John Schoenemann (Bromyard) and Andy Wilson (Northampton) took the honours in the second encounter.

The Pre 98 races saw Shane Pearson (Derby) also achieve an impressive double victory, taking the win by over 8seconds in the first and almost 4seconds in the second race, leaving Ian Morgan (Derby) to fend off Richard Stubbs (Stone) in both races. Fred Burbidge (Market Harborough) and Andrew Clarke (Ashton under Lyne) each recorded a Pre98 (up to 500cc) class win apiece.

Another rider recording a double was Jamie Medhurst (Long Eaton) who won both Formula 600 races, taking his tally to 3 wins on the day after his success in the second Peak Cup race. Brendan Brown (Stoke on Trent) finished 2nd, with Ashley Blake (Isle of Man), 3rd in the first race, but the second encounter saw Blake hunt Brown down in the second and finding a way through on the penultimate lap, finishing just 0.26sec in front at the flag.

More double victories were recorded in the combined Lightweight and Sound of Thunder races; after his two 3rd places in the Open Solo class Steven Hill (Runcorn) managed the double in the Sound of Thunder class, with Gary Henriksen (Matlock) 2nd on both occasions. Anthony Porter also managed the double in the Mini Sound of

Thunder class, pipping Brad Vicars on both occasions. Chris Moore (Stockport) and Paul Hedison (Gainsborough) each took a class win and a 2nd in class apiece in the Lightweight class.

Jamie Pearson (Derby) recorded double victories in the combined Steel Framed 600/Pre Injection races, winning both races, on his Pre Injection machine by over 7seconds, although in the second race he had to pass Andrew Lowe (Stone) for the lead, Lowe was 2nd in class on both occasions on his Pre Injection machine. The Steel Framed class was won by Dean Ephgrave (Hucknall) on both occasions; 2nd overall in the first and 3rd, behind Lowe in the second race.