First meeting back since the crash last September. I haven't even ridden the bike before this meeting so practice was going to be a real tester for me and the bike. I was well rusty and didn't get much speed, although I was bedding in a new set of Michelin tyres and new brake pads. The bike felt very quick though with the new gearing.

Race  1 601-1300cc
Got 4th place on the grid, not particularly where I wanted to be first time out! Race got stopped on first lap due to a crash. Got a good start on the restart and was in third place entering Gerrards. Was in about tenth place coming out of Gerrards! - My right leg hurt like hell when I put my knee down and I guess I just backed off. Just went backwards in this one from 4th on the grid to finish 23rd! Looking at the results I was about 7 seconds a lap off the pace.

Race  6 Open Solo
24th on the grid. Got a good start and was in the top ten at the end of the first lap, despite a rider highsiding in front of me exiting Gerrards on the first lap. Again, not enough speed and several BIG slides from the Michelins saw me finish a lowly 23rd again.

Race  9 ACU Star Championship
8th on the grid for this one. Got a good start and managed to get the lap times to within 3-4 seconds on the leaders. Had a good battle with several riders and despite more slides from the Michelin rear tyre managed to finish 12th and actually score some championship points.

Race 12 Riders for Health Solo Challenge (10 Laps)
2nd on the grid for this one, last year I would have been up the front, but once again after an excellent start and fourth on the first lap, dropped back to finish 13th. Knocked another second off the lap times despite the slippery Michelin rear tyre. Got down to 1.01 seconds (front boys were doing 56 seconds!).

Race  17 601-1300cc
16th on the grid. Didn't get a good start this time and was well back by the end of the first lap. Seemed to be getting the hang of it again and managed to work my way up to 9th by the flag and also got lap times into the 60 second mark, so now only 3 seconds off the pace (getting better).

Race  19 Open Solo
8th on the grid for this one. Managed to get away well and held on despite some very committed 600 riders to finish 10th and lap consistently in the 60 second bracket.

 Overall, this wasn't a bad come back. My leg  really hurt when I push it into the tarmac and it seriously affected my corner speed in Gerrards. I was very disappointed with the rear Michelin Pilot Race 2. The front was fine, but the rear cut up bad and almost looks like it had started to delaminate on the LH side. Will have to get some Pirelli's for the next meeting.

All being well and finances allowing, I should be at Mallory for the next EMRA round on 13th April.

First EMRA meeting since the crash last September. Got Pirelli Dragon Corsa's for this one. Ran them last year and they were great. The Michelin Pilot Race 2's just slid too badly, maybe it is my riding style but I just couldn't get on with them.

Race  2 Drayton Croft Mallory Trophy Qualifier
Got 26th place on the grid, with the entry list not full but the quality of riders high, this was going to be an uphill struggle to qualify. Didn't get away too well and was well at the back at the end of the first lap. Managed to pick up the pace and with the confidence growing with the Pirelli tyres managed to get to finish 16th, the last qualifying position.

Race  4 FM Helmets 251-1300cc Championship
24th on the grid, oh dear! Got a reasonable start but lost too many places in Gerrards. Guess that corner still has bad memories. Moved through the pack quite quickly but got stuck behind Rob Jones on a Fireblade. He was very quick on the straights and was just impossible to pass. Followed Rob over the line with less than a second between us to finish 14th. Not too bad but corner speed in Gerrards needs to improve.

Race  12 Drayton Croft Mallory Trophy Final (10 Laps)
31st on the grid, this was going to be tough. Friend and friendly rival Jason Heritage was alongside me on the grid, so at least I had someone to aim for. Got a really good start but once again lost too many places in Gerrards, including getting passed by Jason around the outside! Managed to outbrake Jason into Gerrards on the second lap and led him for one further lap before Jason outbraked me at the hairpin. Jason managed to pass Rob Jones (on that fast Fireblade again) but once again I just couldn't get close enough to him to get him on the brakes. Followed Rob home (again!) to finish a lowly and very disappointing 23rd.

Race 14 FM Helmets 251-1300cc Championship
1st on the grid for this one, last year I would have been up the front, but once again after an excellent start and fourth on the first lap, I missed gears twice on consecutive laps at the hairpin and lost eight places! Finished 12th, 24 seconds behind the leader. Not bad and did manage several laps in the low 59 second mark, which is the fastest I have gone on the new circuit.

I really enjoyed this meeting. My leg didn't play me up too much but I am still too slow in Gerrards and need to get over this mental block before positions improve. My lap times were consistent throughout the day and I went faster than the previous meeting. Pirelli tyres were great and I have ordered another new set for the next round on 11th May.

This meeting was going to be fun with the Yamaha XJ550 which Clive Wadey bought for me to race. We had some teething troubles with the bike with a persistent misfire, but new plugs seemed to sort out the problem (or so we thought). Practiced on both bikes, the R1 was going well but the XJ550 had a big carburation problem and struggled to get any speed on. Pulled in after the obligatory three laps.

Race  2 Drayton Croft Mallory Trophy Qualifier
Drew pole position for this one, so I was in with a chance. When the flag dropped I got a reasonable start and was second into Gerrards and about fifth out of it. I managed to hod my own and was as quick as anyone else except for Gerrards. This was really pissing me off as I was getting passed around the outside on every lap but nowhere else on the circuit. Managed to press on doing consistent 58 second laps to finish 11th.

Race  4 FM Helmets 251-1300cc Championship
Must be my lucky day, drew pole position again for this one as well. Again, got a good start but in a repeat of the Drayton Croft qualifier, was not fast enough around Gerrards. Finished 11th again. This is getting frustrating.

Race  7  Earlystocks Championship
Drew 17th position for this one which was back of the Earlystocks grid. New set of plugs were fitted after practise to try to eliminate the misfire. Got away really well but almost straight away the misfire returned and I completed the race on two or three cylinders. I had to continually slip the clutch out of the corners to get the revs up. Finished in 11th position overall and 6th in the 750 class. The XJ handles really well and I was very impressed, just got to get the engine sorted.

Race  9 Drayton Croft Mallory Trophy Final (10 Laps)
22nd on the grid. Fitted a new set of Pirelli tyres for this one to try and boost the confidence for Gerrards. Got away quite well but again got passed by a few at Gerrards (I really hate that corner now). Managed to claw back a few positions before before the race was red flagged on the 3rd lap. The race was abandoned until after the lunch break.
At the restart there were several gaps in the grid and several patched up bikes. Got away really well and was in 18th place exiting Gerrards, the tyres have done the trick? The race was reduced to 8 laps so had to push on. Put in 58 seconds laps and had a bit of a tussle with Andy Jackson on a Suzuki 1000 Early stock bike! Took two laps to eventually make a pass stick on Andy who was not going to give in easily, fair play! Moved up to 16th at the flag.

Race 13 FM Helmets 251-1300cc Championship
14th on the grid for this one. Got a really good start and was determined to get into the top ten. Pushed on really hard and I don't think I have lapped this well this year. I was spinning the rear wheel out of the corners and was determined to be more committed in Gerrards. Worked my way up to 9th place by the end of the race.

Race  16 Earlystocks Championship
The Top Banana team had had a fiddle with the XJ between races and were confident that the carbs were sucking in too much air. Some changes were done and we had to wait and see. Fired the XJ off the line and passed a stack going into the first corner. On exiting the corner the misfired returned and it was a repeat of the first race. Still managed to work my way through the field to finish 9th overall and 4th in the 750 class. Where would I have been on a full power engine?

I really enjoyed this meeting. The Earlystock bike was great fun and the Earlystock riders are a great bunch and all muck in when problems arise. Thanks to Clive for getting the bike for me. I am really looking forward to the next meeting.

Clive and myself had spent many hours in Clive's garage trying to sort the XJ550 misfire. Clive rebuilt the carbs and we also fitted another set of coils and leads and replaced the plugs. Stationary it sounded sweet so we thought we had it sorted. Practice was the bike was terrible backfiring and just lacking power. So back to the drawing board! We changed the coils again and tried yet another set of plugs - just the same.

Race  4 Allcomers 125 - 1300cc  Qualifier
As a late entry Iwas in 29th on the grid for this one. The first 8 go to the 'A' final, the next 8 to the 'B' final and so on. It was only five laps so the first 8 was a tall order but I was confident of making the 'B' final.
Heats 1 to 3 had repeated red flags due to some major crashes, and my heat was to be the same. After two laps I had got to 20th position and was gaining place steadily. The race was topped on the second lap and they would not restart it due to time delays so 20th position put me in the 'C' final, not where I wanted to be!

Race  13  Earlystocks
Again as a late entry I was 24th on the grid last of the Earlystocks. The rest of the grid was made up of singles and 125's. The XJ was terrible, much worse than the previous meeting and it was a struggle to get around a lap. Managed to limp home to 14th overall and 7th in the 750cc class. This was diappointing because of the time we spent on the bike.

Race  7  Earlystocks 
24th on the grid again. We had disconnected the tachometer and also switched coils again. the bike was much better and I was nearly 10 seconds a lap quicker. The misfire had all but gone but the carburation was terrible and it seemed to be starved of fuel on full throttle. Stll it went much better and by slipping the clutch to keep the revs up I managed to 14th overall and 6th in the 750 class.

Race  24 125 - 1300cc Allcomers 'C' Final
The meeting had been delayed badly due to the vast amount of crashes and my final was cut to 5 laps. Because of the cut short heat I was in 16th place on the grid and not happy at all that I had only done two and a half laps on the R1 all day! I nailed it off the line and was 6th exiting Gerrards. Most of the riders in front, but one, were on 600's and I was able to zip by on the straights or gain enough advantage to outbrake them into the corners. By lap four I was in second and gaining on the leader rapidly. If we had the full six laps I would have won but the chap in front, Chris Mordawski on an old CBR600, had gained enough of an advantage to take the win by 3 seconds. Got a trophy for my troubles but the 'C; final was not where I wanted to be.

This was a meeting I had not planned to do but wanted to try the XJ550 in the Earlystocks championship. It was really disappointing that all of Clive's efforts came to nothing and even more disappointing that I only did seven and a half laps of racing on the R1 in two races. Not very good value for money again, but this always seems to happen to me with the Derby Phoenix meetings!

Clive is having the carburettors on the XJ rebuilt and is getting new coils as well. It will be sorted for the next EMRA round!

Clive Wadey and myself spent more hours trying to sort the XJ550 misfire. It turned out it was the tachometer. Once disconnected it ran like a good one. Clive took it to Mallory to try it out and he was really impressed.

This meeting was full of first class riders, many of whom are just too good for club events. EMRA meetings are getting full of these riders with big budgets etc. It is getting hard to keep motivated knowing that the first six places are already accounted for, maybe it is time I call it a day in the Open and Drayton Croft events?

Race  1 Drayton Croft Mallory Trophy  Qualifier
Got 8th position on the grid for this one. I got a flying start and was second entering Gerrards, by the time I had exited Gerrards I was in 7th place behind Carl Tranter. I was as quick as anyone else on all of the circuit except that bloody Gerrards corner. People were just going around me. That crash must have screwed up my brain. I eventually managed to finish in 12th place, but pretty poor from a second row start. This gave me 24th on the grid for the final!

Race  5 FM Helmets 251-1300cc Championship
Got 7th place on the grid and was all fired up after the poor show in race 1. Didn't get away so well but just got outclassed at Gerrards on every lap to finish a dismal 15th place. Not happy with this result.

Race  9  Earlystocks 
Looking forward to this one. The bike went well in practice so confident for the race. For some reason they keep putting me on the back of grid? So an uphill task in this race as well. the bike fired nicely off the line I was soon up with the 750 class riders after one lap. Picked them off one by one until I caught the class leader, Mel Coote on a similar bike. I actually passed him on the main straight but made a real mess braking into the hairpin, locking up the front wheel and losing the class lead. Not enough time to catch Mel (who it turned out had his valve timing out by one tooth), so finished second in class and 7th overall.

Race  12 Drayton Croft Mallory Trophy Final (10 Laps)
Not particularly looking forward to this. 24th on the grid is not an ideal start against top riders. Running near the back of the pack got into a good battle with Jason Heritage. After trading places a couple of times Jason got in front and was looking very committed. However, he lost it at the hairpin which then left me pretty much to ride around on my own to finish in an embarrassing 21st place.

Race  15  FM Helmets 251-1300cc Championship
Got 32nd on the grid and lost all motivation. didn't push too hard and rode around to finish 17th.

Race  19 Earlystocks
Back of the grid again, but what the hell, makes a change to pass people instead them passing me. Got a flying start and was right behind previous class winner, Mel Coote coming out the first corner. However, with his valve timing sorted, his bike was much faster than mine down the straights and he just disappeared to take the class win. Rode round pretty much unchallenged to finish 8th overall and 2nd 750 class.

The days racing on the R1 was disappointing. I know I can go faster than this but Gerrards is really causing me problems still. However, I really enjoyed the racing in the Earlystocks. This is less stressful than riding the R1. They are great bunch of riders and really put on a good race. Nice to race proper club racers instead of National and British Championship wannabees. Even got two nice trophies for my efforts. I think the Earlystock class is growing on me?

Looking forward to this, Darley is great little circuit now that it has been re-surfaced. All the club officials and riders are all very friendly and no British Championship riders, so a level club racing playing field.
This was going to be a busy day with six races and two of them back to back on different bikes.  Darley club now run transponders so a full lap by lap analysis of each race is available. All results are on the Darley web site - www.darleymoor.co.uk 

Race  1 Peak Cup  Qualifier
Got 19th position on the grid for this one. Got a pretty good start but didn't get through the chicane with the leaders. Ended up miles back to finish 18th position which is only good enough for 19th on the final grid.

Race  2 Forgotton era / Earlystocks and Classics
Three races in one for this race so a full grid of all sorts of bike (plus a few which didn't qualify for any of the classes). Picked 10th on the grid which wasn't too bad. got a good start and latched on the back of a 840 Seeley Norton ridden by Richard Stott. Took me two laps to make a pass on him stick but was great fun with good clean racing. This Earlystock class is a wheeze and a lot less stressful than riding the R1. Finished in 9th overall and 3rd in the Earlystock class.

Race  7 Stocksport / Sound of Thunder 
Picked 1st on the grid for this one so no excuses. Got a good start and followed John Tattersall round for the first lap. his bike flies and is much faster than mine in a straight line, it appears that most peoples bikes are faster than mine down the straight and lost places on the Pope Straight on every lap. Finished in 7th position which I was quite pleased about and also did some respectable lap times.

Race  13 Peak Cup  Race
Got 19th position on the grid for this one. got held up at the chicane and it was really all over from there. Passed several riders but never really got on the pace and got embarrassingly passed by John Nissil on the last lap. John was flying and his best lap was full 5 seconds faster than mine. Only the top six were doing fast laps so maybe I should have tried harder. Finished 16th.

Race  14 Forgotton era / Earlystocks and Classics
Jumped straight onto the XJ which I had parked at the start. 6th on the grid and got away well - still buzzing from riding 10 laps in the previous race. Had a very lonely race but lapped consistently (1.11 seconds on 7 laps!). Tried jumping the XJ over the chicane to save time and pass the time but it kept getting all out of shape. Finished 9th overall again and 3rd Earlystock again.

Race  19 Stocksport / Sound of Thunder 
8th on the grid and got away well again. Was running in 5th for several laps but just got blasted away on the back straight to finish in 8th place. Really enjoyed the race though, very close racing.

Really enjoyed this meeting. Darley is a brilliant circuit and I find it fast and technical. The R1 goes well here but the 1000cc class has moved on so much that my old R1 is nowhere near the pace of the more modern bikes. Would really like to try a new Suzuki or similar to see what I can do with more usable power. the XJ went well here but I got covered in oil in the last race and I think that the cylinder base gasket may have blown, will have do some repairs.

Really looking forward to this one. The XJ550 ran really well at the Darley Moor meeting and is much easier to ride with a tachometer. Was very confident of a good result in the Earlystock events.

Starting to lose interest in the Open and Drayton Croft races. I am riding my butt off and getting nowhere. I just don't seem to have the confidence on the R1 that had before last years crash and I am feel I am riding hard but the results just aren't coming. Plus I getting thrashed by people of a standard to ride in GP's!

Race  2 Drayton Croft Mallory Trophy  Qualifier
Drew 3rd on the grid and was really fired up to get a good result and decent place on the grid for the final for a change. We had a new starter who was a bit jumpy with the flag. Just as I thought she was going to drop it, she didn't and I jumped the start. By the time I had stopped the flag was dropped and the first four rows of grid flashed by before I could get going again. I was livid and rode like a novice for the first two laps, missing braking points and running wide in the corners. Eventually got it back together and passed loads of riders to finish 12th. Not bad considering the start but not where I could have been.

Race  5  Earlystocks 
Finally got put on the grid with my class instead of at the back on eight grid position. Didn't get it off the line too well and was in 4th place in class at end of first lap. By lap three I was in 2nd place on hot on the heels of Mel Coote who was leading the class. Passed Mel on lap four going into Edwinas, only to high side on the exit. Apparently it was pretty spectacular and I ended up on the grass but managed somehow to stay on. Mel took advantage and re-passed me into the hairpin. Tried to pass him back but not enough time and finished 2nd to Mel by 1/2 a second.

Race  5 FM Helmets 251-1300cc Championship
Got 1st place on the grid and was all fired up after the poor show in race 2. Got a really good start and was second at the end of the first lap. Couldn't maintain the position though and got passed by the faster bikes to be in a safe 6th position at the end of lap four. Then a red flag came out and I had to do it all again. The restart was over five laps and didn't get away from line very well. Was in about 14th place at the end of the first lap and managed to work by way up to 10th by the end of the race. Not having much luck on the R1 this year.

Race  12 Drayton Croft Mallory Trophy Final (10 Laps)
Not particularly looking forward to this - again! 23rd on the grid is not an ideal start against top riders. Had a good race though and had worked my way up to 12th place by lap 9. Then I got lapped by Lee Dickinson before the start of my 10th lap. Really, really pissed off by this, only did nine laps and got stuffed by a 250cc bike!!

Race  14 Earlystocks
10th on the grid with Mel (Championship leader and winner) in eleventh. I was determined that I was going to win this one. Got a good start but got out dragged to the first corner by Mel and Tony Smith on a 750 Kawasaki. Tucked in behind Mel who been passed by Tony. Put a good outbraking move on Mel coming into Edwinas but he got me back into the hairpin (which I made a note of). Mel passed Tony and I shadowed the pair of them until the last lap, time to make my move. I ran very wide into Gerrards for the last time and squared the exit off to get a good run into Edwinas. Passed Tony on the straight and did Mel into Edwinas. Finally leading the class. Kept very tight into the hairpin to stop Mel coming up the inside. Through the bus stop I could hear Mel behind me and kept it tight on the race down Devils Elbow to the line. As we crossed the line Mel was along side me and I wasn't sure I had got the win. The results showed I had beaten Mel by 100th of a second, with Tony only 200th of a second behind. Cass Beardmore was also there and finished 100th of a second behind Tony. This was one the best road races I have had in any class and it was good to finally get my first road racing win.

Race  17  FM Helmets 251-1300cc Championship
The previous five races and the hot conditions were taking their toll and I was pretty knackered for this one. Drew 18th on the grid and had already decided to just ride round and not do anything stupid. Rode a steady race to finish 14th.

The days racing on the R1 was okay, but the Early stock class was great fun. Great to get a win at last. Must thank my wife, Julie, who helped sort the bike with tyre warmers and fuel throughout out the day. Thanks also to my kids, Natalie, Russell and Simon for their enthusiastic support and of course to Clive Wadey for providing the Earlystock Yamaha 550. The final EMRA round should be good, there is possibility of my finishing second overall in the EMRA Earlystock championship. I am currently third but it is possible to get second depending on how the other 750 class riders fair. Should be good meeting - be there or be square!!

Looking forward to this, rode really well here last time. Only entered four races this time, it was a bit hectic last time with six races close together. Darley club now run transponders so a full lap by lap analysis of each race is available. All results are on the Darley web site - www.darleymoor.co.uk 

Race  4 Forgotten era / Earlystocks and Classics
Three races in one for this race so a full grid of all sorts of bike (plus a few which didn't seem to qualify for any of the classes). Picked 7th on the grid which is OK. Got a cracking start and was in second position out of the first chicane. Dropped back to fourth by the end of lap one but only the faster Forgotten Era bikes in front so first in Earlystocks. Was shadowed for the whole race by Mark Bradley who was so close that I couldn't see him when I looked behind. Managed to hold him off for the six laps to finish 1st in the Earlystock class and 4th overall. The XJ550 ran perfectly and seemed to be better than ever.

Race  10 Open Solos 
Picked 31st on the grid for this one so no chance of getting up the front. Got a crap start and was almost in last place on the first lap. Pushed on hard but this is a difficult circuit to pass on and only managed to get to 25th by the end of the six laps. My lap times were terrible because I was in heavy traffic all race and really got a clear track to have a good go. 25th is pretty pathetic and I really can do better than this.

Race  15 Forgotten era / Earlystocks and Classics
4th on the grid for this one and again got a cracking start. Mark Harland got past me on the second lap on his Seeley 750. He is not in the Earlystock class but I was not going to let him get away. Again Mark Bradley was right up my exhaust pipe all race. Coming down the Pope Straight for the last time I left the braking to the very last and went in too hot. Mark dived up the inside but he was also going too fast, so I just throttle off, let him drift past my front wheel and dived underneath him to beat him to the line but only just! 5th overall and 1st Earlystock again. Knocked a full second off my previous best lap time on the XJ. Really enjoyed this, not just for the two wins but for the close racing.

Race  19 Open Solos 
25th on the grid and again an uphill task. Got a really good start and past a lot of riders into the chicane. Really got my head down and past several more riders until the race was red flagged on lap three. All to do again at the restart and got a terrible start. got stuck behind a group of several riders on GSXR1000's who I just could not pass. Lap times again were poor and finally finished a disappointing 19th.

Really enjoyed this meeting. Darley is a cracking circuit and the XJ550 seems to go really well here. The R1 again showed its age against the newer fuel injected bikes and I have decided to put it up for sale.

Really looking forward to this one. The XJ550 ran really well at the Darley Moor meeting and there is the possibility of getting 2nd place in the EMRA Earlystock Championship!

Was in confident mood on both bikes in practice and was confident of getting good results. Put new set of tyres on R1 so no excuses.

Race  4  Earlystocks 
Got 7th on the grid for this one. got a really good start but outdragged to Gerrards by the 750cc machines. Was in fourth place in class behind Tony Smith. On 4th lap got on the outside of Tony going into Gerrards, he did not realise I was there and moved over to left, catching his handlebar in my leathers! For a second or two we were locked together but somehow both managed to get round Gerrards. Finally passed Tony but couldn't make it past Mel Coote, so finished 3rd. I needed to win this to stand any chance of 2nd in the championship, but Keith Chambers was flying on his 750 and had too good a lead.

Race  10 FM Helmets 251-1300cc Championship
Got 10th on the grid for this one. Got an excellent start but once again lost it all in Gerrards for the first time. Put in some of my best lap times of the year but so was everyone else and managed to finish a slightly disappointing 16th. I was pleased with my performance and lap times though and the racing was good and close.

Race  12 Drayton Croft Mallory Trophy Final (10 Laps)
16th on the grid. There was no qualifying for this one with grid positions reflecting the championship positions. Again got a good start and put in some fast and consistent lap times but only finished in 18th position. I enjoyed the race though and again the lap times were good, pity everyone else was also having a good day.

Race  16 Earlystocks
Oh heck! 12th on the grid. Needed a good start and got a blinder. Was 3rd in class behind Tony Smith again with Mel Coote right on my tail. Shadowed Tony for several laps but he was on a mission. At the end of lap three I drew alongside him coming down Devils Elbow and we were side by side down the main straight. We were looking at each other as we came to Gerrards and it was a case of who was going to brake first and it was not going to be me! Having already past our braking points, Tony shut off and I immediately turned in (I had to or I wouldn't have made the corner), I must have turned in slightly too early and chopped of Tony's nose! (Sorry Tony it wasn't intentional). Tony's front tyre hit my silencer, breaking the bracket, I wasn't aware of this until after the race. I carried on with Keith Chambers in my sights and I was closing in. There was some bloke on an RD Yamaha who was using the whole track and was getting in my way and slowing me down. I was aware that Mel was right behind me, having past Tony in Gerrards after my slightly unsporting manoeuvre, and I had to hold him off for one more lap. I know how determined Mel is so I was expecting him to dive up the inside somewhere. Managed to hang on to take second position with Mel just 0.5 seconds behind me. So third in the EMRA Earlystock 750cc championship.  

Race  19  FM Helmets 251-1300cc Championship
Last EMRA ride on the R1, quite a moment for me and I felt bit sad at the thought of not contesting the Drayton Croft and FM helmets races again.
10th on the grid again and got a wicked start, was in about 6th place entering Gerrards and about 12th coming out (this wouldn't have happened last season!). Put in some really good lap times but again so was everyone else. Had a good race though and finished in 15th place.

I really enjoyed this meeting. The R1 was great and I really enjoyed my final EMRA outing on it. The XJ550 went well although I think the suspension is not up to my riding standard, so bit more work required there.

Only got Darley Moor left and the R1 is up for sale. It is the end of an era and it is going to seem strange not having a Superbike in the garage anymore. I have really enjoyed my racing with EMRA over the years and if I hadn't crashed last year, things might have been very different in 2003.
I have agreed with Clive Wadey to ride the Earlystock next season in the EMRA and Darley Moor Championships.

The final race of the 2003 season and my final ride on the R1. After signing on, found out that instead of two races per class, we were only getting one 15 lap race. Bit disappointing as I prefer to have at least 4 races in a day.

Practice went well on both bikes, with the track very cold (frost overnight) and damp patches in places.

Race  3 Stocksport 
5th on the grid for this one but some very good riders out there. Sharing the grid with the Sounder of Thunder class with Aprilia 1000's and Ducati's. Got a flying start and was in 2nd position behind Kev Cooper exiting the chicane. Got taken at Park Corner by Richard Eglin who just shot out of the corner like a bullet. Dropped back to 4th position on the Pope Straight. Didn't seem to get in my stride and made a mess of several corners over the 15 laps. Got passed on the last lap by a flying Kev Cooper. Richard Eglin had dropped his bike in the hairpin which handed me 3rd position at the flag. My rear tyre did not cope with the 15 lap race very well and had I have known that the races today were extended I would have fitted a new rear. Enjoyed the race though and good result for my final outing on the trusty R1.

Race  6 Forgotten era / Earlystocks and Classics
Clive Wadey persuaded me to not ride the 550 in this race, but to take out his newly acquired, ex Nigel Lawrence Top Banana Team Suzuki 1260. I should really have taken this bike out in practice, but what the hell, the 550 would never have kept up with Clive's high powered Suzuki Katana on a fast circuit like Darley.
11th on the grid behind a load of Forgotton Era bike of all descriptions. got a reasonable start but Clive got ahead of me. At the end of the 1st lap I had settled in behind Clive and was trying to get used to this heavy beast of a bike. This bike is rapid and is a credit to Nigel's preperation and tuning expertise. the race was red flagged at the end of lap 2 due to Steve Cox dropping his Yamaha at Paddock Corner. As we formed on the grid for the restart, the scrutineers removed the bike from the row in front of me for some reason, giving me a clear run off the start. I made the most of this and exited the chicane in 2nd position behind a Forgotton Era bike of Andy Jackson. Still hadn't got to grips with the Suzuki and Clive passed me on the brakes at the end of Pope Straight at the end of lap one. Decided to try to stay with Clive and learn the bike whilst staying in touch with him. After several laps I was getting my head round the big bike and started closing on Clive who seemed determined not to let me through. On lap 8 I was following Clive up into the Esses when blue smoke appeared from his exhaust and spots of oil got on my visor. Clives Katana had blown up big time and the marshalls were in the track at the hairpin waving oil flags at him. Clive pulled up and left me to take the win and gain 2nd in the Darley Moor Earlystock championship at the same time.

A good end to the season, with enjoyable rides on both bikes. Thanks to Clive for letting me ride the 1260cc Suzuki and bad luck for ending the season with a blown engine.

The R1 is up for sale and shouldn't be around too long judging by the interest I have had. I'm at the moment riding the XJ550 for Clive's Paxford Garage unless I decide to build my own 1300cc class bike. Depends on how quick the R1 sells.

Will update developments on the Information page when things have been decided.

Thanks for everyone's support in 2003 and see you all next season.