Mud n Thunder

At the Thundersprint

John Newman

• JohnNewman
• Thundersprint

Motorcyclists individually and collectively are a hardy bunch. How else to explain the sizeable crowd that turned up at Darley Moor race circuit in the Derbyshire Peak District, the new home of the Thundersprint, amidst frequent heavy showers, unfriendly temperatures, large puddles and mud.

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Wemoto previewed the event just before we pitched up there with our promotional tent and lots of free goodies to give away. Including unique souvenir Thundersprint stickers, and neck tubes which were snapped up by  the damp assembly.  The organisers even ensured they were handed out to the all riders who splashed around the circuit, determined to enjoy as many laps as the conditions would allow – one session cancelled because of standing water – and to entertain those who had braved the elements.

When a date is set for a big outside event, whether it be motorcycles, music, animals, gardens etc. One can only be philosophical and stoical if faced with poor weather conditions. But to see the variety of bikes entered and queuing for scrutineering and noise testing and then waiting in the riders warm up area to go out onto the track, it was as if the clouds were a friendly fluffy white instead of angry grey.




Every conceivable motorcycle is entered in the Thundersprint; from elderly Bantams and Tiger Cubs to Vintage Vincents and Velos, Gold Stars, ex track Nortons, modern Japanese classics, and super sports bikes like R1's and GSXR's, a smattering of sidecars, and even a Gold Wing.  


Add to this a group of top line race stars: John McGuinness, Scott Redding, Sam Lowes and Nick Jeffries; stir in the perennial Thundersprinters of the glorious racing past: Jim Redman and Sammy Miller, and you have a recipe that enthusiasts find hard to keep away from tasting.
-- Down the main 'drag' of show exhibitors Honda, Yamaha, KTM, Kawasaki and Harley mounted their bike displays, with the familiar clothing sales show attendees mixed in. But you had to feel sorry for some of the food vendors like the strawberries and cream stall. They should have converted to hot soup.

It's good to talk and plenty of Wemoto customers came by to chat, sloshing through the churned up mud to reach us. Some enthusiasts who had never used us before had questions about the products on display while using the Wemoto gazebo for shelter.
We did find time to mooch around the paddock and my attention was grabbed by a quite rare import Yamaha for sale; a 1988 FZR250V4. The price was right, it had a good ownership pedigree and I just had to have it, so out came the plastic. All I have to do now is create space for it to live in the garage, sort out a couple of small cracks in the fairing and I'm ready to whizz round for a few Japanese classic parades and track days.

The Thundersprint organisers slot the bikes into various classes so that the swifter bikes and riders are not mixed in with the slower machines. Although this is not a race meeting some of the riders on the faster modern machines show a good turn of speed, because as soon as you are waved onto the circuit it's hard to resist the 'racer' taking over. But ensuring everyone has a safe and enjoyable day is paramount, and the reward for the spectators enthusiasm is getting close to the action; the sounds and smells of all that assorted and contrasting machinery in an open paddock and on the track.
We look forward to returning to a Darley Moor Thundersprint next year, it's an ideal venue for this type of motorcycle festival. I've suggested that Wemoto enter a couple of bikes and riders in 2015, and we'll keep our readers posted on that. In the meantime enjoy the pictures.
John Newman
for Wemoto News
If you went along, drop us a comment or email us at [email protected]