Hucknall's Cooper races to double at '˜Stars At Darley' event

For Cooper won both of the prestigious ‘Stars At Darley’ invitational races, which were the highlights of proceeedings at the track near Ashbourne.

The 35-year-old, who has starred in the British Superbike Championship, was determined not to suffer a repeat of his appearance at the same meeting last year when he fell at the end of the first lap.

This time, he had a one-second lead over Leicester’s Leon Jaycock at the same stage, with Lee Jackson, of Lincoln, in third and last year’s victor, Nottingham’s Ben Godfrey, in fourth.

By lap five, Godfrey had found a way past Jackson and was closing the distance to Jaycock, but Cooper’s lead had extended to almost four seconds at the halfway point.

Positions were held until the end of the ten-lap race, with the Hucknall man stretching out a seven-second advantage at the flag, and Godfrey closing the gap to Jaycock to just over a second.

The second ‘Stars At Darley’ race saw Cooper maintain his devastating form, building a lead of just under six seconds by the flag, giving him a fourth triumph in these events.

The other main focus of the day was on the conclusion of all the Darley Moor championships, with 13 champions to be crowned. Excellent weather provided terrific racing for a large crowd.

There were some thrilling finishes in the final 15-lap races for each class. Among the best riders on view was Darley Moor regular Ben Scranage, of Bolton, who won both the Peak Cup and open solo titles.

Other class champions included: Anthony Eades and Keith Box (open sidecars), Lloyd Shelley (Formula 600), Tony Griffiths (Formula Darley), Calum Beach (Formula 125), Roger and Bradley Stockton (Formula 600 sidecars), Dave Marsden (steel-framed 600), Andrew Lowe (pre-injection 600), Eliot Williams (Mini Sound of Thunder), Daz Bellworthy (CB500), Geoff Hadwin (Classic 250), Chris Moore (Classic 350), Dave McCoy (Classic 500) and David Bradley (Classic 1000).