A number of island road racers ventured over to Darley Moor in Derbyshire at the weekend to take part in the prestigious Stars at Darley meeting.

The event is the traditional end-of-season finale at the circuit near Ashbourne, and 2025 marked the 50th anniversary of this iconic meeting, which ran across both days.

A host of leading names were in attendance at this year’s event, including John McGuinness, Rob Hodson, Barry Burrell, Ben Luxton, Daniel Cooper and the 2024 Stars winner and BSB front-runner Charlie Nesbitt.

The latter man made history last year as the first rider to lap the former airfield circuit in under 52 seconds, a record many thought would stand for years.

But, with perfect conditions on Saturday, Nesbitt stunned everyone by dipping under his own record during the first qualifying session, then setting a new official lap record of 51.54 seconds on his way to victory in race one. He also took victory in Sunday’s Stars of Darley race with another dominant performance.

The highest-placed Isle of Man competitor was Grant Thomson, who finished close behind McGuinness in race one in seventh spot, before taking ninth in race two on the Sunday.

Thomson went on to claim five wins across the weekend in the Supersport and Superbike classes, along with a number of other podium finishes.

Further standout performances included those by 16-year-old Sean Crone who collected multiple podiums across both days on his Kawasaki, while fellow teenager Aron Redmond impressed in the Supertwin class, setting new personal bests.

2025 newcomer Jack Meechan also turned heads with some fantastic results in the CB500 category, including a podium finish on Saturday.

Other local competitors proudly representing the Isle of Man included Paul Moorby, Liam Wood, Lauren Exon, Alex Clarke, Ben Grainger, Maxx Jones, and Charles Sigley.

LEE BARTRAM