Richard Evans eager to make up for lost time

The plasterer from Tettenhall has signed up for this year’s Darley Moor Road Racing championships in Derbyshire.

The 28-year-old has also set himself the high target of battling his way into the top three.

The first round did not quite go according to plan for the racer as his Kawasaki 600cc machine struggled for power.

But his racing craft was still there and it’s because of that reason he believes, following a few tweaks to his bike, he could soon be back challenging at the front.

“I’ve decided to compete at Darley Moor and also a few East Midlands Racing Association rounds, and maybe some other meetings too,” he said.

“It all depends on finances though, because it’s an expensive hobby.

“My aim is to get some decent results and then to attract some sponsorship.

“I’m racing in the Pre-Injection 600 series at Darley, which I’ll be focusing on.”

Evans had been racing – and achieving some decent results – during the first six months of his debut campaign.

Racing does not run in his family but Evans still decided to go racing very soon after buying a bike – and never considered not returning to the race track some day despite having three years out.

“I raced for about six months three years ago and I’ve just started back again,” he said. “I suffered a bit of bad accident at the time and it really smashed up my bike but didn’t put me off.

“Racing takes a lot of commitment and it’s all about squeezing out the finances when I can.

“Last time I raced I had a couple of second places in the Hot Tracks Championship.

“My dad was always into bikes but had never really raced one. It was just something I picked up a few years ago. I pretty much bought a bike, had one track day on it and then decided to try racing.”

Evans is riding a Kawasaki ZX600 this year with the aim of trying to break into the top three of the Pre-Injection 600 class at Darley Moor.

“I want to be up there racing at the front but it’s a lot easier saying that than actually doing it,” he added.

“If this year goes well and I’m able to get some sponsorship I might look at buying a 1000ccc next year and making another step up. There’s no point hanging around and you’ve got to try and be ambitious otherwise you’re just wasting your time.

“I came 18th in the first race at Darley Moor and after making some changes I was actually ninth in the Pre-Injection class, as that class is raced alongside the Steel Frame 600 machines.

“That was mainly due to a lack of speed on the bike really and not my racing style.

“I was losing a lot of acceleration and probably about two seconds on some of the straights, so I was keeping up in the other sections. I’m not a million miles away and once I get everything sorted I could surprise a few people.”

And if the second round at Darley is anything to go by, his top three goal may not be a million miles away.

“I had a better meeting for round two although practice was difficult, which meant I started off way down the grid,” he said.

“My best result was 10th in the pre Injection race and although there’s still work to do on the bike, we’re getting there.”

Anyone interested in sponsoring Evans should call him call 07936 053504.