Arran feels the power and takes the glory. (Auto66 Cadwell 9/8/09)

17yr old apprentice engineer Arran Hopper has been showing real promise aboard his standard engined ZXR 400, his performances putting far more experienced riders to shame. The time had come to add some more power to the mix and RMKD duly obliged.
The unveiling of the new combination was at Cadwell Park with Auto 66 on 9th August and Arran didn't disappoint!
The youngster took four whole seconds off his previous best lap time around the technical lincolnshire track and won the opening two races in style. Unfortunately, youthful exhuberance got the better of him in race three where he pushed his braking point a little too much and fell uninjured at park corner leaving 16yr old RMKD ZXR 400 mounted Will leaning to take the victory.

"Ruddy hell that's fast" at cadwell as Kings learns from devastating Dan. (Derby Phoenix 25/7/09)

Kingsley Ruddy, the 15yr old sensation from Barnsley has been in tremendous form in the Derby Phoenix MCC F400 championship aboard his RMKD Racing ZXR 400. A run of convincing victories against quality opposition such as Paul Ellerker, Alan Percival and Richie Welsh have put him over 100 points clear and well on the way to wrapping up the title.
However, this meeting was always going to be a big test for Kings as Dan Frear (outright cadwell park 400 lap record holder and BSB Superstock 600 front runner) and Dan Hegarty (BSB Superstock 1000 front runner) were set to take to the grid.
Derby Phoenix use a championship position starting system meaning Kings went from pole in race one while Dan Frear was going to have to draw upon all of his talent and experience to catch the young whippersnapper from the back of the grid. Kings showed great maturity to take the win with Dan only 1 sec behind, but ominously over a second a lap faster, Dan Hegarty took an incredible 3rd place on Mark Jordan's KR1S 250, a machine which many would dismiss as being uncompetitive against the well documented straight line speed of the RMKD tuned Kawasakis.
The following three races saw Dan Frear starting from the front row and steaming off into the distance taking wins by 8 secs, 13.5 secs and 12.5 secs taking the fastest lap in each race- all of which were in the 1m37s, the fastest being 1m37.53. Yet another devastating performance from Dan.
Kings came away from Cadwell with his head held high following a string of intelligent second places, extending his championship lead and now clear about the level he needs to (and no doubt will) attain when he moves to national competition in the near future.
Dan Hegarty continued to amaze with his pace on the little KR1S until he finally broke it in the last race but not before he'd issued another stunning 1m39s laptime dicing with Kings.
16yr old Will Leaning continued to make excellent progress aboard his RMKD ZXR 400, taking some strong top ten finishes and extending his lead in the F400 novice championship to 95 points.

'Scarborough Rock' solid performance from dominant Dan. 11/7/09

Danny Frear had his name written all the way through the 400 class at the Cock 'o' the North meeting at Olivers Mount on 11th July 2009 taking the RMKD Racing ZXR 400 to another 100% performance. Running in a split grid with 125gp machines Dan won the first race by 40 seconds from second placed man Alistair Haworth and even closed down the big name pairing of Ian Lougher and Chris Palmer on their Grand Prix machines, his fastest lap of 1m 55.57s some five seconds quicker than the nearest 400 competitor and two seconds faster than both the battling 125 stars could muster. Race two was another dominant affair as Dan powered home with a 32 second advantage over Haworth and again with the fastest overall lap of the split race.

'Stroll in the park' for 'man of the meeting' Dan...N.G Cadwell 6/7 June

Dan Frear made it look easy on board the RMKD zxr400 when he blasted his way from 31st on the grid to win by an amazing 12 sec's...breaking the club lap record on all four flying laps.Finally beating it by 1.8 secs at 1m38.4. Race2/the final,again he shot straight to the front and won by 16 sec's...leaving championship leader Chris Beverly with no answer.
Sunday was slightly more difficult as heavy rain fell all day...Dan played it safe and decided a front row was a safer option and again came from 31st through to 2nd,which secured that slot on the grid for the final...which he again won.
Sixteen year old Will Leaning also had a good Sunday 'splash around' taking 4th in the 400 qualifier and 2nd in the final and 2nd in the 400 newcomer.
Graham(bud) Frear encountered a gearbox problem on his cbr600rr after qualifying poll for the 'Phoenix open' final...but with the heavy rain still falling he was loaned 'Will's RMKD zxr400...But only allowed to start at the back of the grid? a 'hopeless task'? with some top national riders in the field ! 'Fearless 'bud' Frear' brought the little Kawasaki home to an amazing 6th place.
Ben Cole now benifitting from a few more 'rmkd horses' had an excellent 4th place in Saturdays 400 qualifier but was denied making the final with an off in the 'streetstocks'...which cut his meeting short with a broken finger. Hope it mends quick!

Kings Kongquers Anglesey...30th/31st May

Young Kingsley Ruddy on board his RMKD powered zxr400 was in dominant form on his first visit to Anglesey, despite his Friday practice session being cut short due to fog he was soon on the pace in the first race of the day. Leading from the flag Kings dipped under the lap record to take the win...but it was Ritchie Welsh who took the lap record but couldnt match the consistant pace of the youngster and came home second. Race two followed the same format but again the lap record fell to Kings 1m36.26. Sunday morning arrived and the 'Wiley Welsh' had his game plan sorted...and it worked he out witted the 15year old Kings whos tyres were passed there best. A new set of tyres revived the confidence and again he dominated the race from the flag and again reduced his lap record to 1m36.16...He now leads the championship by a massive 75 points, from some very established exF400 champions.

Will Leaning also RMKD mounted had some solid mid pack results to consolidate his f400 novice championship lead. Elder brother Josh...not content to sit and watch on Sunday loaned Wills spare bike and had a best result of 4th despite only having three practice laps.

Well done you younguns...15...16 and 18 respectivly.

ARE MINGI TWINS THE FUTURE?? i hope not!!

A friend asked me if id have a look at his ER6 (650 Kawasaki twin) to see if i could get a bit more power for the Thundersport GB junior power bike class...Hmmm....im not a mingi twin person really....but it is Kawasaki after all...and i want something 'up my sleeve' if the 400 class declines much more. So... we increased the compression a bit...had a bit of a play with the ports and put in a couple of reprofiled cams,machined the pistons.Then a trip to my good friend...John Warrinton at Malton for him to work his magic on his dyno....and 'hey presto' 84.6 bhp and 49ft/lb of torque. Im not sure what they make as standard?? But he's got a grin from 'ear to ear' so i guess its better?

SWEET AND SOUR..........Cadwell Park 3/4th May

When Steve Ruddy said pre-season 'if i didnt think we could win it we wouldnt be entering it'...talking of the Derby Pheonix F400 Championship. And with the quality of Welsh,Ellecker,Percival,Armour,Pett ect, all sub 1m40's lads round Cadwell a 'tall order i thought?. But 15yr old school lad Kingsley is going to be the man...or boy to beat. With two good bike's to pick from...and more potential from the bikes and alot more from Kings who would bet against him? Two wins a second and a DNF (due to a faulty wireing block) he now leads the Championship along with injured Paul Ellecker.

Things didnt go as expected for Josh'the jerk'Leaning on the RMKD number 1 bike after getting up to 6th from the back of a full grid more was expected in race2. Riding the bike that has lapped in the 1m37's in the hands of Mike Saunders and more recently Dan Frear who took it to the lap record 1m37.5s...he chucked it 'up the road' at Charlies 2,damaging it quite badly. He did redeem himself in the last f400 race when he brought Rik Connels ex RMKD machine home in second place behind the talented two stroke mounted Freddy Pett. Youger brother Will Leaning had three good results and a personal best in the 1m46s and still leads the novice championship on yet another RMKD zxr400. I must also give Arron Hopper alot of credit for finishing 3rd in the last race...a novice and new to wet weather riding he brought his standard bike home for his first podium.