CRMC Round 2 May 2026 Pembrey Circuit - Race Review

 

First challenge: Squeezing all the bikes in one gazebo - Heggs

The RAF Classic Racing Team headed west to Pembrey Circuit for Round 2 of the 2026 Classic Racing Motorcycle Club season, with a packed entry list across a wide range of classes and machinery. Despite forecasts threatening a washout all weekend, the weather proved far kinder than expected. Saturday started dry before rain drifted in later in the day, although many riders escaped with little more than a damp race. Sunday began under grey skies with intermittent drizzle throughout, but conditions remained largely dry and perfectly raceable. 

Heggs enjoying the double left Dibeni - Chris Price 

In the Forgotten Era Racing Championship, Gavin Heggs continued developing the RAF TZ350 package. A frustrating power delivery issue in the opening race threatened to derail the weekend, but a thorough carburettor clean using Witham carb cleaner transformed the bike’s performance. The modified Classic Racing Green suspension setup, installed after the 2025 season, drew particularly positive feedback, leaving the TZ feeling noticeably more nimble and settled around the flowing Welsh circuit. Equally impressive was the new EBC front disc and GPFX pad combination, which provided dependable braking performance despite the machine now running a single-disc setup compared to the previous twin-disc arrangement. With the machine now performing strongly, attention inevitably turned toward the rider, who admitted there was still room for improvement on the stopwatch.

Murf eyes up the hairpin - Chris Price

Ben Murfin arrived with a freshly painted Honda CBR600 for his debut outing on the machine in the Supersport 600 class. The weekend proved eventful from the outset. An engine cut-out during race two was quickly traced to a fuelling issue and rectified by the team, only for further drama to arrive in race three when Murfin was knocked off at Honda Curve. The damage was rapidly repaired thanks to a full paddock effort, allowing him to make the final race of the day, where he rewarded the team with improved lap times and growing confidence. Murfin reported that the Honda was significantly easier to ride than last season’s Yamaha FZ600, providing a far more encouraging platform to continue developing through the year.

Joe on the ZXR750 - Chris Price

For Joe Woodward, the weekend was a mixed affair across multiple machines. Riding the Molnar Manx in the Classic 500 class, the Kawasaki ZXR750 in Period 3 Superbike, and the KTM 690 in Supermono, Woodward spent much of the weekend making his feelings about Pembrey very well known around the paddock. Fortunately, the latter stages of the meeting produced a much-needed improvement in fortunes, with several strong results lifting spirits considerably. One Supermono victory came after rival Ant Hart crashed out of the lead, not quite the manner in which Woodward would have preferred to inherit the win, but a victory nonetheless. The final ZXR750 race unfortunately ended before it began, with a DNS due to a flat rear tyre, suspected to be the result of a puncture.

Dorian on it - Chris Price

Dorian Eardley enjoyed a consistently productive meeting aboard both the Triumph Rocket 750 in Formula 750 and the Summerfield Manx in the Lansdowne Championship. Eardley kept himself firmly in podium contention throughout the weekend, steadily collecting silverware and valuable championship points with his usual calm and methodical approach.

Symon getting the RD250 settled - Chris Price

Veteran RAF racer Symon Woodward also joined the team effort aboard his Yamaha RD250 in the PC250 Air Cooled class. Woodward endured significant handling issues throughout the weekend, with severe chatter from the rear of the machine becoming so pronounced that marshals reportedly commented they could visibly see the rear tyre bouncing off the circuit surface. Despite the challenging setup, Woodward persevered and still managed competitive results. In the final race of the weekend he sportingly chose to hang back slightly to allow another competitor the opportunity to challenge for the lap record, yet still comfortably secured third place despite the bike’s poor handling characteristics.

Paddock guest John Hanaford's TZ250 - Chris Price

Special mention must also go to, ex-RAF photographer, John Hannaford, who joined the RAF paddock and enjoyed a successful weekend of his own, collecting podium finishes in class. The team were also grateful for the assistance of Dave Bond, who somehow found time to help around the RAF awning despite being kept busy supporting his own son throughout the meeting. Meanwhile Bethan Fraser once again performed the invaluable role of ensuring riders generally made it to assembly on time — most of the time.

Round 2 at Pembrey ultimately delivered exactly what classic racing so often promises: unpredictable weather, hard-fought racing, late-night repairs, and a paddock full of camaraderie. If you want to see the results so far, you can find them on the CRMC Results page. With valuable points collected and plenty learned, the RAF Classic Racing Team now looks ahead to the next round with growing confidence.

The Royal Air Force Motor Sport Association supports tens of disciplines, both two and four-wheeled. More information on the RAFMSA can be found on Facebook, the Sports Federation home page, Twitter and can be found with a quick search on MODNet. 

The RAF Classic racing team races in the Classic Racing Motorcycle Club (CRMC) offer live timing and has race results going back years. You can find more of the team on Facebook, Blogger and YouTube.

There is a strong contingent of the RAFMSA MCRR in No Limits Racing, they can be found on Instagram with some fantastic videos shared by competitor James on his YouTube channel, and many others can be found on there too. There is also an interservice race held at all NLR.

All serving RAF Classic Racing Team members race under the banner of the Royal Air Force Motorsports Association (RAFMSA) alongside our veteran former members and associate members. If you are serving and wish to get involved with motorsports you can find all the contact details you will need on the RAFMSA website or get in contact directly with us.

 This blog post was written and edited by Gavin Heggs. 

 

Finally special thanks go to the companies who continue to support us:

Classic Racing Green, EBC brakes UK, HPE, J&S Accessories, NGK spark plugs UK,  PJMphotography, Royal Air Force Motorsports Association, Royal Air Force Central Fund, R-Tech Welding, Ragged edge racing, Stahlwille UK, Witham group and individual sponsors:

Symon Woodward: Mick Abbey tuning.

Andy Green: New Era Restorations