The North East, and most of the Country had experienced some of it’s worst weather in months. It was a bit of a daunting prospect to Dave to travel the 160 miles to perform in what was probably going to be a washed out arena for the first ever McArthur Glen Cheshire Motor Festival. Despite this, Dave was still looking to perform in front of the ever enthusiastic North West crowds..

Arriving early Sunday morning, Dave saw the location and size of the arena was fantastic. Lots of space with spectator viewing on all sides, plenty of parking and a large stage at the bottom end. Dave’s good friend and Stunt Show compere for the day, Wayne Kershaw arrived soonafter. The weather never threatened to rain during the day and we even saw some brief bursts of sunshine.

McArthur Glen had put on a fantastic event at Cheshire Oaks and we are all hoping it is the first of many. Casual shoppers mixed with the motor enthusiasts to add to the fantastic atmosphere of the day. There was entertainment for the kids, local Dealerships with many cars on display and there were many ‘freebies’ being offered to the crowds, including the opportunity to win a Vauxhall Corsa over the weekend. Brilliant!

Each of the 3 Stunt Shows were opened by Quentin Wilson and the F1 expert Tony Jardine who then proceeded to hand the microphone to Wayne Kershaw to provide his inimitable style of commentary. Taking the micky out of the crowd and Dave alike, Wayne proceeded to whip the crowd into a screaming clapping frenzy whilst Dave performed some of his predictably excellent shows

The Yamaha machinery performed impeccably, the Fazer, R1 and YFZ450 quad all contributing to their part of the show, showing off Dave’s brilliant bikecraft in producing inch-perfect stoppies, wheelies and burnouts. Smoke and rubber everywhere (oops, Dave was asked not to leave too much rubber on the car park!) the show was true to form. Impeccable.

During the 2nd show, Dave and Wayne thought it would be a great idea to thank one of the Organiser’s Team in a rather unique way. A second helmet and gloves were brought out and the poor lady, who was up to this point just spectating, was handed them and asked to get on the quad bike. “Get on and hold on tight” Dave was heard to say and not a truer word could have been said.

Gently driving around the arena, with his new passenger waving to the crowd, a quick twist of the throttle, a shuffle of the Renthal bars and a tickle on the clutch saw the left hand side 2 wheels rise in the air. Dave then did several laps of the arena on 2 wheels before proceeding to drop back to 4 wheels, dump the clutch, another throttle twist before sitting the bike on it’s back 2 wheels. Several more trips around the arena and the passenger was ready to get off.

Judging by the smile on her face, the Organiser was extremely happy with the unexpected passenger ride as was the cheering crowd. Dave loves doing shows in the North West as the crowds appear to be some of the best in the Country for enthusiasm, amply demonstrated by Wayne not having to work too hard to get the clapping and cheering started.

Dave carried out some of his more difficult bike stunts showing why he is at the top of his class in what he does. One of his trademark stunts involves the quad on 2 wheels which is then converted very slickly into a wheelie. Although on paper it sounds quite easy, it involves forces of gravity that mean the bike at a stage in the manoeuvre is actually sitting on only one wheel. See the photos on the gallery

Another of Dave’s trademark manoeuvres which appears to look quite simple, is locking the front wheel whilst accelerating forward at a rate of knots. To the uninitiated, it just looks like a screeching front tyre. To those bikers amongst you, that know the feeling of ‘losing’ the front wheel is one of the scariest feelings ever. Dave does this intentionally!