Ducati Sporting Club UK > DesmoDue Race Series > DesmoDue - General Questions and Chat > My Snetterton report

[skidlids]

My Snetterton meeting started when I chucked everything into the new van including the spare class A bike, well I thought I had everything, turns out I had forgotten my overalls for me to wear when scrutineering and also my Waterproof jacket that goes over my leathers. But I pretty much had everything else.

Left home just after lunch on Thursday and drove down the M40, then clockwise around the M25 before exiting on to the M11, stopped at a Little Chef on the A11 to meet up with Kev, Trudi and Dallas and grab a bite to eat before completing the final stage of the journey up to the circuit.

With the Vans parked out the back of garages 3 and 4 we set about unloading the bikes etc into the garages, sorting out electrical hook-ups etc.
When we arrived Tom and Colin were already there and it wasn't long before other DDers started to arrive, things like electrical extension leads, splitters and even one of my heaters was blagged off me. spent the evening talking to some of the new DD guys.

Friday came around with a Foggy start, also a foggy middle and then a foggy end so pretty much all fog, Banger blagged a gear linkage off me after finding his was to short after altering his foot pegs and then realtered them after I pointed out they weren't even. Andy Pike had me checking his TPS and altering it, Sorted Dave Woodhouse out with a couple of brake/clutch levers, Andy Blomfield also had a nice set of shorty flip up levers off me for his bike.Also lockwired the rear caliper pad retaining pin for Jonzi.

I did have a nice suprise when Roxy and Megan came along with a gift of a bottle of bubbly and a T-shirt for me (I'll try and make sure I wear the shirt next time) for helping Mark out over the winter.

Dispite the fog a couple of sessions were run and while the final DD one was about to get underway I headed off to the scrutineering bay to help carry out the technical checks of a couple of hundred bikes, not sure how many I checked personally but I got through the best part of 4 strips of stickers in just over 2 hours. Then manged to get my own bike up there where Bernie checked it over while I dealt with a couple of last minute visitors, before returning to the garage to enjoy the dinner Trudi had prepared. Then spent most of the evening in the garage chatting.

Saturday and the fog had gone but it was replaced by rain, which had started to fall in the early hours of the morning and not stopped, track conditions didn't look good and when the work came down from race control that the Clerk of the Course didn't want us going out on our Dunlop control tyres, I agreed and called a halt to Saturdays Timed practice and race 1 in the hope that Sunday's conditions would be better.
The track conditions only got worse with standing water in several places on the track and several mm of water constantly running down the start finish straight.

Our practice session should have been at 11am as it turned out the actual time we would have went out was 2;30pm and by then the Saturday afternoon Endurance race had already been canceled. But it was great to see all the regular DD supporters turn up, Roy, Sandra, Liz, Pete B, Les, Bradders, Steve (Marshaling again), Shell, Cathy P, Chris P, Paul P, Neal Catling and Even Matt Lawson rode up on his 500 from down by seven oaks.
It was also great of Buggsys lads to turn up and help with the marshaling

Great to see you all, shame we couldn't give you something to watch and battles to cheer on.

After an evening in both the garage and the clubhouse the rain had changed to snow and maybe I was a bit over optimistic that it would be gone by morning, sadly it wasn't and the Sunday's racing was canceled.

This was the first meeting since I started racing in 1998 that I ever failed to get out on track, I've previously been at meetings that have been abandoned part way through, all with NGRRC. One was at Keevil due to a flooded section of the circuit, the other two both at Thruxton, one because of rain and high winds the other because they ran out of ambulances due to the volume and nature of the crashes.

What can I say other than the weekend sucked apart from the company and start looking forward to Oulton by which time i hope to have more of the van conversion work completed

[mark 999]

It was certainly a tester, Kev.

I went out in qualifying for the endurance and to be honest, it was f*ckin dangerous !

Bring on Oulton and a dry track !

[banger san]

Quite a lengthy report considering we didn't even get out on track

[skidlids]

Originally Posted by banger san

Quite a lengthy report considering we didn't even get out on track

For a normal 3 day meeting we usually spend 72 hours at the circuit, of which I'm up and awake for 48 of them, tracktime accounts for around an eighth of that.
Scrutineering took up a couple of hours, So always lots of time to get involved with other things and without me doing any tracktime last weekend I can safely say I didn't just sit around twiddling my thumbs

Not sure how Oulton's going to work

Bikes out in the morning for Practice need to be Scrutineered after they have finished their practice and before they can go out in quallifying.
And I know there is going to be a shortage of scrutineers on a Friday lunchtime

[Ghost]

Far too analytical, you need to get out more Kev.

[skidlids]

Originally Posted by Ghost

Far too analytical, you need to get out more Kev.

Had a few minutes spare after being out of the house for 14 hours, getting it out of my head and into type helped me relax before getting a good night sleep

[Cranker V2]

Originally Posted by skidlids

Not sure how Oulton's going to work

Bikes out in the morning for Practice need to be Scrutineered after they have finished their practice and before they can go out in quallifying.
And I know there is going to be a shortage of scrutineers on a Friday lunchtime

A total gang**** you mean then

[Yogi]

Good report matey, It's a pity there was nothing to report

Glad I decided to stay away now.

Hopefully catch up at Oulton.

[Otei]

Many people have accused Guy Martin of focussing on too many things outside of his racing, to the point that it affects his results.

I'm not a subscriber to this theory..but were it ever to be proved accurate, you might end up as DD champ if you just left everyone to sort out their shizzle and concentrated on riding!!

Seriously though, Kev...great effort and long may you be at the centre of all that is good about DD

[skidlids]

Originally Posted by Otei

Many people have accused Guy Martin of focusing on too many things outside of his racing, to the point that it affects his results.

I'm not a subscriber to this theory..but were it ever to be proved accurate, you might end up as DD champ if you just left everyone to sort out their shizzle and concentrated on riding!!

Seriously though, Kev...great effort and long may you be at the centre of all that is good about DD

Funnily enough Tim after I stepped down from the Race Committee part way through last year and focused on myself, my riding and bike setup did improve as I stopped worrying about everything else around DD and focused on my own bike.
I would rather not get dragged in to Scrutineering for a couple of hours when its really busy, but when you get a call a couple of days before saying that there would only be one scrutineer and could I help out, its hard to say NO.
Like wise the upcoming Oulton meeting, I was asked at Snetterton if I could help out there, as again only one scrutineer is available for Friday Lunchtime. Now how do I fit that in with morning practice and afternoon timed qualifying.

At Snetterton we had 5 Scrutineers doing the bikes over a 2 hour period, so basically 10 man hours to get through around 150 bikes, so Oulton should be fun if you allow an average of 4 minutes a bike plus riding gear on top of that