Ducati Sporting Club UK > DesmoDue Race Series > DesmoDue - General Questions and Chat > My First Race / Ramblings of a Newbie!

[DRR007]

What a weekend! Ill try not to ramble too much but not making any promises....

Qualifying - Like a track day on edge i ventured onto the track wanting to beat my previous track day best lap time of 2:06:00. I didnt, my qualifying time was 2:07. Dom had kindly put some rearsets on my bike but the plastic on my right boot got snagged on the rear brake master cylinder as i approached the old hairpin and then with one foot stuck to the bike hit neutral and coasted around the bend. Fuming and terrified about what had happened i was constantly checking my boot was not caught on the cylinder which was very distracting. I returned to the pits and found that id qualified 14th one place behind Shane in 13th. Our first race was going to start in 5 hours, 13 months after our first track day and only 17 months after i learned to ride a bike and got a road licence! I was nervous to say the least!

Race 1 - I lined up on the grid direclty below the clock, my marker to make sure i didnt end up in the wrong place. Shane was to my left and the adrenaline was flowing fast and my heart was racing. I thought i got a great start until 2 bikes flew past either side of me scaring the life out of me. I somehow got round redgate and then the pack started to thin out. Then coming out of coppice onto the straight over on the left hand curb gaining on shane fast when another bike came right accross the front of me, the lightest of touches on my front wheel sent me left onto the grass! S#*T! i tried to take my hand off the throttle and the loose leather on the top of the palm pulled the throttle on instead of off and i was doing 80mph accross the grass! I remember saying "oh **** im going to die" inside my helmet as i desperatly tried to stabilise myself sacrificing my toes as anchors. Somehow i slowed the bike, gained control and got back onto the tarmac. I thenhad to buckle down and try and get through the pack. I thought i was last but apparently i slipped to 24th. I rode like never before and the feeling was incredible. Gaining on the rider in front and picking the overtake, just like they do on TV... Its brilliant! Running out of laps i was gaining on another bike gradually and i thought about an overtake on the foggy s's but bottled it, then tried to go round the outside at goddards, neck and neck we drag raced to my first chequered flag. The bike was to my left i finished .04 seconds behind him in 11th (class B), but didnt care the thrill was immense.

Race 2 - Shanes bike wouldnt start so myself and cleggy went to the grid by ourselves. Once the practice lap had been completed i was elated to see shane on the grid, his bike had been fixed! We had a warm up lap in which Shane thought was the race and nearly ran me and some others off the track and we got back to the grid. Id have to say i got a worse start than in race 1 and again got overtaken by a few bikes before redgate. But i went wide and redgate and regained another couple back immediatly. The race was on i caught upto Kev (skidlids) on lap 2 and had a good old tussle with him for 1 1/2 laps. I will never forget going around redgate on kev's outside leaning off the bike with my helmet getting closer and closer to kevs front tyre, i squeezed in front and kept in front down craner upto coppice where on the back striaght I tried to change up a gear on the straight but missed the lever somehow and kev went passed me again. I then tried to go down a gear for melbourne loop but couldnt reach the lever. I got onto the straight to start what i think was lap 4, looked down and saw that me gear lever wasnt attached to the link rod. F#*K! do i stay out or go in??? ********, im in a race, im still in 3rd gear... im not going into the pits. I watched every steward waiting for the black flag but i didnt come. I caned that bike around the track, and was loving every second but periodically gave the tank a punch or headbut to vent my frustration at the lack of gears! The reality of the damaged lever hit home when going round goddards and it grounded. I was hanging on to whatever position i was in, only 1 bike passed me in the remained 6 laps and that was under yellow flags at the old hairpin tut tut. I saw harriet in the gravel and it again hit home again how dangerous and expensive this sport can be. Once i returned to the pits i was stopped by another rider surprised that id managed to race with just one gear! I was more shocked than anyone id held onto 9th place (class B) and that id survived the weekend in one piece. Ask Shane and Dom i do have a habit of collecting gravel, grass and traffic cones on race tracks!

Id like to thank Dom for helping me get into racing, helping me with my bike, letting me stay in his motorhome, i could go on for a while with the things he's done.... i just wouldnt have been there without his help. So cheers mate and fantastic result for you this weekend, considering you were babysitting me and shane! Thanks to Ruth for feeding me, although i could do with skipping a few meals. Shane for twisting my arm into racing and for letting me sleep in his car saturday night! Cheers to everyone who raced and Harriet for the advice on being aggressive (within reason) on the track.

I had a fantastic weekend and cannot wait to hopefully better it at Angelsey!

[mat2hew]

Matt Lawson #72,, I'll not ramble quite as much but here I go,,,

Great weekend, after what seems like a year of preparing and waiting It's finnaly here!

Qualifying
11:25 Saturday
really cold, Windy but not Raining,

being my first ever event I decided to go out at the back of the pack and treat it like a track day,,, WRONG!,, that way you have lots of traffic!, ended up 10th on the grid, which wasn't bad, but I couldn't help thinking that if I had some clear laps I could have done better.

Race 1
17:05 Saturday
Really cold, Windy, not Raining

Sat on the grid, Lookng at the people infront, thinking I can do this, pole position is only about 6 meters ahead, good start and I'll do well, lights go red,,,,,,, revs build up clutch out,,,,, start to move forward early... arrrgh.. pull in the clutch... lights go out... felt like everyone went past, let the cluch out, big wheely, more went past,, first corner more went past, down the hill, cross with myself, crying, and shouting GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER YOU IDIOT! inside my helmet. My friend said I was 18th place at the end of lap 1, after that I got it together and started to claw places back on the last corner of the last lap stuffing it up the inside of matt larrett and pushing him off a bit wide (sorry) to finnish 8th overall 6th in class. again not bad for my first ever race but, still not pleased

Race 2
Sunday 17:35
Sunny lovely day, still cold, low sun (dark visor fitted)

having had all day to reflect and learn sat on the grid again looking at the people infront, but thinking more about the people behind this time, trying to calm myself down, saying to myself take it steady, NO STUPID WHEELYS THIS TIME!,, lights go out, I take it about as steady as my mum does at the traffic lights.... every body goes past! again!! YOU PRATT i shout at myself, Rob tells me this time I was 21st at the end of the first lap, worked really hard all the way up to 10th overall 6th in class, Oh I have to work on those starts!

looking at it on the positive side, nothing broken, finished both races with reasonable points, learned alot and anybody who knows, knows that overtaking people feels great!

I'd like to thank ducati for building such a great bike, Mark Bailey for doing whatever he did to it, and selling it to me, and all the fantastic people who I met on the weekend and every body!!

ROLL ON ANGLESEY!!!
(sorry I did ramble on abit, didn't I)

Matt #72 Lawson

[skidlids]

Nice reports guys,

Dean it was fun in race two watching you struggling to find a gear and your frequent glances downwards to see what was going on, at the time I didn't realise you had managed to carry on as the last time I passed you it looked as if it was going to be terminal

Good to meet you Matt and you were certainly riding a lot better than me as I watched you vanish into the distance