Ducati Sporting Club UK > DesmoDue Race Series > DesmoDue - General Questions and Chat > Ali's Brands Report

[ali]

What a fantastic/terrible day!

The fantastic part is easy. Still smarting somewhat from the news my collarbone was still shagged I didn't really want to attend a round I'd only hours before thought I'd be racing in, but I couldn't have been more wrong. It was great to be in the paddock, regardless of whether I was riding or not. The DSC is full to bursting with decent folk and many can be found in a DD paddock bending, fixing, cursing, smiling, grimacing and running back and forth to the loo (although not many from the BHCN clan on Sunday ). If there's a more cheerful place to be on a wet Sunday morning then you'd be hard pressed to find it!

News soon filtered down that Dibble 'a-donut-a-day-keeps-weight-watchers-at-bay' Corsa had sorted out a box overlooking the start/finish straight so we headed up to see if there was space for a few small ones. And me. Old softie that he is he couldn't kick a heavily pregnant lady and an ex-racer out of the box, and even laid on refreshments. Thanks mate.

All the races were great. I shouted myself hoarse telling to Dom to "shut the ferkin door" 100 times, and loved the paint-swapping battles for 2nd in the 583s. Phil rode two seriously consistent races to take his second double, and Andy J put exactly enough in to keep Dom at bay for the other two top spots. What was best for me was seeing the change from 12 months ago in skill. You could see Dom learning Andy's passing spots and blocking on those spots from then on, and Phil's lines were so similar lap after lap that it could've been a video reply of the preceeding lap. His times were also good enough for a chance at a Class A podium so watch out when he starts racing the new monnie.

Unfortunately seeing all this, while great entertainment, was almost insufferable. I had to restrain myself from running to race control for an entry to race 2. I know I could've had a couple of good results without too much risk, but any risk is too much at the moment. It was fantastic to see TP get out there and nail two great results, and even better to see the bike safely back on the trailer!

But it's a long time to next March, and the mental crutch that racing has been for the last 18 months has been taken away. Work feels like a massive amount of effort when there's no grid to look forward to in the near future, but I'll content myself with planning some winter training in spain and come back for '07 seriously fit and hungry for a championship.

Thanks for a great day all, and all the cheery comments.

Cheers,

Ali