Ducati Sporting Club UK > DesmoDue Race Series > DesmoDue - General Questions and Chat > an awesome weekend at Pembrey..

[mat2hew]

my main rules to myself for this year are...

1. to have fun
2. to be safe as possible
3. not to get too serious about stuff

After one of the best weekends ever at Cadwell I decided to follow the plan

so Pembrey was to do the test day, then the qualifying before Karen and me went out for the day on the Suzuki on Saturday and back for the racing on Sunday.

then I qualified 3rd!!!! I knew I'd be faster after fitting the new shock but didn't really know a front row start was on the cards. AWESOME.

Had a brilliant day out with Mrs Awesome and came back to the track refreshed, un-serious't and looking forward to a fun, safe ride around with my mates... from a front row start.

race 1

the Flag dropped and we were off I got off alongside Martin Cox, Dave Woods shot off in front, Tom Halifax (on his class B bike) dropped back a bit and Matt Larrett came flying past and gave me a little friendly wave as he went. I managed to get the inside line at the hairpin and moved into 2nd place and tucked in behind Dave Woods, I was just considering making a move for 1st place when the red flags came out.. ball cocks! after a long wait whilst they cleared up fluid at the hairpin. the 2nd start was not quite as good as the first, but not bad, ahead was the red rag - Matt Larrett we had a good 4 or 5 laps of swapping places before I got away. I soon managed to catch up with Martin Cox and out braked him into the hairpin taking 2nd Place but spent the rest of the race trading places with him on the last lap we caught a pair of back markers at a bad place I managed to go up the inside of the first and round the outside of the 2nd (sorry chaps, I have no idea who you were) I lost a bit of speed up the back straight, and was expecting Martin to come back past but he had been held up about the same.

2nd place!! Awesome!

race 2, now I have to say I was feeling a bit more serious (rule 3 broken) about race 2, I't had occurred to me that with my Awesomeness restored that I could perhaps beet Dave Woods Junior, I knew he'd beet me to the first corner but I thought I could follow him and maybe make a move later in the race, I't started pretty much as I had planned, after the first few corners Dave Woods was in first and I was about 5 seconds behind, I (or he) was able to maintain that gap for a few laps when Martin Cox came past at the end of the back straight and our race was on again. We swapped places many times and lost sight of Dave Woods and our race was for 2nd place again, with only a few laps left I had had the lead for a while but was aware that Martin was behind planning the best time to make his move when I over did it coming out the hairpin and nearly high sided myself (rule 2 broken) Just as I thought I was about to get propelled into the air Martin Crashed into the side of my bike and somehow we both stayed on! with just a couple of laps left and Martin now ahead I decided that maybe I should back it off just a bit and bring home a safe 3rd place trophy, but I wasn't counting on Roxy trying to take it from me on the last corner,,, 6 hundredths of a second behind!!

so 2nd place, 3rd place, rules 2 and 3 broken but rule 1 upheld,

IT WAS AWESOME!

p.s. sorry Martin for damaging your lovely well prepared bike...

does anyone know how to knock dents out of link pipes?.........