Ducati Sporting Club UK > DesmoDue Race Series > DesmoDue - General Questions and Chat > To Mallory or not to Mallory... that is the question

[Simps]

Its 8:30pm Friday night, because I am self employed and the sh*t hit the fan I have been stuck working since 8am today instead of being up at Mallory test day.

Now Mallory isnt my best friend.. the very last time I saw the track was in 2008 on an ACU test day and I crashed.

To make matters worse I have just had my new forks fitted from a 696 and as they were slightly shorter than the last ones the geometry changed. Also to stop the fairing grounding the rear ride height has been jacked up. Plus I have a new brakes.

So after knowing how bad Mallory can be, should I get up and 5am and drive from London and attempt to re-learn the track and get use to the bike in a 10 min practice and a 15 min qualifier? After reading some of these posts about the nightmares the track can cause I am wondering if I am mad even trying?

However, that said I could just go and take it easy... if I know how?

[Sorted]

You'll be here Hugh (maybe) but its gonna be a tough day... 2 x 18 lappers with 40mins in between and 32 on the grid

[Simps]

Ok... will see you tomorrow and see how it goes

Where can I get the schedule?

[Bionicle]

Originally Posted by 955SP

Ok... will see you tomorrow and see how it goes

Where can I get the schedule?

http://www.ducatisportingclub.com/sh...ad.php?t=84200

[Simps]

Nope I didnt win any races last weekend but as far as I am concerned I am a winner because I beat Mallory and that is all that matters to me. I really thought that Satuday's race could have been a disaster considering:

1. The only other time I have been to Mallory was in 2008 on a test day and I crashed out in the 2nd session exiting Gerrards at 100mph and killing my bike (later Jolleys bike) and my confidence.


2. So excited to get Radial calipers on a DD bike I didnt check the length of the fork properly and found that they are 20mm shorter, coupling this with the fact the rear had to be jacked up to stop the belly pan and rear brake lever grounding, the handling was going to be a lot sharper! The bike handled really well in race 1 at Brands on Harriet’s old fork I was feeling a real muppet for changing!


3. Had to get up at 4:30am Saturday morning and drive 2 hours up the M40, because the M1 was closed cause of that bloody fire ).


4. I only had 10 minutes practice to re-learn my way around and get used to new handling and one hell of a single brake!!!



However, when I got up there and met up with Ron and Neal C on Saturday the morning and getting the feeling of the DD paddock I felt my confidence return and in qualifying I managed to "pull the pin" and a do a 1:04.01 to get third on the grid.


For me this was when I slayed my Mallory demons. Three years on from my crash and after only 12 laps of practice I posted that time.... job done.

Another small triumph for me was getting from back row, last position on the grid (see below for why) to get 7th in race one.

In race two I managed to do about 6 consequtive laps in the 1:03s slowly realing in Ghost (would have got you if it were a 50 lapper!!!)




However, I am my worst enemy in many respects and I really need to sort out my organisational skills and give myself a smack for:


1. Being too slow to get my kit on and not knowing the right way to go to the grid for the first race, thus being told to start the race from back of the grid, 30th spot, after only getting a 1/4 lap to warm up my tyres.


2. For not bringing spare knee sliders!!!!!!!!! I like to get my knee down to judge my lean. If I dont I panic I will lean too much and I will have a repeat and slide off! After the red flag on race 2 I was sitting back on the grid next to Bradders and I noticed to my horror that I had gone through my knee slider and I was hitting leather I had already swapped them over so the left was no better. thus after the restart, when I put my knee down I would touch it for a few seconds to test and then pull it up. Still I managed to go through the velco pad and leather!


3. When I come up upon a back marker I must make a quick decision and stick to it! Get the pass done safely and quickly. In race 2 after what felt like an eternity of trying to catch Ghost over 14 laps, I saw him coming up on a back marker and thought this is my chance, but nope he glided past like he wasnt there, but when I came upon the back marker I fumbled a bit and giving Neil C the opportunity to cruise by me to take 2nd a 1/4 lap ahead. It was well deserved 2nd for him as his pass was perfectly timed showing he clearly his better race craft, plus he's nice bloke so wont hold it against him!


Anyway, I did my best and I am very pleased with the result.
I am gutted for Ron because I feel that he should have been in the mix and I think he might have had a thing or two to say about who would be on the top step. Also have to thank him for all the tips and info that helped me to be confident enough to get on it!

I am really glad for going and beating Mallory! I already feel that my racing is improving and I am getting up to speed faster, especially in qualifying. I still think that I have more in the tank and could go quicker but I need to be more prepared so that I can forget about everything else and just focus on going quick!

I think that if I keep working hard there is a chance that a chap in an orange vest could in the top 3 at the end of the season.