Ducati Sporting Club UK > DesmoDue Race Series > DesmoDue - General Questions and Chat > Desmo Due 2012...discuss

[mat2hew]

Originally Posted by steve41

those of us with class A bikes could cheaply modify the bikes to be competitive against something else.
Steve.

I don't know, but I recon it would be cheaper to buy a 696 than to modify a 620 to be competative, unless you know how to do it all yourself and can get cheap parts.

to bring in 696's would make the current A's obsolete, I think it would be a sure way to kill off class A, most of us wouldn't bother changing, how many new riders would it attract?

does anyone know how long the 696's will be current bikes? what's the point of changing to another end of range model?

I really really wish I could suggest a realy good idea that would sort it all out.,,,,


Press ganging?

[PDL]

Let me start by saying I am actually the type of person that DD is looking to attract. I race but not with DD and I race a 583. So I think my point of view is quite pertinant and quite valid, take it on board if you wish.

As I see it the problem you've got and it's a nice problem is DD is a one make series, so effectively you are only ever going to attract mostly Ducati enthusiasts. It's all about marketing DD and you have a very good tool at you disposal the DSC membership. Wether you chose to scrap class A for 695, 696 or even 800SS is immaterial really as it is a one make series, and your audience is limited.

I have started racing this year on a 583 in Mini Twins with W100 and also PDMCC, yes the SVs are faster but it is really my lack of skill not the bike as the 583 at the likes of Anglesey, 3Sisters & Oulton is good enough for mid pack in the right hands. The difference is Mini Twins is open to all makes, so with W100 I get 3 races for £90 or 7 races for £120; with PDMCC I get 6 races for £85. It is cheaper than DD and local.

So back to DD, the reason I didn't start in DD as a first timer it is too costly, you have too many rounds for me spread all over the country. You don't use tyre warmers (not that they matter that much) and you don't use wets; and you have a control tyre. Ok I could join in one or two rounds local to me, I could put up with no tyre warmers, but I like Power Ones and I like wets. So in a nutshell I may try some DD next seaosn I may not, but I know I will be racing with W100, PDMCC and maybe NG next season for sure and it will be on a 583 or even an 800SS.

The DD is fine as it is, but at the outset it was supposed to be a cheap way into racing and actually your not. It is cheaper for me to race with W100 and PDMCC, and simply, that is probably what puts a lot of people off - Cost.

Remember what I said at the start of my post - I am the type of person you should be looking to attract, my opinion is probably the most valid here.

Regards

Paul Lewis
#96 W100, #196 PDMCC

[numbskull]

Originally Posted by PDL

Let me start by saying I am actually the type of person that DD is looking to attract. I race but not with DD and I race a 583. So I think my point of view is quite pertinant and quite valid, take it on board if you wish.

As I see it the problem you've got and it's a nice problem is DD is a one make series, so effectively you are only ever going to attract mostly Ducati enthusiasts. It's all about marketing DD and you have a very good tool at you disposal the DSC membership. Wether you chose to scrap class A for 695, 696 or even 800SS is immaterial really as it is a one make series, and your audience is limited.

I have started racing this year on a 583 in Mini Twins with W100 and also PDMCC, yes the SVs are faster but it is really my lack of skill not the bike as the 583 at the likes of Anglesey, 3Sisters & Oulton is good enough for mid pack in the right hands. The difference is Mini Twins is open to all makes, so with W100 I get 3 races for £90 or 7 races for £120; with PDMCC I get 6 races for £85. It is cheaper than DD and local.

So back to DD, the reason I didn't start in DD as a first timer it is too costly, you have too many rounds for me spread all over the country. You don't use tyre warmers (not that they matter that much) and you don't use wets; and you have a control tyre. Ok I could join in one or two rounds local to me, I could put up with no tyre warmers, but I like Power Ones and I like wets. So in a nutshell I may try some DD next seaosn I may not, but I know I will be racing with W100, PDMCC and maybe NG next season for sure and it will be on a 583 or even an 800SS.

The DD is fine as it is, but at the outset it was supposed to be a cheap way into racing and actually your not. It is cheaper for me to race with W100 and PDMCC, and simply, that is probably what puts a lot of people off - Cost.

Remember what I said at the start of my post - I am the type of person you should be looking to attract, my opinion is probably the most valid here.

Regards

Paul Lewis
#96 W100, #196 PDMCC

Taking this on board, where are most of the DSC members located geographically so we can make the change next year to run the series with a club that only runs on tracks close to the DSC heartland.

That would reduce the travel costs for most people.

[Jolley]

Originally Posted by numbskull

Taking this on board, where are most of the DSC members located geographically so we can make the change next year to run the series with a club that only runs on tracks close to the DSC heartland.

That would reduce the travel costs for most people.

You could drop Anglesey and Pembrey for Silverstone and Donnington.... but that would be dependant upon whatever Hottrax decide to do, and I suspect it is a lot cheaper to run at Pembrey/Anglesey than it is at Silverstone/Donnington.

I quite like the tracks we run at.

[PDL]

Originally Posted by Jolley

You could drop Anglesey and Pembrey for Silverstone and Donnington.... but that would be dependant upon whatever Hottrax decide to do, and I suspect it is a lot cheaper to run at Pembrey/Anglesey than it is at Silverstone/Donnington.

I quite like the tracks we run at.

As a guide Oulton costs £28k to hire I would expect Donny is the same, and Anglesey is about £18k to hire. But they are building new pits/garages and Tower so it may go up

[antonye]

Originally Posted by Jolley

I quite like the tracks we run at.

Good!!!

When we were discussing the "offers on the table" late last year, one of the club offered us a calendar which looked something like this:

Cadwell Park
Cadwell Park
Cadwell Park (Mountain)
Cadwell Park
Mallory
Cadwell Park
Cadwell Park

Now even as someone who loves Cadwell, that wouldn't appeal to me as a race season!

Track selection is one of the big things that dictates the cost, as I'm sure you appreciate, and we are getting a great selection of tracks with Hottrax that is comparable with anything we had with New Era ... maybe with the exception of including Assen!

The formula for DD has always been cost, and will remain a focus going forward. We have discussed many times the "extras" that we could put into DD - tyre warmers, tyre choice, rule changes - but it always turns out that it adds to the cost rather than reducing them.

We also had the opportunity to switch club last year, and thus look to see if we could get better value for money, and Kev did an amazing job of balancing up the cost-per-minute of track-time from ALL the offers we had, and they were all within pennies of each other, so we had no real issues to deal with sacrificing the cost of entry against quality of circuits.

In my opinion, and it is just my opinion for what it's worth, I really don't see any problems in DD. The fact that the riders have any say over things like the rules and direction of the series is something you would not get in any other race series to this degree, that I am aware of.

Maybe the series really isn't broken and doesn't need fixing at all?

[PDL]

Originally Posted by antonye

...Maybe the series really isn't broken and doesn't need fixing at all?

From an outsiders perspective your series isn't broke at all it is very successful. Maybe just market it a little bit more, in a focussed way, know who your market is and then offer rookies some incentive.

[bradders]

Originally Posted by PDL

From an outsiders perspective your series isn't broke at all it is very successful. Maybe just market it a little bit more, in a focussed way, know who your market is and then offer rookies some incentive.

+1

[antonye]

Originally Posted by PDL

From an outsiders perspective your series isn't broke at all it is very successful. Maybe just market it a little bit more, in a focussed way, know who your market is and then offer rookies some incentive.

Yes, I think you're very much right on this point!

We do actually have flyers at race rounds now and we'll pick up on putting out press releases of results to the bike/sport press too as this may help generate more interest.

[couchcommando]

Originally Posted by antonye

Good!!!

When we were discussing the "offers on the table" late last year, one of the club offered us a calendar which looked something like this:

Cadwell Park
Cadwell Park
Cadwell Park (Mountain)
Cadwell Park
Mallory
Cadwell Park
Cadwell Park

?

That on a 696 and I'm back