Ducati Sporting Club UK > DesmoDue Race Series > DesmoDue - General Questions and Chat > over and out

[bradders]

Originally Posted by mat2hew

Castle Combe rewards good lines and smooth riding. One of the fastest circuits in the country! not point and squirt,

etc...

well I'll disagree; 1 fast chicane, two stop start chicanes and long straights especially the start/finish with the uphil portion...and smooth is normally how I ride, its difficult when your teeth are rattled from your head at full lean!

all I know is it felt like Pembrey all over; catch in the corners, and on the exit, feck off down the straights....story of the year

[mat2hew]

mallory's the biggest point and squirt circuit.

at Combe, you can carry plenty of speed through the first chicane then the tightish right hander afterwards is flat out giving you plenty of a start down the down hill straight with a super fast corner at the end leading into the second chicane which again is a lovely right/left then you can hug the right hand kerb all the way down to the tight chicane, go in tight brush the orange tyres with your elbow, by which time you can be full on the gas all the way round the next right and over the start line

the first 2 chicanes have smooth kerbs that you can run over on the entry with no problems as well. (not that I did,,, that would be cutting corners and cheeting!)

*simples

[bradders]

Originally Posted by mat2hew

mallory's the biggest point and squirt circuit.

at Combe, you can carry plenty of speed through the first chicane then the tightish right hander afterwards is flat out giving you plenty of a start down the down hill straight with a super fast corner at the end leading into the second chicane which again is a lovely right/left then you can hug the right hand kerb all the way down to the tight chicane, go in tight brush the orange tyres with your elbow, by which time you can be full on the gas all the way round the next right and over the start line

the first 2 chicanes have smooth kerbs that you can run over on the entry with no problems as well. (not that I did,,, that would be cutting corners and cheeting!)

*simples

kerbs are part of the track - not cheating to cut them

pretty much what I did...maybe I am over estimating my exit speed and catching on exit isnt really helping drive up the straight??? Phil and Kevs bikes pulled a bit, not too much and no where what the did at Pembrey, Paul's flew by as did Hugh's. Weight, set up, gearing, torq, power, better exit take your pick Just an average riders single-perception

Mallory is all balls into Gerrads and then into chicane, from there its harder to pass on the power imo up to the next corner as its mainly fast corners not really straights other than start one....

Phil - not sure if thats a good thing or bad...hopefully good in that I didnt take a lunge (dont remember doing but then don't remember the close pass on my mate Craig) and bad as in I let you have it I was very conscious you and Kev were going for the tit;e amd taking either out would not have been a good move, so held back on a few passes which i would have tried before...and did on Mr Pullen

[Bionicle]

Originally Posted by bradders

so held back on a few passes which i would have tried before...and did on Mr Pullen

All good clean passes though Paul. I should have tried defending the line better

[Ghost]

You were very gracious to me in that second to last chicane. Especially as it was to the flag.

[Jolley]

Either my bike is so badly set up that I am used to being all over the place, or I like it rough and loose……. But thinking about the lap, there are only a couple of bumpy bits worth worrying about.

My lap….
Start/Finish straight – Fine
Avon rise – a few bumps, but in a straight line, so no worries
Quarry – as smooth and flat as any bend anywhere
Farm Straight – Fine
The Esses – a nasty dip on the apex of the left that I just make sure I go wide of, then there is no problem. Not slow though as it is easily flat in 3rd.
Old Paddock Bend – proper bumpy and probably the worst section of track for bumps, but the bike goes through there with no problems if you are brave enough.
Hammerdown – No problems
Tower corner – A strange downhill bend, but plenty smooth enough
Bobbies – again, I find I cannot cut the left at all because it has quite a dip, but it is still a 3rd gear chicane, so not exactly stop/go
Westway – some undulations, but not really bumpy
Dean straight hairpin – down to second gear (but high in the revs, so not exactly crawling), but a bit bumpy on the way in, so you can’t leave braking too late because there is nowhere to go….. an easy place to make up time on everyone by making sure you are slow in and on the power early.
Camp Corner – as smooth as any corner anywhere, and as fast as you are brave enough to take it.

…so fast and smooth for 80% of the lap (or I’m just not as sensitive to bumps as the rest of you).

[bradders]

Originally Posted by Jolley

Either my bike is so badly set up that I am used to being all over the place, or I like it rough and loose etc etc

dont know the names much but...straight bits bumpy but its straight quarry very - when on the brakes deep into the corner trying to catch up I closed my eyes a couple of time with throttle wide open as I though it was game over...esses were but not enough to back off, the corner before second chicane was very - enough that I had to feather throttle a little or again front felt so choppy almost as if I shut throttle and braked...and the last corner exactly the same especially if taking a wide line and late exit to try and get under the bike in front on exit, although a tighter line in/wider exit was not that bad but everyone in front was using that

now last year I had no issues with bumps, but bike was very soft and I was riding 5 secs a lap slower...so combination of the two means I was closer to my edge

and other than the first chiance, no brakes for me, the rest needed heavy braking to get in and out so I'd say point an squirt as drive is all important; not fast in fast out

all comes down to a simple thing, no excuses; I rode as hard and fast as I could and it was enough for a 7th and 5th. The guys in front rode faster. As they have most of the year.

Now its just decsion time still; sell B bike and buy an A (like Neil's or the other on here) or spend a hefty wedge on sorting mine and go for a top 3 finish next year. To B or not to B, that IS the question

[bradders]

not that bumpy eh....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AstsSrRvCRw

[Simps]

I have to agree with Ron on this one. My front was moving around a fair bit in race 2 but I was pushing quite hard to catch-up. I dont remember one corner being that bad and honestly the bumps werent a distraction. Yes I certainly remember my front bouncing and chattering away when braking late into the chicanes but I got use to this.

It might be the setup of my bike but I found Cadwell more worrying on my front. Also I was shocked that I could make it by you on the straight at Castle but couldnt really gain on you at Cadwell on the straight?

I am not sure whether I will be doing class A, B or nothing at all next year. My issue this year has been that my lack of mechanical know-how has left me quite out of pocket with all my off track excursions.

Anyways shame not to see you at Oulton!

[bradders]

Originally Posted by 955SP

Also I was shocked that I could make it by you on the straight at Castle but couldnt really gain on you at Cadwell on the straight?

Cadwell is flat almost everywhere (as in throttle not no undulations ) so my exit speed is pretty high and that may have helped, plus very few corners were so low a gear or low in the revs in 3rd - again better drive maybe

hope the kitchen blokey does a quick job; I want to be at Oulton to watch the end to this and see my partner Dentist win the novice title