Ducati Sporting Club UK > DesmoDue Race Series > DesmoDue - General Questions and Chat > Realistic costs for the race series?

[couchcommando]

I am letting people work it out for themselves, I am only giving another viewpoint.
What I am struggling with is why would you want to race and then put yourself in a position of not being able to win ? Ability aside the whole point of racing is to try and win. By saving money and noy buying warmers/wets you are at a disadvantage that you can't make up.

It would have been better within the rules to have banned warmers and wets and had a road tyre as the control tyre, like some of the other cheap series do. Also I see you have to have a road licence, I can't understand this as I'm sure there may be fans of ducati's out there that may want to do this but don't have a road licence yet they would have to go to the expense of getting one ? I see 80hp mentioned for these bikes but no internal mods allowed, where is the 80hp coming from and who is gonna police the engines for legality ?

I am totally for cheap racing and I like this idea, I just don't think it's the cheap racing you were aiming for, if it was you could have set the rules a lot better

[TP]

It's like a bloody soap opera in here!!

Blah blah blah ...

[dickieducati]

yeah, neighbours............


bog off

[couchcommando]

neighbours did give us kylie so maybe some good will come out of this

to sum up we have

organisers saying it will cost £4k
current racers saying it will cost way more to be competitive

You decide who is right

If you're just looking at laps per ££ then t/days are better value, but and this is the BUT then fix per ££ and t/days are poor value, just riding round with no reason getting dizzy. Every lap in a race is at 110% and everyone around you wants your piece of tarmac it is one of the most exhilarating things you can do and this series altho not cheap is prob the cheapest way you can race a duc so if you have any doubst just do it

[antonye]

Originally posted by couchcommando
What I am struggling with is why would you want to race and then put yourself in a position of not being able to win ? Ability aside the whole point of racing is to try and win. By saving money and noy buying warmers/wets you are at a disadvantage that you can't make up.

The bikes should be close enough that this kind of thing may not make a difference. It comes down to the cost/participation factor - if you desperately want to participate but can't afford tyre warmers, does that stop you from participating?

Ask weeksy - he's planning on doing the TT but knows he won't win it, so I'm guessing he'll be able to tell you the same reasons!

It would have been better within the rules to have banned warmers and wets and had a road tyre as the control tyre, like some of the other cheap series do.

True - my preference would have been to use road legal tyres only, with no wets nor a control tyre (just because I have a mental block on certain tyre makes!).

But then for all the rules this is the only one that I don't like, so it's not enough to stop me participating.

Also I see you have to have a road licence, I can't understand this as I'm sure there may be fans of ducati's out there that may want to do this but don't have a road licence yet they would have to go to the expense of getting one ?

This is, apparently, ACU regulations.

I see 80hp mentioned for these bikes but no internal mods allowed, where is the 80hp coming from and who is gonna police the engines for legality ?

This is not part of the spec for Desmo Due, nor has it ever been. I suggest you read the full rules -
http://www.ducatisportingclub.com/co...Article_ID=570

I am totally for cheap racing and I like this idea, I just don't think it's the cheap racing you were aiming for, if it was you could have set the rules a lot better

You obviously haven't read the full rules as yet.
See above.

[Steve M]

The whole piont of racing is to try to win - not really, this is club racing, yes it is a good feeling when you win a race but most never will and accept this, it's all about having a good time and if that is scrapping with a couple of others for tenth place and you go home having enjoyed yourself then that'll do for most I would think.

[skidlids]

My next episode will follow tomorrow, as I was writing a new topic titled "my reasons for wanting to do Desmo Due" when the works PC crashed taking my unsaved Post with it, also got a partial reply for this current Topic saved on the PC at work that I will also post tomorrow if its not out of date by then.

[ali]

Three years ago I set off in a Land Rover from Mexico, heading for Argentina. Over the following 20 months I blew every penny I had ever saved, which was about double my original budget.

There's no question that I wouldn't have done it if someone had told me that before going, and no question that it'll always be one of the best things I've ever done.

There's more than a hint of the above in entering DesmoDue but, as a species, we're amazingly good at self-deception, so for the moment I'll keep telling myself that £4k is my limit or I'm going to cancel my entry. If I stray towards £5k by this time next year then I'll try not to throw myself under a bus, but take a few measures (no holidays, no house stuff, etc) in order to keep costs under control. If, mid-season, I want new discs then I won't be eating steak for a few weeks. My decision.

As somebody else has already mentioned, most of us are in long trousers these days, and are all too aware of the pain that debt can be. My thanks to those keen to reinforce just how bloody expensive it's likely to get, but I'm glad you weren't here when I was putting my landy on a boat to Mexico!

For what it's worth I'd like to put my hand up as one of the not-going-to-win-it-in-the-first-season brigade, but definitely want to be able to push it harder than I can on a track day and not be devastated if I come off.

I hope to god this doesn't put too many people off as I know Chris and the MT have spent a huge amount of time getting the series going and they deserve solid support from those of us entering.

Cheers,

Ali

[Edited on 13-12-2004 by ali]

[Ray]

The topic of this post is bound to polarise opinion, no one wants to set out with an "unrealistic budget" but it happens, so what?? All this hot air including mine is merely opinion as to what and what isn't realistic, what is and isn't possible.

Unfortunately none of us can see into the future, if we could how come we haven't all won the lottery or avoided the acident last week, last month or last year. We can only base our opinion on past experience BUT IMHO don't stop other taking a leap into the unknown, isn't that what racing is about??? Trying to take yerself beyond your previous limits???

If that means taking yer overdraft into the unknown then thats a judgement call that only the individual can make. Been there done that, got the T shirt. Knowing when to give up is another judgement call.

Fine tell them about your experience but yer can't force it down their throat.

A realistic budget?, how much have you got to Spend?? Spent it all?, then stop.

You can plan to your hearts content but you will not spot every OSINTOT going.


Ray

[Edited on 13-12-2004 by Ray]

[couchcommando]

antonye, not so sure about the ACU and road licence thing, plenty of racers don't have their road licence ? Some aren't even old enough

To whoever is thinking of entering just do it regardless of what anyone says about cost, you'll wonder why you didn't do it years ago