Desmodue report from Cadwell - my first race!!! (quite long)

[Zimbo]

All the preparation has been done and the waiting is finally over – Race weekend is here at last!! It’s my first time racing and after months of bike preparation, acquiring licenses and leathers, joining the relevant clubs and associations and spending seemingly endless amounts of cash, we’re as ready as we’ll ever be!
Phoenix and I have booked a Friday afternoon ACU test session before the weekend’s racing, so I turn up at hers after lunch on Thursday, having emptied my work van of general clutter, parts and shelving, and loading my toolboxes and equipment. All has been double checked – ACU licence, New Era membership card, entry tickets, medical declaration and scrutineering card are all present, boots leathers and gloves, two helmets, orange novice vest and dogtags, forget any one of them and you don’t get to race, so I’ve made absolutely sure!
Phoenix has the caravan packed and ready so I transfer the gear from my van into the caravan and we load the two race monsters, Dessie and Max, into the van and strap them down. A final check over, and we get going at last, three hours ahead to Cadwell.
We arrive about 9 having stopped in a Little Chef to eat, and find a space in the Paddock. CK and AK’s rider Andy has just arrived with his van and caravan and CK/AK aren’t far behind so we set up the caravan alongside, reserving space for other DD riders so we’re all together. Awning up, unload the bikes, then a few drinks with the others and a chat to catch up, and we fall into bed in the caravan.

[Zimbo]

Friday dawns cold and wet. We spend the morning just preparing the bikes and ourselves, signing on at the Paddock office, catching up with yet more DD riders as they turn up. Finally after lunch we’re called out on track so we get kitted up in leathers, orange bibs to show we’re novice racers, plus waterproof jackets as it’s still wet, and head out onto the circuit.
I’m not comfortable, I was here 3 weeks ago on the bike and it just isn’t coming together, but I struggle round for a few laps and it starts to fall into place slowly. Our session is flagged over and it’s back to the caravan and wait for out next one. We go out again, the rain has stopped although the track is still very wet, and I’m feeling much better. We’re on control Pirelli Diablos and most other bikes out there are on full race wets so they’re passing me in the corners with ease, but the tyres feel good and grippy on the wet tarmac and I build up pace, concentrating on being smooth and braking carefully, and start to reel a few other bikes in. Over the mountain the back wheel is spinning up over the crest, I keep the power on and the wheelspin carries me over and towards Hall Bends, the back fishtailing, and it feels good, I’m enjoying myself. Carve through Hall Bends, left right left right and brake for the right handed hairpin, a quick squirt on the throttle downhill towards the right hander of Barn, squeeze the brakes early as it’s downhill and the most slippery part of the circuit, and all of a sudden I find myself sliding on my back, watching Dessie slide alongside me. Bugger, I’ve fallen off. Barn curves away to the right and Dessie and I slide off the tarmac and come to rest in the mud. I jump up, my shoulder hurts, check Dessie’s engine is stopped as I don’t want to starve him of oil but he’s cut out already, so I turn the ignition off and a Marshall appears to rescue us. I’m not of much use as I’m conscious of the pain in my shoulder, so the marshall struggles to push Dessie behind the barrier, I remove helmet and gloves and survey the damage. Not too bad, the crash bung has disintegrated but has saved a lot of the damage to the right hand side, clipon is bent, tank scratched and some new minor dents, rearset bent but not broken.
After the session an ambulance appears and I’m checked over to make sure I’m not badly injured, my helmet checked for damage, and I’m left with the recovery van to take Dessie and I back to base. I put an icepack on my shoulder and take some paracetomol, and Lin and crew clean the mud off Dessie and take stock of the damage, AK and a few others come over and offer help and parts, we reckon it can be fixed. Calls are made to secure replacement clipons and rearsets, and we remove the bent rearsets from the bike. I set off round the paddock and find a helpful superkart team, he’s well equiped and a fabricator by trade, and he uses his vice and hammer and an oxy accetylene kit to straighten the bent ally to a point where it’s useable, charging me a fiver to cover the cost of the gas. Result! We finally have dinner and an early night, we’ve got a day off tomorrow (sat) so we’ll sort it out then.

[Zimbo]

Saturday morning my shoulder has stiffened right up but I keep it moving and take nurofen as we have breakfast. Then we set to the bike, fitting the rearsets back on and replacing the right clipon. As we put it all together our team technical director (Slob) arrives, just in time to try it all out. A few minor adjustments, it all seems to work, so he sets off on his bike to try and source a replacement crash bung and we watch some of the Saturday races. A final check by the Doctor confirms I’ve not broken anything, he makes me do five press-ups to prove I can use the arm, and I’m passed fit to race. I take the bike down to Scrutineering and it passes, I borrow Phoenix’s leathers as I’ve put a small hole in the shoulder of mine in my fall and I worry they might fail them, I get my kit passed and sign on, hire my transponder and fit it to Dessie, and we’re ready at last, just hope for a good day tomorrow.
Sunday dawns damp but with clear skys and it’s warmer at last! We’re out at 9.20 for qualifying, I worry that Dessie may not be right as we’ve not been able to test him but all seems fine as I do a couple of laps. I’m ultra cautious as the track’s still damp and I don’t want to fall off again, I don’t push at all, I just want to get my laps in safely, and finally I come off having qualified 17th out of 25, Lin is right behind me on the grid.
The 620s race before lunch and we go and watch a fast and exciting race, then lunch and it’s out turn. We ride to the collecting area and onto the circuit, make our way slowly round to the start line, and I find my mark and stop. It’s dry and bright, the track is dry, it’s warm, couldn’t be better. We’re waved off on our sighting lap and I do a practice start, my first ever on Dessie, all goes well. Carefully round the circuit, you want to build heat in the tyres but there’s a £50 fine if you fall off on the sighting lap, so don’t be silly about it. Back through Hall bends, round the hairpin and I pass the point I fell off, a bit nervous of it still, round Barn and onto the start finish straight, form up again. This time it’s for real. Last minute check, visor shut, all well, as the lights go on hold it at 7000 rpm, clutch just slipping, the lights go out and it’s away, full power and feed in the clutch, a good start, I get past the row in front and we power up the fast left hander of Coppice four abreast, bikes everywhere. Over to the left and peel right into Charlies 1 and 2, onto Park straight, head down and throttle wide open, up through the box, Dessie pulls well and isn’t slow in the straight, good. Into the right handers of Park and Chris Curves, careful cos the tyres are still slightly cold, left into the gooseneck and brake hard for Mansfield, so far so good, position held. Then into the chicane I’m forced wide, brake late, my line’s all wrong and the front wheel’s on the grass, I go straight on through the bales, rejoin the pack but I’ve lost a couple of places, bugger it. Yellow flags, two bikes down at the bottom of the mountain and into the Armco, ignore them and hold the throttle wide open up the hill. The front wheel lifts off the mountain and carries a way down the straight, the pack’s strung out now and we follow each other in line astern back onto the start finish straight. I slipstream the bike in front , a 600SS, number 14, and close up but not close enough, I concentrate on a fast line out of Charlies 2 onto Park straight, maximum exit speed, slipstream him again, this time I close fast and pull out from behind him at the last second, brake late and I’m first into Park, hold the position and set about chasing down the next. The following lap he gets me back in the same place, we battle through to the end but he finishes just ahead, we throttle off and touch gloves as we climb through Coppice, as we come round to the exit the marshalls applaud us for a good battle and it feels good!

[Zimbo]

We refuel, check the bikes over, go to get the positions, I’ve finished 15th, number 14 tells me he hasn’t enjoyed a race as much for ages. Mandy and Alex turn up in the paddock, nice to see them.
Back for race 2, I get a good start again but am balked into coppice and have to throttle off so don’t make any places up. As we come up to Charlies they’re slow and queuing up on the racing line, I’m already on the inside and so I charge past the queue and brake late, passing three or four, the position sticks. I spot Tonio and Psychlist ahead, they finished well ahead of me in race 1 so I’m chuffed to bits. I brake late into the hairpin and get Tonio and Murray Mint on the inside, it'll spoil their line but tough, there's only one exit line out of the hairpin and I got there first. I follow Psychlist round and he's just ahead as we power back up the mountain and into Hall bends, I close up behind him intending to pass him into the hairpin if I can. Then as we switch from hard left to hard right at 60 ish mph psychlist goes down right in front of me, just five yards ahead and he goes down really hard, sparks fly as the bike slides and he rolls, I brake hard and swerve right, somehow I miss both him and the bike and he and the bike slide off the track as I pass. Don’t think about it now, it’s behind you, concentrate!!!! I keep going, number 14 passes me again, my visor keeps misting up and I try to open it a fraction but on the straights it’s blown closed again so I have to keep adjusting it. Light rain is falling and the slippery flags are being shown, so I keep going with extra care. The front wheel is lifting off the mountain, the bike feels good, I'm really enjoying myself, don't relax, you can't hear other bikes behind you so you just don't know how far back they are. At one stage a wheel appears on my inside at the end of Park straight, I close the door and he disappears. Don't relax, don't brake too early and let him through, keep your corner entry speed up and keep the throttle pinned in the bits in between, flat on the tank and watching the corners rush up through the flyscreen, sit up and brake hard and late, tip in and sweep round under power, back on the tank again and up through the box, the tacho hitting 9K before the changes, just keep wringing every ounce of speed out, all the time, I'm taking a defensive line where possible to make passing as difficult as I can.
Suddenly the last lap flag is out, then the chequered flag, I’ve finished and in one piece!!! The results show me 13th from my 17 start, I’ve really enjoyed it and I’m still aboard the bike!!! More applause from the marshalls, I hadn't realised I'd had a very close race and just held them off all the way, Tonio and Murray finished less than half a second behind, they'd chased hard all race but Dessie had the legs on the straights and they never quite got into position to pass.
We wait for news of Psychlist, who’s next to us in the paddock. His bike is delivered back, fairly battered but repairable, it’s been down on both sides but the R&G bungs have minimised the damage and performed much better than the Motrax ones I was using. Eventually he turns up from the medical centre, shoulder dislocated and popped back in in the fall, he’s bruised but OK. He didn't have a good day, another bike took his clutch lever off on lap 2 of the first race (though he still finished) and then the off in the second, caused by contact with another bike he was battling with for position. I sympathise with his sore shoulder as mine still hurts like hell, although I didn't notice it whilst riding!
We pack up the caravan, load the bikes, and start the 3 hour journey home, very tired but very happy!

Next installment after my next race in Castle Coombe in June . . . .

[Fodder]

Nice write up Zimbo. Sounds fun, oh alright if i'm honest a damp Cadwell sounds scary as it's tricky enough in the dry. Keep it up:spin: Look forward to the next instalment.

Fods

[Zimbo]

And finally, a picture courtesy of Alex and Mand, thank you :thumbsup:

[Scotty]

i like the fit to race test there
wish i had the finance/balls to have a go
think more trackdays are on the cards first

top 1/3 of the pack as a 'novice' must take some doing, well done :flag:

[slob]

And finally, a picture courtesy of Alex and Mand, thank you :thumbsup:
I stuck a couple of you and Lin in the gallery Graeme.

[Mand]

Al has some more photos, he will send you some more later in the week.

Nice Avatar Zim!

[fly]

Well done Graeme :woot:

Hope your shoulder feels better soon :D

Speak soon - Linda x

[bod]

Nice write up felt like I was going around Cadwell myself,starting to get the buzz,but with 1 trackday under my belt (which I survived) / lack of finance,and can't afford time of work with an injury may well stop me.

Or am I just scared;)

[gjfevans]

Eagerly awaiting the next installment.

[marchesini]

Well done Zimbo. I'll be interested to hear every detail of your season as it's something I fancy doing next year - thanks for taking the time to write something of interest. I know the racing lark is not everyone's cup of tea but for Ducati not to race wouldn't be right - whether it's Moto GP in Jerez or a 583 on a rainy Cadwell - all the same - man(or woman), machine and who has the biggest balls (or talent - in the literal sense, of course).

So was it as nerve wracking as people say - the first corner is a real shock to the system apparently?? Had you done a trackday at cadwell before? How many trackdays have you done - do you think it makes a difference? I would be more than pleased if I didn't come last and finished a race so if I'd done half as well as you, I'd be well chuffed.

Keep it up and hopefully see you at Mallory - I need some spanners. :fou:

simon

[Zimbo]

Quite right, Ducatis are made to race, even ickle 583 monsters!!!

I didn't find it too nerve wracking personally, but then I tend not to get that way generally! The first corner was great, you're on the power off the line and just close up as much as you can on the bikes in front, you're four abreast and right on the back wheels of the bikes in front and accelerating hard, not as bad as I thought it might be! In fact i quite liked that bit, it's your best chance of making up positions!

As for trackdays, I did four last year including the UKMOC one, hadn't done any before that. One trackday three weeks before the race at Cadwell, that was the first time I'd ridden the circuit, more track time and talent would improve matters further though, my best time was 2.03, the fastest 583s were around 1.54, so a whole 9 seconds to make up yet!!!

[manwithredbike]

hey zimbo - great account of the races. sounds like class fun. will look forward to the next write ups. thanks

[Ade]

Ex Cattering Directer to Ex Technical Directer. Well done you, Dezzie, and not forgetting the back ground support team, Mr Slob, who must of been promoted to TD.
That made for excellent bedtime reading, tough luck on coming off, and good on you for putting it all behind you, excellent result, sounds also like Lin was having her own little battle not to far behind. I really miss not being there, keep the reports coming in.

[Zimbo]

Hiya Ade, we missed you being there too! How's things going over there???

Lin seemed to enjoy her battles too, made a difference to her being on a level playing field this year instead of being 10 bhp down on the 620s, she did well!

[Ade]

Every single thing that I think about is cheaper, apart from second hand Monsters, They really hold there price, possibly even double the UK market. I have been told that there are dealership issues in WA, and that the present one which is held by the main Harley dealers (?),is very shortly up for renewal, this may bring the prices down.
The beer, the Aussies, the weather, roads, road manners (everyone indicates)(most excellent), all food portions are larger, people seem to have that we do care attitude in the public sector, have you ever tried chilli beer (thats pretty mad), drive in off licences, bring your own booze restaurants (and they stick it in the fridge to keep it cool)(cool), open air firework shows concerts displays which are free, public bbq,s so you can just tip up with your grub and sling it on (and leave it as you would want to find it), some of the nicest beaches that I have seen (and there so big and some with no one on them) blue green waters, backpack hostels cheep as chips, all some of the excellent ways of life,
I wont go on any more, just to say ride safe, there are no big prizes at the end of every race, in this case taking part can be just as rewarding as the winning.

[eonan]

Zimbo...I reckon you deserve an award for your desmo journalism. First your excellent technical and product reviews, and now actually putting them into action.

I sat down with a coffee this morning, and really enjoyed reading this. Sounds a brilliant thing to be doing of a weekend...pity I'm so far away...I'd love to come down at some point and see you in action. Really makes me want to try a track day too.

Cheers mate...keep writing :thumbsup:

[Phoenix]

I wish I had the time to write a report but I don;t currently. Zim did well on our Dessie - first race and 13th - after an off n all - brilliant :)

As for me - well I out there to enjoy it, look after Max and Dessie and the crew and make up the numbers up - I had my own battles with Mike Attack and Fastfasuli and kept Stuart behind me too - Race 2 - I was happy picking up 12 points thanks :) Despite just wazzing about on my Ducati 600 !!!!

Roll on Brands. :D