The Brands Hatch round took place on the 22nd and 23rd of June going into qualifying reigning champion Dominic Cann (1) asserted his dominance with a time of 55.1 to take the first A class (injection) place on the grid with Enrico Belsito (13) posting a 55.3 and local man Mike Smith (89) a 55.6. In B class (pre-injection) Sean Coyle (57) posted a 58.7 (some improvement on his first ever race with Desmo Due at the same circuit where he posted a 1:09.6 lap!) Jim Robinson (55) posted a 59.5 and Will Pugh (71) just over the one-minute marker with a time of 1:00.3
RACE 1
For race one on Saturday only Cann (1) was on the front row of the mixed grid with two junior super sport riders ahead of him. From the off Cann (1) was under threat and was overtaken by Belsito (13) on lap one who remained ahead until lap 5 when Cann (1) took the lead but the two traded places again with Belsito (13) again taking the lead on lap 7 to take the win despite Cann (1) posting the fastest lap on lap nine. Mikey Smith (89) threw his nailed on third place away at the top of druids to give Paul Payne (68) his first podium position it nearly eight years. In B class Sean Coyle (57) managed to stay ahead of Jim Robinson (55) throughout the race to claw back some of the points deficit he incurred after of the failing to finish at Pembrey. In third place B class returnee Harry Cole (141) made the most of the track time he was also getting on his classic bike in another class to make riding the Ducati look easy.
RACE 2
On Sunday, because of a fluid spillage on the track necessitating a full track wash, racing was reduced to just the afternoon race instead of the morning and afternoon races featured in the programme. Once again Belsito (130 got the jump in A class to lead Cann (1) over the line at the end of lap one. Despite his best efforts Cann (1) was unable to do more than match the pace of at Belsito (13) who maintained the smallest of margins to take the win with just 1.4 seconds between the pair at the flag. Mikey Smith (89), who started at the back of the grid as a result of his race one off, carved his way through to 10th on the mixed grid by the end of lap one and third spot by the end of the race having made light work up to the, then third place man, Paul Payne (68) who had himself had been a victim of the earlier fluid spill in free practice and was struggling physically. In B class Jim Robinson (55) reversed his race one fortunes, having trailed Sean Cole (57) from the lights Robinson (55) overtook on lap 9 and held onto his lead for just two laps before Coyle (57) again took the lead on lap 11, only for Robinson (55) to regain top spot on lap 12 to take the win. Harry Coyle (141) again took the final podium position.
As always, the Ducati Sporting Club would like to express their thanks to all of those at NGRRC for organising the event and especially the marshals and circuit staff who managed to remediate unsafe track conditions after the fluid spill and enable us to go racing again. To the medical teams who looked out for our fallen riders, thanks again for keeping us all safe. For the continued tyre support we are also eternally grateful to both Dunlop and Clinton Howe for providing a control tyre that is perfectly suited to our machines.
Words: ANDY HIND
Pictures: Colin Hill hairybeastpix@hotmail.com