Rounds 12/13 and 14 of the NG Road Racing series took place on the 27th and 28th of July at Castle Coombe Desmodue shared a great with Junior supersport and GP1 bikes for this meeting resulting in a mixed grid her of bikes. In A class, reigning champion Dominic Cann (1) qualified on pole with a time of 1.21. 477 although in reality he was 6th on the mixed grid. Enrico Belsito (13) qualified in second and Dan James (12) in 3rd. In B class, Sean Coyle (57) placed himself 16th position on the mixed grid as the first B class rider with fellow championship contender Jim Robinson (55) just behind him. Harry Cole assumed the next B class grid position two rows further back.
Race one on Saturday saw Belsito (13) get the better start to finish lap one in third overall on the mixed grid with his rival Cann (1) some four places behind him. By lap 2 Cann (1) had closed the gap and Belsito (13) had been overtaken by one of the junior supersport riders meaning the two were now nose to tail with just three seconds separating them. Cann (1) managed to close the gap on lap 3 but Belsito (13) maintained a gap of about two seconds extending back to three seconds by lap 6 four by lap 7 and six seconds by lap 8 to cross the line 7.1 seconds ahead of Cann (1) in what can only be described as a dominant victory. James (12) brought home his machine in the final podium position. In B class Coyle (57) had the unwell Robinson (55) for company from the outset, at one point Robinson looked close enough to make a challenge but it never materialised and in the end Coyle (57) crossed the line 5 seconds ahead of his rival with Steve Baden (95) assuming the final podium position.
For Sunday mornings race Belsito (13) again got the better start but by the end of lap two Cann (1) had overtaken him and sought to extend his lead to cross the line 4 seconds ahead of Belsito (13) in second with James (12) classified as one lap down after a red flag brought the race to an early close 11 minutes into the session. In B class Coyle (57) and Robinson (55) again locked horns from the outset with Coyle (57) managing to maintain his lead throughout the course of the race to finish just 1.8 seconds ahead of Robinson (55) with Baden (95) again taking the final podium position.
For the final race of the weekend Belsito (13) again got the jump from the lights placing a GP1 rider in between him and and Cann (1) but by lap 2 the GP1 rider had passed Belsito (13) and again the two ran nose to tail, swapping places on lap 4 and reminding that why until the close with Cann (1) crossing the line 17 seconds ahead of Belsito (13) with first time trophy winner Mike Condliffe (18) taking the final podium position. In B class Coyle (57) got the jump off the lights to lead Robinson (55) who had been suffering with an illness all weekend to finish nearly 11 seconds ahead Baden (95) again claimed 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 once again put on a great show for the crowds. 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, Ducati Sporting Club
Pictures: Colin Hill hairybeastpix@hotmail.com