Rounds 13, 14 and 15 of the NG Road Racing championships took place at Castle Combe on the 29th and 30th of July, our second visit to the circuit this year.
In timed qualifying Dominic Cann (1) managed to top the A class entrants with a time of to 1:20.443 with Dan James (12) in second spot and Kevin Ellis (88) posting the third fastest time. In B class (pre-injection) Floyd Moody (7) took the top spot with a 1:25.578 with Enrico Belsito (13) second quickest and Brian Tipple (27) third.
For the first race on Saturday, championship leader, Cann (1) was unchallenged throughout the race and finished with a 12 second lead over James (12) with Andy Hind (28) a further 13 seconds down the road. In B class, Belsito (13) took the lead on lap six to secure his first win in his maiden year racing DesmoDue with a fastest lap, and new class lap record of 1:24.510. Moody (7) was just 300ths of a second behind in second spot with Tipple (27) taking the final podium position.
For Sunday mornings race Cann (1) again took advantage of his local circuit knowledge to win by a margin of 26 seconds over 8 laps setting a fastest lap of 119.7. James (12) dipped into 1:21 territory for just one lap, took the second spot and Hind (28) taking third a massive 41 seconds behind the leader. In B class, championship leader Moody (7) reasserted his dominance to take the win and the class lap record with a time of 1:24.502, just 8 100th faster than that set by Belsito (13) on Saturday. Belsito (13) himself took second position and Tipple (27) rounded out the final podium spot.
The final race of the day was very wet with consistent rain and standing water in areas of the track, this led to a decision for some to sit out the race and a reduced grid lined up for the start. From the lights Cann (1) took the early lead with Hind (28) chasing and James (12) occupying third position. By the end of lap four James (12) had overhauled Hind (28) and set about chasing down Cann (1) finally overtaking him on the penultimate lap to take his first win of the season. In B class Tipple (27) took the lead from Moody (7) on lap 6 and held a narrow margin until the flag with Belsito (13), keen to ensure he made his holiday immediately from the circuit, riding well within his capabilities to take third spot.
As a result of his dominant performances over two visits to Castle Combe (5 wins and one second place) Dominic Cann (1) was presented with the Desmodue “King of Combe” trophy constructed of parts donated by the paddock and imagined and built by Colin Hill of Hairy Beast Pix to whom the paddock is extremely grateful.
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 medical teams who looked out for our fallen riders and to Dunlop and Clinton Howe for the tyre support.
If you are thinking of joining the series in 2023 or beyond please seek out the “Desmo Due Paddock” page on Facebook or Ducatisportingclub.com for further information come have a chat with us in the paddock
Words: Andy Hind
PICTURES: Colin Hill: hairybeastpix@hotmail.com