- Ducati Sporting Club DesmoDue Championship
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The 'DesmoDue Championship' is a one-make motorcycle racing series based in the United Kingdom. The series was started by the Ducati Sporting Club and has been administered by them through four seasons, staging races through New Era MCC meetings in the UK.
The motorcycles must be based on an air-cooled 2-valve Ducati twin-cylinder engine produced since 1992. The machines are allowed limited modifications. Most modifications are for safety reasons only. The control tyre, which has changed to a Dunlop Sportsmax Qualifier for the 2011 season, is used in all weather conditions. There are two capacity classes within the championship;
- Class A - 618cc fuel injection based machines
- Class B - 583cc carburettor based machines
Riders must hold an ACU racing licence, and be either a Clubman or Novice licence holder unless special dispensation is given by the race committee.
Contents
History
The series began in 2005 after the mechanical rules had been set in late 2004 by the well known Neil Spalding of Sigma. This new innovative series consisted of 11 races at circuits including, Cadwell Park, Castle Combe, Snetterton, Donington Park and Brands Hatch. 41 riders took part and the inaugural series was won by Geoff Spencer who dominated the class, taking 8 race victories. In 2006 the series featured two machine classes and almost 50 riders. The circuit line-up was also expanded to include Oulton Park and the TT circuit of Assen in the Netherlands. The Dutch round of the series was hosted by the Ducati Club Nederland at their famous Club Races.
Phil Huntley became the inaugural 583cc Champion winning 9 races, whilst Dominic Cann riding on one of the nicest built bikes on the grid, for Charles Dudley's OD2 team, was crowned 620cc Champion after winning on 8 occasions. The two riders went head-to-head in a much anticipated season finale at the Cadwell Park circuit in Lincolnshire. Huntley, impressed on his 620cc debut, qualifying on Pole Position. Cann eventually won both races and went on to score 26 consecutive podium finishes over 3 seasons.
2007 Class A champion was Kyle Hinton, who smashed virtually all records during his title winning season riding for Alan & Charlotte Knight of the Knight RR Team, taking 11 victories from 13 starts, winning the last 7 races in a row and setting 5 new class lap records on the 620 Monster. The 583cc championship was wrapped up by Andy Sheppard who won 6 races, took 11 podiums and 5 Pole Positions.
The 2008 season saw the Desmodue series given a large stamp of approval by the participation of multiple British champion and ex International star, Ian Cobby. Riding in the 620 series, having entered a one-off race the year before on a 583 machine at Oulton Park, Ian secured the title with one round still to go having won 9 races and taken 12 podiums. The ex BSB rider didn’t have things all his own way though and was offered stern resistance on more than one occasion by 2005 season 4th place finisher, Mike Dawson, who won at Mallory Park, Pembrey and Cadwell Park. Richard Fogg also won a single inspired race in appallingly wet conditions at Brands Hatch. Mike almost ran Ian Cobby to the wire except for some bad luck and a bike blow up. He eventually came 2nd in the championship. 2007 B class champion, Andy Sheppard also won his first A class race at the Cadwell Park finale, giving an indication of his intentions for the next season. The 583 championship was secured by Matt Traynar, who despite enjoying a 92cc advantage over most of his rivals managed not to win all of the races that year. Dominic Clegg put up a good fight to take second place, winning 5 races in the process. Harriet Ridley became the first woman to take a top 3 championship position and showed that she was becoming a force to be reckoned with.
2009 started where it had left off, with Andy Sheppard winning first time out at Donington Park. Tim Pritchard, starting his first full season in Desmodue, having contested only the occasional rounds in previous seasons, won the next race that day and set in motion what would become an epic struggle throughout the year. Pritchard suffered a slight dip in form at the midpoint of the season, allowing Sheppard to take the upper hand. After discovering a bike set up to suit him though, Tim came back strongly at the end of the season with the midsummer races at Cadwell Park being of such ferocity that 80% of the crowd fainted. Nevertheless, Sheppard took the title at Pembrey, despite Pritchard winning both races. In a dramatic twist to the end of the season, it transpired that Sheppard had been suffering with a heart defect and needed an operation to rectify it as soon as possible. Andy bravely/stupidly put the operation off to try to win the title, and in doing so became the first rider to win both the B class and A class championships. Due to the fact that he was then medically prohibited from entering anymore races, his number 65 was retired from the series as a mark of respect for this great double champion. Andy and Tim were the only riders to win races in 2009, taking 11 and 7 wins respectively. The 583 championship was taken by Sam West, coming back from a horrific testing smash at Snetterton the year before that broke his leg into approximately 786 pieces. It was far from an easy ride though, with crashes and mechanical failures threatening to let the feisty Harriet Ridley sneak the championship win. Fortunately for Sam though, his misfortune often came in none championship races and he ended the season as champion with 10 wins. Harriet took runner up spot with 5 wins and held the consolation prize of “finest booty ever to grace a DD bike”
2010 was the fifth year of the series, and Tim Pritchard was aiming to go one better than 2009 and win the championship. Unfortunately, he didn’t reckon on the “Alien” talents of Mark Lister. Mark hurtled into the series at the first round, winning both races (on the OD2 prepared bike of 2006 title winning team boss, Chas Dudley), despite having crashed in qualifying and set a new lap record, beating Geoff Spencer’s seemingly unbeatable 2005 time. Tim won the next 2 races at Silverstone but couldn’t match Lister’s pace at Mallory Park where he won both races easily. It was ominously looking like a repeat of Mallory at Snetterton, but Tim Pritchard was injured in a nasty start line smash during the second none championship race at Snetterton, allowing Mark an easy yet inevitable cruise to the title as Tim missed the next 3 rounds. Nobody was under any illusions, however, that the series hadn’t seen such raw pace since Ian Cobby entered the series in 2008 and that Mark would have been nigh on impossible to beat. Tim regained some pride at the end of the season though, winning his first race back from injury against the onslaught of the rapidly improving Neil Appleby whose awesome progress over the season deservedly netted him the runner up spot in the championship. The 583 title was a hugely entertaining scrap between several riders. The ones that mattered in the end though, were the self styled Matt “Awesome” Lawson, and Matt Larrett. Larrett took the title in a nail biting and foul weathered showdown at Cadwell Park. They took 3 and 5 wins each, respectively.
The top 6 most successful riders ever in the series, based on wins and then podiums are as follows:
583 championship:
1: Dominic Clegg 12 Wins. 30 Podiums
2: Sam West 10 Wins. 14 Podiums
3: Phil Huntley 9 Wins. 12 Podiums
4: Andy Sheppard 8 Wins. 15 Podiums
5 Matt Traynar 8 Wins. 12 Podiums
6: Harriet Ridley 5 Wins. 21 Podiums
620 Championship:
1: Andy Sheppard: 12 Wins. 20 Podiums
2: Geoff Spencer 12 Wins. 19 Podiums
3: Kyle Hinton 11 Wins. 19 Podiums
4: Tim Pritchard 9 Wins. 22 Podiums
5: Ian Cobby 9 Wins. 12 Podiums
6: Dominic Cann 8 Wins. 32 Podiums
Andy Sheppard remains the most successful rider overall, having attained an incredible 20 wins and 35 podiums over 2 classes.
Guest Riders/Journalists
2005 Marc Potter Motorcycle News Donington Park Race 1: 2nd Race 2: 2nd 2005 Michael Neeves Motorcycle News Donington Park Race 1: 3rd Race 2: 7th 2005 Rob Hoyles Motorcycle Racer Magazine Brands Hatch Race 1: 6th Race 2: 6th 2006 Mal Wheeler Mortons Media Cadwell Park A Race 1: 11th A Race 2: 11th 2006 Dale Lomas Performance Bikes Magazine Assen TT Circuit A Race: 11th - 2006 Jamie Wilkins Fast Bikes Magazine Oulton Park A Race 1: 7th A Race 2: 7th 2007 Ian Cobby Freelance Journo Oulton Park B Race 1: 1st B Race 2: 1st Lap & Race Records
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Anglesey (Coastal) 620 Lap Record Neil Appleby 1:18.339 2011 583 Lap Record Ron Jolley 1:21.734 2011 620 Race Record:12 Laps Neil Appleby 15:57.059 2011 583 Race Record:12 Laps Ron Jolley 16:38.572 2011 620 Race Record:8 Laps Tim Pritchard 10:52.33 2009 583 Race Record:8 Laps Sam West 11:10.00 2009 620 Race Record:6 Laps Andy Sheppard 8:20.21 2009 583 Race Record:6 Laps Sam West 8:25.73 2009 Assen 620 Lap Record Dominic Cann 2:01.965 2007 583 Lap Record Dominic Clegg 2:09.777 2007 620 Race Record:4 Laps Kyle Hinton 8:15.774 2007 583 Race Record:4 Laps Dominic Clegg 8:49.658 2007 Brands Hatch (Indy) 620 Lap Record Mark Lister 0:55.357 2010 675 Lap Record Andy Roberts 0.57.95 2005 583 Lap Record Dominic Clegg 0:57.87 2008 620 Race Record:18 Laps Neil Appleby 17:02.608 2011 583 Race Record:18 Laps Ron Jolley 17:55.225 2011 620 Race Record:12 Laps Mark Lister 11:20.976 2010 583 Race Record:12 Laps Matt Lawson 12:03.491 2010 620 Race Record:10 Laps Kyle Hinton 9:28.57 2007 583 Race Record:10 Laps Dominic Clegg 10.00.95 2008 620 Race Record:8 Laps Geoff Spencer 7:34.01 2005 675 Race Record:8 Laps Andy Roberts 8:00.76 2005 583 Race Record:8 Laps Kevin Ellis 8:11.01 2005 Cadwell Park (Full) 620 Lap Record Neil Appleby 1:44.321 2011 675 Lap Record Phil Huntley 1:52.28 2005 583 Lap Record Dominic Clegg 1:49.71 2009 620 Race Record:12 Laps Neil Appleby 21:14.240 2011 583 Race Record:12 Laps Paul Bradbury 22:25.766 2011 620 Race Record:8 Laps Tim Pritchard 14:27.68 2009 583 Race Record:8 Laps Andy Griffiths 15:23.20 2005 620 Race Record:6 Laps Neil Appleby 10:41.703 2011 675 Race Record:6 Laps Phil Huntley 11:31.39 2005 583 Race Record:6 Laps Paul Bradbury 11:18.862 2011 583 Race Record:5 Laps Andy Challis 9:30.74 2007 Cadwell Park (Woodlands) 620 Lap Record Geoff Spencer 0:47.81 2005 675 Lap Record Dominic Cann 0:50.88 2005 583 Lap Record Andy Johnson 0.50.20 2005 620 Race Record:12 Laps Geoff Spencer 9:58.27 2005 675 Race Record:12 Laps Phil Huntley 10:35.25 2005 583 Race Record:12 Laps Andy Johnson 10:16.93 2005 Castle Combe 620 Lap Record Kyle Hinton 1:21.67 2007 675 Lap Record Mark Hill 1:25.63 2005 583 Lap Record Harriet Ridley 1:25.40 2009 620 Race Record:10 Laps Matt Lawson 13:52:032 2011 583 Race Record:10 Laps Ron Jolley 14:39.991 2011 620 Race Record:8 Laps Neil Appleby 11:20:62 2010 675 Race Record:8 Laps Phil Huntley 11:41.70 2005 583 Race Record:8 Laps Phil Huntley 11:53.05 2006 620 Race Record:7 Laps Kyle Hinton 9:40.20 2007 583 Race Record:7 Laps Andy Sheppard 10:21.76 2007 Donnington Park (GP) 620 Lap Record Tim Pritchard 1:54.10 2009 583 Lap Record Sam West 1:58.77 2009 620 Race Record:10 Laps Tim Pritchard 19:22.10 2009 583 Race Record:10 Laps Dominic Clegg 20:10.66 2009 620 Race Record:8 Laps Andy Sheppard 15:55.05 2009 583 Race Record:8 Laps Harriet Ridley 16:17.34 2009 Donington Park (National) 620 Lap Record Kyle Hinton 1:23.01 2007 675 Lap Record Ali Bisson 1:43.59 2005 583 Lap Record Tony Perrin 1:26.71 2008 620 Race Record:19 Laps Ian Cobby 26:56.98 2008 583 Race Record:17 Laps Tony Perrin 28:32.97 2008 620 Race Record:12 Laps Kyle Hinton 16:48.39 2007 583 Race Record:12 Laps Andy Sheppard 17:44.56 2007 620 Race Record:6 Laps Geoff Spencer 10:19.61 2005 675 Race Record:6 Laps Ali Bisson 10:38.80 2005 583 Race Record:6 Laps Kevin Ellis 11:20.03 2005 Mallory Park 620 Lap Record Neil Appleby 59.369 2011 583 Lap Record Sam West 1:02.67 2009 620 Race Record:15 Laps Neil Appleby 15:08.113 2011 583 Race Record:15 Laps Phil Wilcock 15:59.661 2011 620 Race Record:10 Laps Kyle Hinton 10:09.95 2007 583 Race Record:10 Laps Andy Sheppard 10:48.15 2007 620 Race Record:8 Laps Ian Cobby 8:20.83 2007 583 Race Record:8 Laps Matt Traynar 8:36.98 2008 583 Race Record:6 Laps Dominic Clegg 6:27.76 2008 Oulton Park 620 Lap Record Ian Cobby 1:57.84 2008 583 Lap Record Sam West 2:02.44 2009 583 Lap Record by a Guest Ian Cobby 2:02.99 2007 620 Race Record:7 Laps Kyle Hinton 14:00.01 2007 583 Race Record:7 Laps Dominic Clegg 12:43.98 2007 620 Race Record:6 Laps Ian Cobby 11:56.24 2008 583 Race Record:6 Laps Matt Traynar 12:36.73 2008 583 Race Record:4 Laps Dominic Clegg 8:35.87 2007 Pembrey 620 Lap Record Andy Challis 1:06.06 2011 583 Lap Record Hugh Simpson 1:08.91 2011 620 Race Record:15 Laps Neil Applepy 16:49.38 2011 583 Race Record:15 Laps Hugh Simpson 17:39.54 2011 620 Race Record:10 Laps Mark Lister 11:30.54 2010 583 Race Record:10 Laps Neal Catling 12:04.56 2010 620 Race Record:8 Laps Mike Dawson 9:02.87 2008 583 Race Record:8 Laps Matt Traynar 9:31.85 2008 620 Race Record:7 Laps Mark Lister 8:02.52 2010 583 Race Record:7 Laps Neil Catling 8:27.32 2010 Silverstone (National) 620 Lap Record Tom Parkes 1:08.94 2010 583 Lap Record Matt Lawson 1:12.27 2010 620 Race Record:10 Laps Tim Pritchard 11:44.61 2010 583 Race Record:10 Laps Matt Larrett 12:19.04 2010 620 Race Record:8 Laps Tim Pritchard 9:22.15 2010 583 Race Record:8 Laps Dean Russell 9:51.26 2010 Snetterton 620 Lap Record Ian Cobby 1:19.42 2008 675 Lap Record Ali Bisson 1:24.63 2005 675 Lap Record Paul Payne 1:24.63 2005 583 Lap Record Matt Traynar 1:23.44 2008 620 Race Record:10 Laps Mark Lister 13:42.16 2010 583 Race Record:10 Laps M Lawson 14:33.36 2010 Snetterton 300 620 Lap Record Andy Challis 2:16.882 2011 583 Lap Record Neal Catling 2:22.526 2011 620 Race Record:5 Laps Andy Challis 11:33.611 2011 583 Race Record:5 Laps Paul Bradbury 12:09.662 2011 Champions
2011 - Neil Appleby - 620cc 2011 - Phil Wilcock - 583cc 2010 - Mark Lister - 620cc 2010 - Matt Larrett - 583cc 2009 - Andy Sheppard - 620cc 2009 - Sam West - 583cc 2008 - Ian Cobby - 620cc 2008 - Matt Traynar - 583cc 2007 - Kyle Hinton - 620cc 2007 - Andy Sheppard - 583cc 2006 - Dominic Cann - 620cc 2006 - Phil Huntley - 583cc 2005 - Geoff Spencer - 620cc Wins in a season - All Classes
11 - Kyle Hinton (620cc) - 2007 11 - Andy Sheppard (620cc) - 2009 10 - Sam West (583cc) - 2009 9 - Phil Huntley (583cc) - 2006 9 - Ian Cobby (620cc) - 2008 9 - Neil Appleby (620cc) - 2011 8 - Geoff Spencer (620cc) - 2005 8 - Dominic Cann (620cc) - 2006 5 - Matt Traynar (583cc) - 2008 8 - Mark Lister (620cc) - 2010 7 - Tim Pritchard (620cc) - 2009 6 - Andy Sheppard (583cc) - 2007 5 - Dominic Clegg (583cc) - 2007 5 - Harriet Ridley (583cc) - 2009 5 - Matt Lawson (583cc) - 2010 4 - Dominic Clegg (583cc) - 2008 4 - Neil Appleby (620cc) - 2010 4 - Matt Lawson (620cc) - 2011 4 - Phil Wilcock (583cc) - 2011 4 - Ron Jolley (583cc) - 2011 3 - Clinton de Tarnowsky (620cc) - 2005 3 - Dominic Clegg (583cc) - 2009 3 - Matt Larrett (583cc) - 2010 3 - Andy Challis (620cc) - 2011 3 - Paul Bradbury (583cc) - 2011 2 - Andrew Johnson (620cc) - 2006 2 - Geoff Spencer (620cc) - 2006 2 - Geoff Spencer (620cc) - 2007 2 - Mike Dawson (620cc) - 2008 2 - Tim Pritchard (620cc) - 2010 2 - Neal Catling (583cc) - 2010 2 - Ron Jolley (583cc) - 2010 2 - Hugh Simpson (583cc) - 2011 1 - Paul Payne (583cc) - 2006 1 - Andy Challis (583cc) - 2007 1 - Tony Perrin (583cc) - 2008 1 - Richard Fogg (620cc) - 2008 1 - Andy Sheppard (620cc) - 2008 1 - Dean Russell (583cc) - 2010 1 - Steven Klee (583cc) - 2010 1 - Alan Parkes (583cc) - 2011 1 - Dave Jenkins (583cc) - 2011 1 - Kevin Palmer (583cc) - 2011 1 - Neal Catling (583cc) - 2011 Wins in a row
7 - Kyle Hinton (620) - 2007 6 - Andy Sheppard (620) - 2009 6 - Sam West (583) - 2009 6 - Mark Lister (620) - 2010 5 - Phil Huntley (583) - 2006 4 - Dominic Cann (620) - 2006 4 - Kyle Hinton (620) - 2007 4 - Ian Cobby (620) - 2008 4 - Tim Pritchard (620) - 2009 4 - Neil Appleby (620) - 2010 4 - Matt Lawson (620) - 2011 3 - Geoff Spencer (620) - 2005 3 - Dominic Cann (620) - 2006 3 - Neil Appleby (620) - 2011 3 - Andy Sheppard (583) - 2007 3 - Matt Traynar (583) - 2008 3 - Harriet Ridley (583) - 2009 2 - Clinton de Tarnowsky (620) - 2005 2 - Geoff Spencer (620) - 2006 2 - Andrew Johnson (620) - 2006 2 - Tim Pritchard (620) - 2010 2 - Andy Challis (620) - 2011 2 - Matt Lawson (583) - 2010 2 - Neal Catling (583) - 2010 2 - Ron Jolley (583) - 2010 2 - Phil Wilcock (583) - 2011 External links
Categories:- Ducati
- Motorcycle racing series
- Motorsport competitions in the United Kingdom
- One-make series
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