The Ducati TriOptions Cup blasted into action at Brands Hatch this weekend (17-19 April) as the first two races of the year thrilled the Kent crowds. As the UK’s premier one-make bike racing series the grid of Ducati 899 Panigales always draws plenty of attention over a British Superbike Championship weekend, and with a record 36-bike entry the action this year is set to be more exciting than ever. Hobbs gets off to perfect title defence Record Ducati grid lines up to race Returning champions fight it out at the front Local rider and race winner at Brands Hatch in 2014 Rob Guiver was the man setting the pace early on in the weekend. He flew out of the blocks in free practice to set the fastest time before securing pole position for Hyside Motorcycles by a tiny margin of 0.083s from the P&H/Carl Cox Motorsport machine of reigning champion Dennis Hobbs. Guiver held his pole advantage in race one to cross the line first, however in post race scrutineering a technical infringement was discovered on his #13 bike, and he was therefore disqualified from the result, handing the maiden victory of the year to Hobbs who was closely followed across the line by seasoned Ducati Cup racer Marty Nutt and 2011 champion Leon Morris. Hobbs backed up his race one performance and made it a perfect start to his title defence with another win in race two. He secured victory by just 0.141s from a charging Rob Guiver who started eighth, while Nutt made it two podiums with third place on the #77 Ducati. Sean Neary continues his progress in the Ducati TriOptions Cup with a brace of fourth place finishes, while 2013 champion Robbie Brown returns to the series this season riding for Boast Plumbing. He scored two top ten results in his first outing on the 899. The prestigious series returns to action at Oulton Park on 2-4 May. Read the whole post here.
Bit of an eye opener, them boys are fast. Didn't come last and didn't crash. Onwards and Upwards hopefully. Few words here: Scrawn #22 - BSB Debut Plus a few pics in the previous few posts, archive is here: Scrawn #22: Archive
Thanks Tim, I was blown away by the whole weekend to be honest. Love the family feel to the Ducati side of the paddock and being in amongst 36 bikes like that for the first time was brilliant. I couldn't have asked for a better team either. I think what it stands for is as important as the racing so I'm grateful to be part of it. Hopefully I can settle in and start to make some progress towards my goals for the season, including increasing the size of my coconuts to the apparent water melon size that's required.
