DOCGB

TT 2008

TT Week 2008 was hugely busy for the DOC, with not only our own two events to organise, but also to attend the Ducati Celebration Dinner at the Creg on Thursday, joining many Ducati celebrities and Ducati factory staff along with Ducati UK personel and a bunch of owners too. So here's how it went.....
	Arrival early Saturday morning on a fabulous sunny day meant it had to be a day on the mountain, so we made ourselves comfy at the Bungalow.
Tony James (being Welsh) gets prepared to worry a few sheep.
	Perhaps they should have been more worried about the chariots!
Steve R South (left) and Steve R North (right) compare sunburn later in the day. Steve R won the best lobster impression (you decide which!)
	Sunday morning there was time for a little polishing and maintenance while it was still sunny before the DOC Rally.
Amongst the early arrivals was a contender for the best Hailwood Rep competition. Extra marks for the colour co-ordinated leg tassles.
	As the car park slowly started to fill....
...suddenly the Reps started to multiply...
	...unril we had a nice little group.
Meanwhile, a few foreign visitors arrived to swell the numbers......
	.....which was a good mixture of old and new.
Nice pair of 999s also included a Xerox rep as well as this MonsterMob job.
	Very few other "unusual" paint schemes, but this one certainly was not what the factory intended.
Lovely 907ie was definitely as intended though.
	We let the Bimota V-Due on to the car park as it was a bit of a rarity and well tasty. Even sounded quite good (for a two-smoke!) The 1098 Tricolore belonged to the Prez of the French DOC....
....and the tyres were "well used".
	Original pantahs are getting to be quite scarce nowadays.
Apart from the Hailwood Reps, there were only three bevels at this years Rally, all of whom were members of the Port Erin Chapter.
	And we had to test Steve Rose's claim that his SS had "never been apart, and the crankcase seals are still there". Have a look for yourself.
A contender for the "Best Special" award was this TT2 based jobbie.
	Eventually, after much deliberation, we assembled the prize winners into the centre of the car park.
Desmo Editor Jilly Penegar was on hand to present the trophies this year.....

	...which included a special on-off award for the best Hailwood Rep.
Best Bevel went to Steve Rose's virtually original 900SS....
	...and Best Belt to Mike Humpreys' 916 Strada masquerading as an SP. Shiny though!
Best Special was very difficult, bearing in mind the TT2 above. Michael Baggs' Pantah based bike shaded it though, as although it wasn't quite as "one-off" it was exceptionally clean and gorgeous.
	This year we gave an award for the first time to the "Best International" bike, for anything non Brit registered. Stretching a point Jilly's casting vote was for this Manx registered 500 Pantah, owned by David Quarrie, who rebuilt it from a basket case.
From the moment it arrived, there could really only be one winner of the Best Hailwood Rep award though.

We enlisted the help of Pat Slinn, who was one of the main members of the team that put together the original F1 Ducati 900 for Mike Hailwood in 1978, for the judging. However, help wasn't really needed as Orville Rule's Rep was head and shoulders above the other examples. This is No. 6 of the original batch of the first 200 made, and has been in Orville's posession for 20 years, being restored along the way. Whilst absolutely delighted with the trophy presented by Pat, Orville was even more gob-smacked to learn he had also won a place in the Ducati Parade Lap on closed roads on the Friday immediately prior to the Senior TT. He was thus the only "member of the public" in the parade, which was a prize money could not buy. The DOC wishes to thank Ducati UK for allowing our winner the chance to take part in the parade they organised.

Monday it was back to the racing, this time up at Cronk-y-Voddy.
	No Dukes, but Mediterranean weather!
The chairs had a shake-down lap after the racing...
	...and yes, they really do get this close!
Tuesday and it was BBQ time at The Shore Hotel, in Old Laxey. And this year we actually had a Barbeque!! Thanks to Janet and all the other hardworking staff at the Shore for the excellent burgers and jumbo hot dogs.

As usual, a good collection of red'uns on display...
	...including some that were at Glen Maye....
...and some that weren't, like this lovely little updated 250.
	Variations on a Theme by Taglioni.
Bob Hartmann decides where to put the DOC stickers on his pristine 900SS that Sammy Miller is to ride in the Ducati Parade on Friday.
	Well trick monster with loads of goodies...
...and Bren's mint 900SS vied for "Nicest Bike"...
	...and the Chelsea reservoir cover got it extra marks...
...and superb 748 was also in the running.
	We eventually assembled the owners of the front runners......
...and awarded the prize for Nicest Bike (by a very close margin on a split vote) to Richard Leatherbarrow for his 2001 748R.
	Landlord of the Shore Hotel, Trevor Latis, was pleased to present Richard with a bottle of Vodka as a prize. The DOC wishes to thank Trevor for donating the prize, which was completely unexpected.
Then we fed the ducks and went home.
	Wednesday saw a bunch of the Port Erin DOC crew at Glen Helen for the Junior...
...and second chariot race.
	Special mention to Bill Currie, who I remember watching winning British Championship and international races in the '70s on an 850 Weslake. Bill is now an official "DOC TT Crew Big Mate" after spending ages talking to us in the paddock and listening to me telling him how good the Boret brothers were (big mistake!)
No self-respecting Ducati owner could pass by the paddock without looking in on the small museum DUK had built in the Pavilion. Troy-Boy's WSB 999 was alongside...
	...Casey's DesmoSeidici. Yum!
A Foggy 916 stood next to.....
	...Doug Polen's 888.
Roy Thersby shows off one of the Tony Rutter TT2's, just before he spent all day rebuilding another in time for the parade after it was vandalised in the paddock.
	A 125 Gran Sport as raced in Ducati's first TT in 1958.
And Mike Hailwood's 250 Desmo twin from 1960.
	The classic singles were certainly not overshadowed...
...except perhaps by the replica Mike Hailwood 1978 bike, which used a lot of, but not all, the original bits.
	I did offer to give it a blast round, but curiously, my generous offer was declined.
On to Thursady, and the special Ducati Celebration Meal organised by David Treece at the Creg. A chance for the DOC Battalion to meet some of our heroes, like Tony Rutter....
	...and his boy Michael.
Then we collared Sammy Miller.....
	...who met up with Bob Hartmann, who's bevel he was down to ride in the Ducati Parade on Friday.
We were joined on our table by Jilly's TT host, Jerry, who also owns a 916.
	A later guest was Livio Lodi.
Whit did some interviews with the fast and famous, including one Mr. Fogarty...
	...and Sammy Miller...
...while David Hailwood came to say hello to Jonno, who did all the work in getting the Mike Hailwood memorial tee-shirts into production.
	Beautiful Blonde Brings Bits of Bent Bayliss Bike.
Whit and Paul Smart gatecrashed our table when they heard that Steve Robins was there...
	...and Smarty was pleased to tell Steve just how honoured he was to meet him. Actually, Steve won the auction for Paul's autographed helmet.
We were then joined by Foggy for a team photo. He was most impressed by the Hailwood shirts, and wanted to know when we will doing one for him!
	David Hailwood, Spaggy, Mike the Bike, Jonno, and Pauline Hailwood, show off the special DOC licenced tee-shirts. Buy now while stocks last...etc...etc..
Friday, and it's off to Ballaugh for race day. Various vintages of Ducati grace Diana's "car park".
	Six of the Port Erin DOCmob pose for another team photo...
...while three bevels doze in the sun.
	Mystery man does his best to frighten the women and children.
One of the big highlights of the week was the Ducati Parade Lap, featuring around 20 of the Bologna Bullets, and which included two bikes supplied by DOC members. Pictures are variously from Spaggy, Keith Fothergill, Liz "Boakesy" Boakes, and the BBC website. Leading them off was King Carl Fogarty, who expertly shows how to execute a front wheel landing at Ballaugh.


	Sammy Miller (2 above) leaps Bob Hartmann's 900SS over the bridge, while Tony Rutter leaves the start line. We heard the Manx Radio commentary as Sammy left Ramsy Hairpin, giving it the berries up the hill. Little did we know what was in store a quarter mile further on (see below).
Trevor Nation (below) knew just where to stop when he collected a bird-sized bug on the visor. Expert work from the DOC Pit Crew got him cleaned up with a (little used) hankie from Steve Robins, then he was on his way again before our resident Scouser could nick his wheels!.

John Barton gave a by now rare glimpse of a SuperMono...
	...and Alan Jackson, riding a road DesmoSeidici, made a prodigious leap at our vantage point....
	...but Iain Duffus was a little more circumspect on the 1000GT.
Paul Smart (wearing Steve Robins' new helmet) gets away on his dedicated replica...
	...and David Hailwood carried the number 12 on a SportClassic.
Back at the start, and MHR competition winner Orville Rule sets off. Regrettably, he only made around 6 miles to the Highlander when the front carb got spat off. With the course car only around 30-40 seconds behind, there was no time to diagnose it and push it back on before he was ushered off course. He did, though, get to finish the lap in the course car, which was apparently an experience in itself!
	Ian Simmonds took a gallop on his old Red Bull 916...
...and Jamie Whitham was re-united with an 888.

Tony Rutter (above) shows Michael (200) how to leap Ballaugh in fine style. Then it was on to the Senior, where John McGuiness (right) got his justly deserved first win of the week, but his Hailwood equalling 14th TT win in total. Very apt in view of the 30th anniversary stuff.
	We should also give a mention to Karsten Schmidt, (59) campaigning the only Duke in the races all week after Alessio Corradi binned his during practice week.

The following sequence is reproduced courtesy of Richard Dawson Photography.
Click the link below for more excellent TT photos from Richard.

Sammy Miller rode Bob Hartmann's 900SS in the parade, but had a "mishap" at Waterworks (It is believed he remembered a short cut he used in his trials days). Thankfully, the only damage to Sammy was to his pride, with a few bruises for good measure.

However, despite being parked very neatly, the bike did suffer some damage. This is how they had to recover it.

Closer inspection showed a fair bit of attention would be needed. Sammy, being a gent, has offered his restoration facilities to put matters right, and it is understood at the time of writing that Ducati UK would also be contributing towards the cost of repair. We all hope that a happy outcome will be acheived.