British Ducati Weekend - discussion thread

Gizmo

Gizmo

Forum Geek
There has been a bit of discussion on a couple of other forums about the possibility of having a British Ducati Weekend which would be an intra club event uniting all UK Ducatisti clubs/forums. Format would most likely be a 2 dayer with tracktime and a sideshow of bikes, kit, dealers, tyre people, suspension people, presentations.


The question being asked is "would it interest you?" and its fairly obvious most of us are interested so i started a survey thread for that this thread is for discussion about the concept/idea and whats needed and how we might get involved if it were to take place :)
 
100% interested
for me, it would be more the track side of things
and a track would be the ideal place to have it.
loads of concrete , a track and space for everything.
and having a pile of ducatis in the one place would be a great spectacle.
a bike celeb or two wouldnt go a miss with carl dogarty being on my list, over to ducati uk for that i think.
but this would be an immense undertaking for the organisers and id be willing to help as much as i can .
 
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This one has been raised from way back in my time at DSC. It was like trying to raise the dead then, however. Great idea as an event in the years when WDW is not on, but needs the drive and support of DUK and should not be trusted to a single UK owners club alone otherwise self-interest, politics and shambolic organisation are dangers. Getting agreement on where to hold it would be a problem, although if there was agreement to hold it it in different parts of the UK (including latitudes north of Watford) that could be overcome.
 
Having been to the Dutch Ducati club events I would say a resounding yes from me.

The event was mostly based on the racing activity at an awesome circuit, but it had shows, stands, activities and is awesome!

Personally I think it would be great if it was at a really good cicuit with great facilities such as Brands, Silverstone, Oulton etc that there were some specific ducati races eg Desmo Due and 848 cup and maybe also host a round of the dutch club ducati races plus an open race (sound of thunder?). I would also suggest that the first day is a test day and open track day so everyone gets their chance to do some laps if wanted. Whilst not everyone is into track stuff, it does provide something to watch and is a way to ensure that you have a good base turnout.

Evening events could be a band with optional bbq if people wanted it and an onsite bar. good camping facilities are needed as well as a great website with lot sof information on what is going on, how to get involved and where to stay etc.

It would take some organising, but with a group of likeminded people supporting from all of the clubs it could have sommething for everyone (kids included)

Just some simplistic maths.. assuming somewhere like oulton costs approx 20k per day to hire (i think this has been suggested before)

track time and races:
150 track day attendees @ £125 each = 18,750
120 racers (assuming approx 4 events x 2 races each) @ £150 each to enter = 18,000

Basic charges for camping and entry to the public and you start to get close to covering the costs. Charge a bit for advertising in a programme to self fund and then tickets for the food etc to cover costs.

It is not going to make money, but will provide a great event.
 
a good idea, but i can see it not getting anywhere above the south east of englandshire, and as such i wouldnt support it.
 
It would have to be central for me to be interested.... for everyone.!!!! Maybe north of England, Lancs, Cheshire, Yorks etc.

Also the prices been mentioned for track based events... nah.... not interested either. For me a more social event would be preferable.:)
 
Would be interested but I agree with Paul, would need to be north england based and not necessarily based on track activities (or priced as such)....
 
I would love for an event like this to happen, in my opinion it would have to be at either Oulton Park or Croft as I guess they are both about UK central ?

I have experienced the Dutch Ducati Festival/ Club Races and it really is a sight to behold. It could if marketed right, be a massive crowd draw aswell.
 
yeah it sounds like a brill idea!!!

sods law central uk is like a 500+ trip to getto from skye lol

but yeah 100% id goto one! if one was to be done!
 
At the moment the more likely options are Silverstone, Rockingham, Donington but I know how much the likes of Donington want for a cycling event that was held there last year and you'd need a bit of money to even think about putting it on there. I cant see it being very far north, choice of venues (if it has to be a track) are limited and if its to be a weekend even more so....
 
I am not suggesting it has to be a track activity for all and you pay that to get in.. read again.

I am suggesting that to get a location and to draw an initial group of people that would fund then having track time makes some sense. There are plenty of people that will do the track/race activity that will significantly offset the cost of an event and also provide a draw for paying spectators.

For those that dont want to then they just attend and enjoy the activities and atmosphere.
 
The problem with a central track is that weekend trackdays are few and far between, if the event is to be a success it needs to be on a weekend, midweek really does restrict attendance. If you stick it in with a race spectators will end up paying to get in to the circuit which restricts attendance again.

I know how much the likes of Bike Radar pay to host cycling events at the likes of Donington and Brands on a weekend and it aint cheap, it needs a dedicated and committed organiser like a publishing group to be able to underwrite it all so really cant see the clubs being able to risk it given that one has just almost bankrupted itself and only got through when one if its members stumped up a lot of cash to cover it.

Moving to a non track venue allows a far wider choice of locations and reduces the costs but then doesn't appeal to the more sporting owners, there is no simple solution I'm afraid :(

The VMCC at Mallory is a pretty good example of what can be done albeit for classics but that draws a crowd of race fans and bike fans and owners do get to do parade laps
 
Silverstone would be the perfect location and although some will be riding 500+ miles it is over twice that to Misano!

Selling track time in 20 minute slots sounds a good idea and maybe a ticket price depending on if you are camping or not.

Maybe providing a marquee and earplugs for sleeping in?

Trouble is if it's raining it would be a disaster.
 
I saw that Ozz, 85K and 52K up front is the kind of numbers that should scare everyone, most of my event promotor mates are terrified at the moment as they know how hard it is to sell tickets to anything upfront, a new venture with limited audience (which we are) and need to turn 85K from it? I'm sure any circuit owner or race promoter can tag it on and assist but not at their risk, they'll pass that hot potato back very quickly.


There's a lot of pie in the sky comments going on from people who have no idea how much traders would pay to attend, how easy it is to get a media partner (and what they expect back!) or how much DUK could afford to subsidy it, I know it aint those kind of figures though. If its to happen it needs to be realistic with an understanding of what people will want and pay for, everyone says yeah I'll do it but when it comes to it a lot dont. The DSC TD is a classic example of that!
 
Thats why I started asking who was orgainsing it and were DUK involved. Its a great idea and several including yourself have mooted it before but unless there is a group or Company or even DUK who want to take control of it it will just remain a great idea!

There would have to be a structured approach otherwise it will fail.
 
Ozz said:
Thats why I started asking who was orgainsing it and were DUK involved. Its a great idea and several including yourself have mooted it before but unless there is a group or Company or even DUK who want to take control of it it will just remain a great idea!

There would have to be a structured approach otherwise it will fail.
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But first you need to identify who its for and what they want, all i see at the moment is its being based around a trackday location which suits 120 riders and no thought given to vast majority of possible attendees or what sponsors/trade might want or need. Basic stuff that seems to get lost in enthusiasm....

Saw exactly same thing happen in MTB where i spent quite a few years event promoting, elitist events struggle, mass participation/fun always the ones that work - the product has to fit the paying customer only then is it worth organising...
 
I think a few folk talking about this need to get a reality check.
Someone on the link from Ozz suggests Oulton Park as it is better for the SDC to attend. Ignoring the typical response from a London resident asking if the SDC is a knitting club, Oulton Park is approx 250 miles from Glasgow.
Now if folk are going to travel 250 miles to attend an event are they going to be asked to pay to get in?
When they get there what are they going to see?
If it's a lot of other people riding Ducatis and a burger van then I for one wouldn't waste my time or money. I also don't live anywhere near Glasgow!
They only way this will work in my opinion is that Ducati (not just DUK) lay on the type of extravaganza that is WDW and they underwrite the costs.
If the suggestion is the UK clubs get together to do this it is doomed to fail it has to be from the top.
Yes the clubs could help with bodies to assist but without huge factory and DUK input being promised then folk should direct their enthusiasm elsewhere.
 
ive missed the comments from the south of england , but im sure they are typical of the sort youd expect from that part of the world. if the event was to be at a track like scarborough the costs would be drastically reduced and there would be plenty of nearby accomodation and other things to do. as not everybody wants to spend a day trackside, or indeed rides a ducati for that reason. though i do think a track or a stately home or something like that would need to be a point of focus.
enthusiasm does work well. the lambretta club of scotland, ran the euro lambretta jamboree at stirling a few years ago which was a massive success, with attendees from all over europe, travelling a couple of thousand miles on nothing bigger than 200cc. and if advertised correctly something could be placed pretty much anywhere in the uk and people from abroad would make the effort to attend, the big problem would be that with the owners clubs apart from our own being mainly based in the south east you can rest assured they would want it on their doorstep to the detriment of others and wouldnt travel if it was further north.
 
Lily said:
120 racers (assuming approx 4 events x 2 races each) @ £150 each to enter = 18,000
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As good as it sounds, racers wont fork out for entries tyres etc unless the event is part of the championship they are running in. Even at £150 entry it would be a £500 weekend costs wise, and you'd need both days to attract racers to make it worthwhile- which means you couldn't run the trackday at the same time for an ACU license.

Don't know how many race with Desmo Due, but the 848 challenge might get you ooooooooooooh 15 riders.......... :(

Race Clubs tend to need 6 / 7 fairly full classes to run an event, I dont think the depth exists to do that as a Ducati only event.

On the flipside, happy to be proved very wrong though :lol2:
 
Anteater said:
As good as it sounds, racers wont fork out for entries tyres etc unless the event is part of the championship they are running in. Even at £150 entry it would be a £500 weekend costs wise, and you'd need both days to attract racers to make it worthwhile- which means you couldn't run the trackday at the same time for an ACU license.

Don't know how many race with Desmo Due, but the 848 challenge might get you ooooooooooooh 15 riders.......... :(

Race Clubs tend to need 6 / 7 fairly full classes to run an event, I dont think the depth exists to do that as a Ducati only event.

On the flipside, happy to be proved very wrong though :lol2:
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an awful lot of sense and knowledge there, i think a race day is probably out of the question, though a track day part might work. it would need lots of other entertainment, stunts etc good catering and a half decent evening event on the saturday night at least. at the very least it would need ducati uk and ducati dealership back up and prefferably ducati factory help. youd need an extremely good raffle prize, randy with the two seater and a myriad (thats a good word for me) of other smaller things to keep people entertained, because when your organizing this sort of weekend event, entertainment is what you need to provide.
 
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Anteater said:
As good as it sounds, racers wont fork out for entries tyres etc unless the event is part of the championship they are running in. Even at £150 entry it would be a £500 weekend costs wise, and you'd need both days to attract racers to make it worthwhile- which means you couldn't run the trackday at the same time for an ACU license.

Don't know how many race with Desmo Due, but the 848 challenge might get you ooooooooooooh 15 riders.......... :(

Race Clubs tend to need 6 / 7 fairly full classes to run an event, I dont think the depth exists to do that as a Ducati only event.

On the flipside, happy to be proved very wrong though :lol2:
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agreed, my suggestion was based on series that would be able to run as a round of their championship. It is also entirely possible to run ACU day with a non ACU session as well. Not suggesting that the racing is the only thing to fund the weekend, more that it is part of the activities.

Not suggesting the racing has to be the only focus, just that it is a good start to get a group of people that are likely to commit to attending, if it is part of a championship.

have to say I am really not surprised by the negativity of the masses to this. Yep, I dont think it would be a realilty because i don't think there is the unity with the clubs in the UK and there is probably too much apathy from the majority of ducati owners but it would always be a nice idea to get feedback and see if it would be feasible.

I grew up going to single make weekend rallies that attracted hundreds of bikes with little 'entertainment' other then enjoying the opportunity to meet up with likeminded mates and enjoy riding bikes and having a few beers.
 
Don't worry the member asking if the SDC was a knitting club was honestly joking.....

He knew you only crochet up north :p
 
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