I just got back from the Ducstock event held at Barber Motorsports Park. It was in conjuction with Barber Vintage Festival which included all kinds of events and AHRMA racing all weekend.
It was a fantastic event and sheer numbers of people was mind boggling. I talked with the some of the Event Planners and they said that Friday the Barber Museum had the highest attendance ever in one day. The total number of people on Saturday doubled the amount that attended the Indy Car Event. I guess they have a maximum number of cars allowed in the entire park and they came up only 100 cars short. So to say it was a success was an understatement.
I had never been to the Barber before and I was blown away by beauty of the track. Its almost like going to Disneyland with all the manicured lawns and beautiful landscaping.
And the Museum! My jaw dropped as I walked into it. The first thing you see is a five stories of motorcycles in their own little cubby hole stacked one on top of the other. I think there are 1100 bikes on display and another 800 in their "library". They are rotating bikes in and out every day. If you have been into bikes for a long time you will really enjoy looking at all of them. Its like a walk down memory lane. I think they have almost every make of motorcycle ever made represented; even very rare race bikes.
We attended a fundraising dinner on Friday night and the guest speakers included, Cook Nielsen, Paul Smart, and Jason DiSalvo. The first hour was a cocktail party. You walk around and eat fancy hor'd oerves while having a your favorite drink looking at all the bikes. Its funny how many of bikes would bring back memories as a kid.
After dinner the Cook, Paul, and Jason told some war stories about their racing adventures. It was very entertaining.
About 1100 people signed up for Ducstock. I saw a few of the listers on here. Had a beer with Jack Ward and his wife and was really inspired to add some goodies to my ST4. Jack has done a great job upgrading his suspension and wheels.
On Saturday and Sunday there was an air show. 4 prop planes doing all sorts of aerobatics and low passes right over the Ducati area. It was very cool.
Cook Nielsen was walking by the booth on Saturday and I got to talk to him for awhile. A real Ducati enthusiast. On Sunday his fame when down in flames. I didn't actually see it, but he got on Jason DiSalvos race bike ( 848 I think) and made it out of the pits only about 200 yards down the track and crashed hard. Apparently he forgot the shifter and brake have changed sides. Also, the bike had a 1/3 turn throttle and I am sure he wasn't used to it. And of course the brakes. Those radial brakes are wickedly powerful. I was told he locked up the front.
Broke 3 ribs, his collar bone, punctured a lung, and a big hematoma on his hip. I was told he should heal up.
Sucks to get old!
Mike
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