Race 1
Rich Energy Ducati’s David Shoubridge was untouchable during Saturday’s Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup race, immediately gapping the field from pole, and going on to take his sixth win of the season in style on his Panigale V2 after setting a new lap record of 1:31.285.
Championship leader Tom Tunstall (Motorcycle Race Parts) and newcomer Blaze Baker (Track Demons Racing Powered by HMY) showed their class yet again, taking second and third respectively, albeit 13 and 18 seconds further down the road.
Moto46’s Mark Bridger took fourth, with JDF Racing teammates Adon Davie and Michael Tustin completed the top six.
Tunstall still leads the championship with a total of 152 points but sees his advantage over race winner Shoubridge shrink to just a couple of points, while Baker sits in third with 111 points.
David Shoubridge (Rich Energy Ducati) – 1st
“This place means a lot to me, it’s where I got my first win and it’s the reason why I take my racing so seriously. I’ve had a big accident here and coming back it’s sort of like battling your demons. It just flows really well for me. I love the circuit, and I love the Mountain obviously like everyone does it. It’s just got characteristics like no other circuit, a proper bit of me. With the Ducati Cup championship coming to an end at the end of this season I really wanted to have that lap record, and have my name left in the series. Really wanted to push for that and in that race I think I broke it about three times consecutively. Really chuffed!”
Tom Tunstall (Motorcycle Race Parts #21) – 2nd
“Dave’s pace has been strong weekend I was keen to stay with him or get my teeth into the back of his seat if I could. Blaze got past the early laps, and he was kind of quite wide, either intentionally or just quite loose and using all the track. I knew we needed to push on and I ended up passing him almost by mistake, kind of got him lined up just in case, and then he pushed wide, and it got a little bit tight in the hairpin. Once I got in front it was just a case of getting a rhythm. I was pretty pleased with the times, they were faster qualifying. So not a bad afternoon really. I was glad to pull clear, we just couldn’t hold a candle to David, but we knew he was going to be strong here. We will see what we can do tomorrow in the race, a good start will be critical. But all good fun!”
Blaze Baker (Track Demons Racing Powered by HMY #51) – 3rd
“First time here at Cadwell, what an experience. It’s a really awesome circuit. And then there’s a flipping tabletop halfway through it! Quite an experience and quite something to learn. Pity we weren’t able to get some testing time out here, I think the gap would have been that much closer. I’m looking forward to tomorrow, I feel like we’ve got some good pace. Huge thank you to the team, to my personal sponsors, without you guys I wouldn’t be on the grid today. I’m a little bit lost for words. This track is really physical. I can’t really put a name to it. I mean I don’t know if I like it or don’t. The whole circuit is really good. I just need to get used to the mountain and I think this would overtake Brands for my personal P1 again!”
Race 2
Sunday’s morning race at Cadwell saw Shoubridge claim his third double Ducati Cup win of the season. The ten-lap race, declared wet, saw the Rich Energy rider running behind Baker in the early stages. But on the third lap Shoubridge took the lead, going on to once again gap the field, taking his seventh victory of the season with a comfortable nine second advantage.
Philip Atkinson (Q-Oil Treatments / Unique Motorsport) put yesterday’s DNF disappointment firmly behind him to take a well-deserved second place finish. Meanwhile the battle for third was hotly contested with Davie taking his first podium, just ahead of JDF Racing teammate Max Lofthouse.
Baker brought his Panigale V2 home in fifth, with Tunstall completing the top six finishers.
Shoubridge’s double win sees him back at the top of the championship standings ahead of Tunstall. Baker remains third and Lofthouse fourth, while Davie now moves up to fifth ahead of Tustin.
David Shoubridge (Rich Energy Ducati) – 1st
“Tricky conditions, obviously nothing like yesterday. Yesterday was a glorious one. Had to use our head a little bit in that one, sort of plan the race out a little bit. There were two warm-up laps and tried not to use the rear tyre. There was a couple of people pushing on in the warm-up laps and I just sort of dropped back as there’s a fine line between putting heat into your tyres and using up rubber. I just tried to be smart about it. Really the person I had my eyes on was Tom. Obviously, we wanted to win if it was available, but we were going to try and have a sensible ride if we could. Everything worked great, waited until it was time to go, and built confidence all the way through, just got better and better. But it’s a magical place this, especially for us as I said yesterday. Long may these wins continue because I’d forgotten where it was like to dominate the top step and now feels like we’re back in flow. Looking forward to next round.”
Philip Atkinson (Q-Oil Treatments / Unique Motorsport) – 2nd
“We obviously changed the front discs for new discs and then it started raining so we had to wets on but at least the discs on those were straight. And we had no brake issues. Lisa just on that was straight so we had no break issues. I haven’t ridden this bike in the wet, or any of these bikes in the wet for two and half years, so it took a little bit of time to get going and by that time Shoubridge was gone. To push a little bit harder in these conditions is not worth it. I saw the gap to third keep increasing and I knew we had a safe second so just kept on going. I’d like to say a big thanks to Q-Oil Treatments, Unique Motorsport, and everyone else who has helped me get here.”
Adon Davie (JDF Racing) – 3rd
“It was really good, I enjoyed that. First couple of laps it was just whoever found the pace quickest, I just sort of felt my way round. It dried up a little bit and ended up with a group battle, so I just picked my way through that and rode with the grip that I had. A few moments but I really enjoyed that race and a podium at Cadwell where I have never, ever raced before is quite unbelievable for me, I never thought I’d come here. So, I’m really happy with that and a great weekend’s racing.”
The riders will be back in action on 9-11th September when racing resumes at Snetterton for the sixth round of the Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup.
