Cheshire Mouldings Ducati team talk at Motorcycle Live

News about the Cheshire Mouldings Ducati team entering the 2025 Superbike and Supersports championships was broken to the public during the Motorcycle Live event in Birmingham. Interviewing TAS Racing Team Principal Philip Neill and riders Rory Skinner and Edoardo Colombi on the Ducati stand was WorldSBK commentator Greg Haines.

Well, this is exciting then. We've got the logo behind us for the very first time, with British Superbikes and Supersport. The 26th season now for TAS Racing, time goes by very quickly.

Philip: Yeah, it certainly does and this exciting for us. You need to find new challenges I think after a certain amount of years, and this one came about through circumstance. But I can’t say how happy I am really. Ducati is an iconic brand; I’ve always admired them from a distance and can’t wait for the opportunity to see what we can do.  

Tremendous success on the roads of course for you guys, and we saw it again this year with Davey Todd, but that’s come to a close now. But great, great times.

Philip: What’s the saying, never say never? It's in our blood, we enjoy that side of things. But it is time for us right now to focus on British Superbike. We want to win that championship. We’ve had lots of success in the other categories, in Superstock and Supersport, and have come very close in Superbike several times. But now we need to put our focus and effort in to try and win Superbike. 

I guess with your British Superbike rider there wasn’t much deliberation on this choice or thinking that had to be done.

Philip: No, we have a very talented young rider. Our team has always been based on young riders as you’ve seen. This very talented young rider had nothing but bad luck last year. But I believe what he’s capable of, what he’s capable of on the V4 R, and he will, in my opinion, be challenging at the sharp end.

He’s got Red Bull Rookies experience, Grand Prix experience, as well as experience in the British paddock. Let’s welcome onto the Ducati stage Rory Skinner. Rory, congratulations. Same team but new colours, and a new bike with Ducati, this is exciting.

Rory: Yeah, I’m very excited to be part of the Cheshire Mouldings by TAS Racing team. It's a been a hectic few weeks to be honest, I didn't really kind of know what was going on and then Philip broke the news to me, and I was super excited for it.

We’ve had a really good year this year in British Superbikes, obviously coming off the back of a year in Grand Prix. It’s been really exciting to relearn the UK tracks and relearn the ways of BSB. To get my first win at Knockhill this year was incredible. I’m really glad to get that out of the way and done, and now jumping on a Ducati for 2025, I'm super excited for it. I think it's going to be a really good step.

Knockhill was tremendous wasn't it. I mean you were the only rider to win with your previous manufacturer last year. And for that win to come at your home round Knockhill, that was fairy tale stuff.

Rory: To get my first win anywhere would be fantastic, but to do at home in front of my whole family, all my friends, it was just something really special. I’ll hopefully get a few more of them in the bag for 2025 and have a solid season. I'm keen to get working hard this off season, getting back to it after the injury. 

Phil, I can feel the energy between the two of you here on the Ducati stage. There is a real possibility of some great success next year.

Philip: I've got a lot of belief in this young man. I mean, I've worked with a lot of riders over the years and honestly, we’ve been sweating for a few weeks and even months now, with what we were going to be able to put together, if anything really. It really did run as late as just a few days ago. I had to get Rory to change his ferry to get here, calling him to say we’ve done a deal with Ducati. Rory’s a good lad and I hope he gets the success that he deserves.

Rory, what's the main target for you? What would you be happy with in 2025?

Rory: I hate tempting fate; I hate sayings things. But if I can have a good year, come out of it having enjoyed it year, I think that will be good. Philip wants five wins so no pressure there! But my mindset is definitely in the same place as Philip’s. We’re going to work hard this off season, to be the best version of myself come the start of the season, and what will be will be. But we'll make sure we get stuck into it, and make sure there's nothing left on the table. 

Good bonuses in place Phil for those five victories?

Philip: I forgot about that part actually. Three wins is ok Rory!

Talking of winning, let’s introduce your Supersport rider because he won a stunning eight races in his previous Sportbike category this year. Phil, it’s a silly question really bearing in mind what he did in 2024, but what attracted you to this guy for your Supersport project?

Phulip: Super talent. This kid’s going to be on the world stage at some point in my opinion, I think in everyone's opinion. I know you probably share that with me. Lovely young fella, Really young. Last time I started with a guy at this age was Tom Sykes back in 2004. I enjoyed that experience then and it was really nice to help the younger lads progress to the next stage of their career. And this young lad obviously has got a next stage, and a next stage. I hope we can be the team to help him to that point. Really looking forward to it. 

To add to the romance of this whole thing, Edoardo Colombi is an Italian and he will be on a Ducati. Ciao Edoardo, you’re from Milan so what do you think of Birmingham so far?

Edoardo: Birmingham so far, it’s good, yeah! 

The main question I want to ask you as an Italian, having travelled to do the Pirelli National Sportbike championship this year from Milan, what did you think of the British food? 

Edoardo: The British food? Maybe it’s not the best! Italian is better, but it’s ok.

Congratulations on the British Sportbike Championship. You didn't know any of the circuits. You came from Italy on a different manufacturer, and you almost won the championship. Incredible.

Edoardo: It was a really good season; I did my best. It was difficult to learn the track because the tracks are different to Italian tracks. But I did good work so I’m really happy for the season.

Rory, do you speak Italian yet?

Rory: Not much Italian but maybe Edoardo can teach me some over the season.

Edoardo, what do you think of these different accents, Irish, Scottish. Does it make it more difficult for you?

Edoardo: It is difficult because my English is not the best and there are three different accents here!

Having Rory and Edoardo is a great line up. Like I said, with all the energy and the passion in this team, I can see some great stuff coming for Cheshire Mouldings and Ducati next year.

Philip: I never thought of the Scottish, Irish, Italian mix! Yes, we’ll do our very best for both riders. Yes, the machinery is right and for both classes. The V4 R is well proven in this category, and the V2 machine is an unbelievable package. Edoardo hasn't ridden that yet, but I'm very, very confident in how he rides the bike, and how good the package is. Obviously, Ben Currie has already shown in the class how competitive the bike is, and we had one in road racing last year of course. So, I’m looking forward to seeing the two boys on the bikes for the first time.  

What do you think the chances are going to be for Edoardo, what are the biggest challenge going to be? You’ve won Supersport titles before with Michael Laverty and Alastair Sealey. How difficult, or easy, or challenging is this going to be?

Philip: Normally the process is for the rider and for the team is to try to test the rider on the bike at least in the category that they're going to ride in. We didn't have that opportunity. We did try to do it at the end of the season, but the weather let us down and unfortunately, we couldn’t do it. So, it's an unknown for Edoardo and for ourselves. 

Honestly, the package and the motorbikes are already the right ones to have in that category and we believe we've in what we’ve seen his ability as a rider. It's just a matter of us making enough time available for him. We’re going to try and help him, to help assist him with a practise bike when he's when he's at home in Italy. And with enough miles on the bike before the season starts.

Obviously, it's going to be difficult for him. Yes, it's a step up and there's some very competitive riders in the class, so of course he's going to have to step up a level, but we don't expect too much out of him to begin with. And we believe that he’ll be there, by some point in the season. 

Edoardo, you’re eighteen now? So, who are your racing heroes?

Edoardo: My racing hero is Valentino Rossi. 

What about you Rory, when you were coming up through the ranks?

Rory: There are only five years separating me and Edoardo. So, the age difference isn’t too much. Valentino Rossi was the guy to beat at that time while I was growing up, and obviously you always look up to the best. But I looked up to my dad as well. My dad always raced bikes, and I was going to the races with him, and he was always doing a little bit of winning, won a couple of Scottish championships. We always had trophies coming home, that was nice.

And I know people are wondering as they’re asking but how are you physically now? You had a horrible crash at Oulton Park in the warm up this year, your helmet came off through Island Bend. Then you snapped your leg at Snetterton. Pretty unlucky there, how are you now?

Rory: Yeah, I'm OK now. I'm getting a lot better. I'm not walking about with a limp so you can't really call me sniper’s nightmare anymore. Definitely getting a lot better, a lot fitter. Just trying to make sure I get a decent base fitness by the time we get to the new year and then really start grinding away. As I said, I want to make sure I’m the best version of myself come start of the season. 

How are you finding it back in Britain after the stint in Moto2, with completely different countries, cultures, time zones?

Rory: It's honestly been really nice. It was a dream of mine to get to Grand Prix and I managed to do that off my own back. We didn’t have to spend our own money, we did it all just off talent alone. It was nice to get there, but obviously the circumstances of being there probably weren’t the best. But it is what it is, and I ticked that box. 

But to be back in BSB has been really nice. To be back with the TAS Racing team, it was like being back at home straight away. There’s such a nice family atmosphere and you’ve already commented on it, but me and Philip get on really well. I’ve actually just been staying at his house the last couple of days, so he’s had to put up with me 24 hours a day! But it’s been really good, and to be heading into 2025 with Ducati I’m really excited.

Talking of different circuits Edoardo, you obviously know Misano and the Italian tracks. What was it like for the first time coming to into Britain, with Oulton Park, Cadwell Park, Knockhill, all very different circuits?

Edoardo: When I arrived to the first round at Oulton Park I saw the track and said ‘wow! It’s good. Very different to an Italian track, it’s difficult. But the English tracks are very, very good.

Not many Italian riders or other European riders come to BSB. Gregorio Lavilla was a good example, but why did you choose to come to the UK?  

Edoardo: For me, BSB is a really good championship. For me it was a good opportunity, for me and my future. And for this I want to thank Philip and Ducati and the TAS Racing team. I’m very happy for 2025 and to have a good teammate.

Rory, is there a target for you in terms of wins? I know we joked earlier about three or five wins, depending on the win bonus from Phil. But what would you actually be pleased with by the end of the year?

Rory: I think with the package we’re going to have, I think it’s going to be a championship contending package. That’s where I’ve got to set my sights for. I hate speaking about what I’m going to do, what I’d like to do. But I know what my goals are in my head, me and Philip have spoken about it, we know where we both want to be. We’ll work hard and make sure we achieve the goals that we’ve set.

What’s the situation with data sharing, or helping each other out in the other Ducati teams, will there be much going on there? 

Philip: I expect so but I’m not quite sure to be honest. I’m quite good friends with Steve ‘Wilf’ Moore, and he’ll help me out, I know he will. Obviously, he’s got a wealth of experience, and it there’s anything we can do reciprocate that, we’ll be doing it. I think the key thing really is that Ducati are so good as a manufacturer with sharing the data from the World level down. I don’t think we’ll see the programmes for Bautista for example, but it's not quite relevant because tracks are different, riding styles are different. But the package they create is almost set. There aren't so many variations from it. It’s then up to us to set it up to suit the riders, but the bike that they supply is pretty much the same as they’ll use in World Superbikes.

I’m really looking forward to that side, and it takes off a bit of pressure for us as a team. And the package is proven already so the guys don’t need to worry if that’s an issue. 

What’s the situation in terms of testing for both of the guys?

Philip: We’ve already tried to get Edoardo on a Ducati V2, but the weather let us down. Rory is going to have an opportunity now, thanks very kindly to John Carney from Cheshire Mouldings who has a personal V4 and he’s allowed Rory to go and use it for some trackdays. That’s really exciting for Rory to do that so early, it’s a very positive point.

We’ll do our best to get Edoardo on a practice bike as soon as possible and he’ll probably ride initially in Italy. We will then join forces together, probably sometime in February in Spain, and start testing properly. 

Can you give us an insight as to what the bike is going to look like, and when we might actually see it?

Philip: We're hoping to do something in the next few weeks. It will be a little bit different than what you normally see, thankfully Ducati are happy with what we are doing. We’ve already shown them proofs of what we want to do and they're very happy for that. We're obviously representing Cheshire Mouldings as a title partner. Milwaukie Tools are a very, very important partner to us as well. In fact, they’re largely responsible for bringing in Edoardo to us, because, and I’m not afraid to admit, they spotted him before I did. We love every side of it, we've always thrived on what the bike looks like and so it will be really disappointing if anyone doesn’t like it. 

Thank you very much guys. Watch this space…