Ducati Owners Club GB celebrates 50 years in style!

On Saturday 6th April over 150 members and guests attended an event to commemorate 50 years of the Ducati Owners Club GB. Venue – the prestigious Sky Suite at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon, Warwickshire. 

The occasion was superbly choreographed by Colin Richards (DOC GB Merchandise), assisted by his wife, Lisa Richards (DOC GB Treasurer), Steve Staines (DOC GB Events), and Lisa’s friend Michelle. Lisa had also carefully budgeted the club’s finances over the past couple of years in order to cope with the expense of the event.

The evening started with a drinks reception in Museum, where there were some superb Ducatis supplied by Ducati Coventry / JHP and Tim Watts on display for the event.

Guests included Fabrizio Cazzoli, Sara Falzolgher, Ian Simpson, and - for a vital part of the proceedings - Troy and Kim Bayliss (more of whom later).

A delicious three course meal, plus a good supply of wine and other drinks contributed to the convivial atmosphere, the tables superbly decorated with flowers, and even the place settings had been thoughtfully designed to complement the evening, complete with the food selections on them.

After the meal, compère Wayne Kershaw introduced Fabrizio who then gave a short presentation about Ducati and the current situation; it also featured a greeting from Francesco Milia in Bologna (very fitting as arguably we are the largest Ducati Owners Club - and probably the oldest – in the world).

Next came the raffle, eagerly anticipated by many, and with prizes donated from Ducati UK, the club, and club members. Mental Health Motorbike was the nominated charity for the proceeds of the raffle at the event, and Paul Oxborough and Karen Cole then gave a short talk, outlining their charity. The raffle money raised £1400, the club also donated £400, and the winner of the main prize - a collage of Pecco items from Ducati - generously suggested that he would like the picture auctioned with the money donated to the charity. Bidding started well, and eventually Andrew and Mariana Yarnold were bidding against each other, raising a further £570. Mike Woodford also donated £10 as he missed the raffle.

Highlights of the evening though were the presentations: Dave Knight (aka Spaggy) and Jilly Penegar were given awards by DOC GB Chair Martyn Edwards for their contributions to the club (50 years and 49 years respectively); and Colin Richards for his tireless work in organising the event. The main highlight though was a Q & A session between Wayne and Troy Bayliss, extremely entertaining, and outlining Troy’s outstanding career from day 1. To add to this hugely enjoyable evening, Troy was also invited to be an Honorary Vice-President of the club, and, to everyone’s delight, he accepted. This In turn mean that he spent the rest of the evening having numerous photos taken, signing autographs, and generally chatting with everyone – all of which he took in his stride.

In all, a fabulous evening, a huge thanks to all who helped / assisted in making it so special, and mainly to Colin for all his work. The bar has been set very high for the next DOC GB celebration ….