Finished the book up last night. What strikes me as a stark contrast to today's Superbike racing, is that a privateer (that was everyone back then basically), could make an impact. You could show up with your bike and a van, and race against the pros of the time, and actually compete. No giant RV's, no parts trucks, not a set of tires per session, no specialized techs for individual parts/components etc. Man and machine, and maybe a guy that helped piece it all together. Grass roots maybe? Lack of "progress"? I dunno, but as things have gotten more and more complicated and more and more expensive, we've lost something in translation. Ritter's book is a good reminder of many things. First, racing is dangerous. Second, it's worth it. Third, we've come a long way, but not necessarily in a good way. Thanks for writing this book Paul. It's special, and while I'd love to keep it, I love sharing good books with friends even more, so my copy will go to a beloved friend with the intent of that friend passing it on as well. Pags

I’ve been meaning to read it for awhile, finally got copy and read it. I thought it was very good, quite engaging and loads of good stories. I have met Paul (sold him a leather jacket on my way down to Laguna for WSB- many many years ago) and even saw the 750 sport. I had not idea of the history of the bike. Highly recommended read. Mark > On Jul 8, 2020, at 6:30 AM, Tony Pags <ajpags@gmail.com> wrote: > > Finished the book up last night. What strikes me as a stark contrast to > today's Superbike racing, is that a privateer (that was everyone back then > basically), could make an impact. You could show up with your bike and a > van, and race against the pros of the time, and actually compete. > > No giant RV's, no parts trucks, not a set of tires per session, no > specialized techs for individual parts/components etc. Man and machine, > and maybe a guy that helped piece it all together. > > Grass roots maybe? Lack of "progress"? I dunno, but as things have > gotten more and more complicated and more and more expensive, we've lost > something in translation. > > Ritter's book is a good reminder of many things. First, racing is > dangerous. Second, it's worth it. Third, we've come a long way, but not > necessarily in a good way. > > Thanks for writing this book Paul. It's special, and while I'd love to > keep it, I love sharing good books with friends even more, so my copy will > go to a beloved friend with the intent of that friend passing it on as well. > > Pags > > > > > To get the links and updates on all today's Ducati news: > http://www.ductalk.com/ > and > https://www.facebook.com/ducnet > _____________________ > Ducati mailing list > Ducati@list.ducati.net > http://list.ducati.net/mailman/listinfo/ducati_list.ducati.net > Mailto: markh@olympus.net