Bologna - NCR workshop - the bike comes to life!
By Vicki Smith
Welcome to Rino Caracchi's workshop. When Ducati racing history is told it's difficult if not impossible to explain the relationship between NCR and Ducati Reparto Corse because as is often the case in Italy, sometimes they were different and sometimes they were the same. What is clear is that NCR was two men, Georgio Nepoti and Rino Caracchi. Partners so closely linked in work and in spirit that when Giorgio died last year Italian TV reported that it was Rino who had passed (a story Rino tells fondly because it allows him to speak of Giorgio who was for all purposes a brother and could not be more dearly remembered or missed). All visits to Bologna begin for me with a visit to Rino but this year we have a purpose. One of the groups bikes has been delivered here for final assembly for next week's Motogiro d'Italia. The original construction plans called for it to be sent to the WSBK shop of Stefano Caracchi and with the help of Franco Farne the assembly would be done in advance but the bike's arrival date conflicts with the Monza SBK race weekend so Stefano diverted the bike to his father's shop. As a result our arrival in group with tools in hand is somewhat unexpected/last minute, but greeted as always with a smile.
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