Jun Valenton: “Be very, very cautious, because it’s very, very addicting”
Jun Valenton, Irvine. @junv710
We filmed Jun at Chuckwalla in March, at our sixth private track day. He is blunt about what joining a Ducati Official club actually gets you.
Video and production: Chandler Peck, AMPD Media. Final editing: Glenalyn Ann (@glenalynann.co). Thank you both. Chandler shot and produced this series in a working paddock between sessions, and Glenalyn cut it into something that holds your attention. If you enjoyed watching this, go look them up: AMPD Media for motorsport photography and cinematic video, Glenalyn Ann for editing, motion graphics and social content.
What follows is the full interview, so there is more of it here than made the final cut.
It started with a sound
The second I fell in love with Ducati was when I heard the sound of the dry clutch. That was my turning point for Ducati.
Not a spec sheet. A rattle in a parking lot. Ask around a DROC bike night and you’ll hear the same story more than once.
His pick of the range, price no object:
My favorite Ducati would be the Superleggera. It’s unique. It’s one of the flagship bikes of Ducati, and it looks awesome.
Why a club track day is not a regular track day
A DROC track day is very different from a regular track day. One, it’s all about family. Once you’re here, everybody helps you out. Maybe it’s your first time, maybe your second time, maybe you’re an experienced track rider. Everybody helps out. You’ll learn a lot from them, and it’s all about the experience. It’s not just track riding. It’s about getting to be with family.
That is the whole reason we run private days rather than buying seats at an open one: same circuit, same sessions, but the paddock is people you already know.
Jun’s warning to first-timers:
If you’re thinking about doing a track day, be very, very cautious, because it’s very, very addicting.
What he’d tell someone thinking about joining
It’s not your ordinary kind of club. If you buy a Kawasaki, have you ever joined a Kawasaki club? I believe not. But once you join a Ducati club such as DROC, you’ll be amazed at how fun it is to be one with a family of Ducati riders.
Full transcript
My name is Jun Valenton. I’m from Irvine, California.
The second I fell in love with Ducati was when I heard the sound of the dry clutch. That was my turning point for Ducati.
My favorite Ducati would be the Superleggera. It’s unique. It’s one of the flagship bikes of Ducati, and it looks awesome.
A DROC track day is very different from a regular track day. One, it’s all about family. Once you’re here, everybody helps you out. Maybe it’s your first time, maybe your second time, maybe you’re an experienced track rider. Everybody helps out. You’ll learn a lot from them, and it’s all about the experience. It’s not just track riding. It’s about getting to be with family.
If you’re thinking about doing a track day, be very, very cautious, because it’s very, very addicting.
What would I tell someone who’s thinking about joining DROC? I would tell him, it’s not your ordinary kind of club. If you buy a Kawasaki, have you ever joined a Kawasaki club? I believe not. But once you join a Ducati club such as DROC, you’ll be amazed at how fun it is to be one with a family of Ducati riders.
Track photos: CaliPhoto, Chuckwalla Valley Raceway, March 16 2026. We Ride As One photo: Chandler Peck, AMPD Media. Remaining photos courtesy of Jun Valenton.
Jun does not just show up, he runs things
Ask anyone in DROC where Jun is on a ride day and the answer is usually “helping out, in the pink security vest.” Three of the things that make this club work have his fingerprints on them.
Ride leader
Jun leads. On We Ride As One, our biggest turnout of the year, he is the one shepherding a very large group of riders through traffic, canyons and coast, keeping the pace honest and the group together. It is unglamorous work, and it is the reason a ride that size stays calm and finishes with everyone accounted for.
ADV tours
Not every DROC ride is asphalt. Jun is behind our ADV tours, the multi-day trips out into the desert and the backcountry where the day ends on a rock somewhere with a view and dust on everything. If you have ever wondered whether a Ducati club is only about canyon carving, this is your answer.
The holiday party
Our holiday party is the one night a year the whole club is in one room and nobody is wearing leathers. Jun organizes it: the venue, the food, the backdrop, the hundred small details that decide whether an evening feels like a club dinner or like a family reunion. It always feels like the second one.
Ride with Jun. See what’s coming up and read about the day this was filmed.
Not a DROC member yet? Join us and follow @drocdesmo on Instagram.
More riders, in their own words: Member Stories.