Round 4 - June 15th / 16th
Duns MX Track (nr Berwick)
Round 4 of The Scottish Motocross Championship was over two days. We saw the best and worst of weathers, but the Duns track held up to provide some of the best racing in the UK. On Saturday, the water bowser had to come out during the second block of racing to keep the dust down and on Sunday, the umbrellas were out in force as the meeting ended with some heavy rainfall. None of this distracted any of the riders as they powered through on both days to provide some thrilling racing for the spectators.
As the championship starts to heat up, there is all to play for in every class.
Saturday 15th June
Auto’s (Sponsored by FXR)
Ellik Miller and Ollie Hain both made the most of Finlay Hoskisson not being present as they took the opportunity to overtake the championship leader. It was a masterclass from Miller as his training sessions with MX1 Carlton Husband have paid off. He stormed through all three races and rode faultlessly. Sam Ratcliff also had a solid day. Ollie Hain did finish third, but he had a few moments along the way.
65’s (Sponsored by FXR)
Liam Hannah and Katie Beecroft served up some great racing. Hanah would take the overall, but it was Beecroft’s race win in the final race that had everyone cheering. Isaac Arnold had a tough start to the day and couldn’t recover to claim the final podium as Aiden Anton would do enough to grab that final spot. With Hannah’s overall win and Isaac Arnold’s poor first race, they are now tied as leaders in the Championship.
85’s SW/BW (Sponsored by Plews Tres)
SW
Championship leader Harry Hall led every lap of every race. He never looked phased as he rode to the overall win unchallenged. Alfie Lawrie did have to fight for his second place as the next three riders all finished on the same points. It was James McCann who had the best third race result meaning he was on the podium.
BW
Hayden Statt’s lap times in qualifying would have placed him 2nd in MX2. What a thought, imagine seeing an 85BW rider mixing it in one of the top classes. Destined for a great future, Statt showed why he is so highly rated. Statt pushed every lap, relentless and impressive to watch. Malachi Allan and Andrew Piggford also served up some great racing as they battled it out for second and third. Allan is on course to win the championship and could wrap it up in Elgin.
Youth 125/250 (Sponsored by Stirlings Powersports)
Louis Perrin-Brown had his sights set on Jaden Anderson and Robbie Scott. He got a well-deserved overall win as the Yamaha pair rounded out the top three. Jaden edged out Robbie as he had to battle his way through the pack in every race suffering from poor starts.
After a few challenging rounds, Jack Meara finally celebrated an overall win. Ryan Lowes would settle for second, but Charley Irwin and Rhys Whyment did their best to challenge before they finished on equal points.
2 Stroke 125/Open (Sponsored by Drysdales Motorcycles)
The resurgence of the 2 stroke class has seen some great racing. The class pits a wide range of ages and abilities. Ryan Waggott one of the youngest riders was the one to watch in the 125 class. At the other end of the age range, Jack Marshall second was a great result as he returned to racing after a break. A first podium for Scott Forsyth after persevering all season.
The Open 2 stroke class featured MX2 and MX1 riders getting some racing in for Sunday. Ryan Thomson was looking to take three race wins but a clash with Richard McKeown on the second corner certainly gave him a wakeup call. Thomson rode like a man possessed and clawed it back to take third. His next two races went to plan as he got the overall by winning both races. Jordan McCaw took the race 1 win, and spent the next two races trying to keep vet McKeown behind him. Josh McCorkell tied with McKeown on points, but McKeown got the third place as he bettered Josh in the last race.
Adult Support
The Adult Support featured a number of MX1 and MX2 riders. John Adamson checked out in race 1. He was dialled in and disappeared. That was enough preparation for John as he didn’t turn out for race 2. Billy Mackenzie rode right onto track from the parc ferme as he missed the start. He pushed every lap and worked his way up to second mid-race and maintained that position. Ben Edwards had a DNF race 1 but made up for it in race 2 as he took the win. MacKenzie took another second place with Graham Blacklock running in second for a couple laps before finishing a well deserved third.
Sunday 15th June
Vets 40,50 and 60 (Sponsored by Drysdales Motorcycles)
In the O40’s, Mikey Graham and Barry Gray are always fighting for the win, but Scott Murray joined the action in Duns. He split the pair pushing Gray back to third overall as Mikey Graham won comfortably.
Richard Miller took all three wins as the next three riders would tough it out for the podium. Gordon Morrison was the best of the rest as he beat Morton Hannah into third. Ewan Johnson made a rare race appearance in Scotland as he enjoyed some good starts.
Ian Wilson missed the last round but made an impact on his return by winning. All three race wins put him back on track in the championship. Steve Howes and Chris Rogerson made up the rest of podium in the O60’s.
Adult C (Sponsored by Drysdales Motorcycles)
Ruari Grimes had his first Scottish Championship race and celebrated with the overall win. He managed to keep the series regulars at bay as they battled it out for bragging rights. Charlie McCann held off Jamie Mottram and he in turn bettered championship leader Rory Cultra.
Adult B (Sponsored by Drysdales Motorcycles)
Josh McCorkell continued to dominate the B class in round four. Josh rode his 2 stoke on Saturday but saved the best for Sunday on his 4 stroke. Aiden Bruce swapped over from MX1 to ride the B class and enjoy the final podium place as he finished behind Jay Cheel.
MX2 (Sponsored by Safe Access Highland Ltd)
Glen McCormick showed he is the man to beat in MX2. He had his hands full keeping James Mackrel at bay as the pair swapped positions in each race. It wasn’t plain sailing for McCormick though as he had to fight through the pack, but he did so with three determined rides. Mackrel looked like he would come out on top, but he gave up the lead in each race. He did salvage second but must’ve been disappointed. Lewis Hall was delighted with his third overall as he put the last few meetings behind him. He benefited at the expense of Ryan Thomson who’s costly third race falls resulted in dropping to overall fourth after two 3rd places in first two races. It wasn’t all bad for Thomson as he overtook Charlie Heyman in the championship with Heyman missing from Duns.
MX1 (Sponsored by Safe Access Highland Ltd)
Although he missed the opening round, Conrad Mewse took the lead in the MX1 championship after taking the overall at Duns. As the weather turned, Mewse demonstrated why he can master any track he races. He was fastest in qualifying ahead of Billy MacKenzie by 0.2s. MacKenzie and Adamson had benefited by having some track time on Saturday, but they couldn’t better Conrad’s results. Race 2 saw Billy lead half the race before Conrad finally passed him. John Adamson and Brad Todd had their moments in all three races. Todd cheekily pipped MacKenzie in race 1 on the finish line but Billy got the last laugh. Adamson’s best result was 2nd in race 1 and he had to ride hard in race 2 after an early crash but he settled for the final podium spot behind MacKenzie.
Both Conrad Mewse and Glen McCormick commented they’re loving the series. The tracks are always well prepped, and they are amazed that there’s not more top riders making the effort to come to Scotland. It’s back to deep sand when the next race is held at Elgin.
The Scottish Motocross Championship has an impressive lineup of sponsorship this year with Drysdale’s Motorcycles, Safe Access Highland Ltd, FXR and Plews Tyres as race sponsors. Series sponsors Dyce Carriers Ltd, Site Sealants, Stirlings Powersports , Just1, LS2 Helmets, Modu, Actiph, Slavin Plant Hire and Lochwinnoch all help to keep the championship healthy.
The next round of The Scottish Championship will be at Elgin MX Track 27th/28th July.
Raymond Thomson / madmaxmedia