The long established track set in the glorious hillside location near Lochgilphead, just a stone’s throw from the iconic Kilmartin GP track, had a major overhaul last year. A year ago, the old hard pack track was levelled by Johnny Hamilton and Scott Gardner as they worked around the clock to get it ready. Unfortunately, the meeting was cancelled after the first day, due to a biblical bout of rainfall, but no such problems this year. Unlike last year, the meeting ran like clockwork and all the hard work finally paid off as the riders enjoyed 2 days of hard racing. The hard pack track was a stiff test for all riders of every ability, from Auto to MX1, the intense racing meant the wins were hard fought and well deserved but not without some thrills and spills! There was a familiarity about the results as the main championship contenders in each class showed why they are at the front. Words: Scottish MX
Saturday 4th May
Auto (Sponsored by FXR)
Ellik Miller signed in and checked out. 3 hole-shots and 3 race wins, job done. His racing did all the talking. Finlay Hoskisson and Ollie Hain both had a steady day as they would finish second and third in all three races making the podium straight forward. Riding a good portion of the main track, all riders cam through unscathed much to the relief of their anxious parents.
65 (Sponsored by FXR)
Isaac Arnold had three race wins in his class as he maintained his form in round three. Szymon Skuratowski repeated his overall second from the last round as Liam Hannah tried his best to beat Szymon into third but a slightly poor first race limited his chances.
85 SW/BW (Sponsored by Plews Tres)
SW
Ethan Gawley looked set for the overall win as the Irish lad stormed out of the gate in the first two races but a poor result in race three knocked him off the top spot. Harry Hall was there to make the most of Gawley’s misfortune and took the overall. A poor start for Alfie Lawrie in race 2 meant he could only manage third even after winning the last race. James McCann had a tough day having to battle down the order in each race but just couldn’t secure a podium.
BW
Another rider that dominated his class was Malachi Allan. Three easy race wins as he continued his push for the championship. Reid Simpson was the best of the rest with Leo Self not quite able to overhaul Simpson. There was some frantic racing down the order at times which the crowd enjoyed as they cheered on their favourites.
Youth 125/250 (Sponsored by Stirlings Powersports)
The future’s bright based on the youth that were on show. In the 125’s, Robbie Scott’s decision to jump from SW85 this season has so far paid off. His 1,1,3 was more than enough to bag to top spot. Zach Pearson’s long journey was well worth the effort as he finished in second place. Louis Perrin-Brown finally broke into the podium places and enjoyed a win in the final race to prove there’s more to come.
The 250 race always keeps you guessing who will take the overall and it was Ryan Lowes chance to shine. Pulling some big whips on the tabletops, it was not just show boating, he got two race wins and ended up dominating as Jack Meara’s early promise in race 1 was dashed with a poor second race. Charley Irwin kept pushing and matched Meara on points taking the overall second with the better result in the last race. Rhys Whyment missed out by a single point but admitted it was not his best surface. The Youth Championship looks like it will go down to the wire.
2 Stroke 125/Open (Sponsored by Drysdales Motorcycles)
Ryan Waggot cruised to the overall in the 125 class as the 2 Stroke race had everyone trackside watching the drama unfold. Andrew Pohlen and Louis Tobin established the running order for the top three in all races. Tobin looked like he was relishing racing the 125 instead of his customary four stroke.
It was an all Irish podium with John Meara enjoying his first Scottish Championship meeting running out the easy winner. Vet Richard McKeown continued to defy his years by turning back the clock on his old RM250 and running hard all day ahead of Jordan McCaw. The resurgence of the two stroke class even tempted Billy MacKenzie out on his CR500 in race 1.
Adult Support
The Adult Support class brought out some of the big guns. John Adamson ran out an easy winner in race 1 but his “one and done” strategy was enough for him to prepare for the MX1 on Sunday. Tony Craig, Billy MacKenzie and Ross Rutherford battled it out in race two as they turned back the clock. Craig suffered chronic arm pump all day, but he still managed a grimaced smile after the race win. The final race saw just a handful of riders brave the technical track with the deep ruts making the riders choose their lines wisely. Josh McCorkell took the race win as he got dialled in for his B class on Sunday.
Sunday 5th May
Vets 40,50 and 60 (Sponsored by Drysdales Motorcycles)
Barry Gray and Mikey Graham renewed their rivalry in the O40’s Vet’s and after swapping race wins in the first two races, it was Gray that would triumph. Both riders kept up their consistent lap times, but Gray was just too strong in the last part of race three. Alan Deans came out on top of the next three places as Souza Antonio and Kevin McBride all finished on the same points. Deans never looked out of shape and his riding style suited the conditions.
Gordon Morrison blasted out the gate in race 1 and showed Morton Hannah he meant business in the O50’s. Hannah couldn’t match Morrison as the pair finished ahead of Graham Ross who did just did enough in race three to bag the final podium ahead of Kevin Charles who’s second place last gasp effort in race three wasn’t quite enough to get on the podium.
In the O60’s, Les Winthrope bagged another overall with Ian Wilson away watching his son racing UCI MTB in Fort William. Stephen Pollock made the most of Wilson’s absence finishing second and Andrew Beatty rounded off the podium.
Adult C (Sponsored by Drysdales Motorcycles)
After winning the first race, Rory Cultra couldn’t capitalise on his good start and missed out narrowly on overall second after he finished on the same points as Charlie McCann. Jamie Mottram’s results got better each race as his 3,2,1 would be enough for the overall win and he beat McCann into second.
Adult B (Sponsored by Drysdales Motorcycles)
Josh McCorkell continued his winning ways in round three and bagged the overall with three wins. Charley Irwin’s two second places made up for a poor first race as he comfortably finished second. Myles Reid’s return to the B class was rewarded with the final podium place but he had to race through the pack in two races after bad starts. He looked relieved to be back on the 450 after racing a 125 in the last meeting. Going by lap times, the top 10 riders looked like they had the pace to run in the top 10 of the MX2 class so it made for some thrilling racing.
MX2 (Sponsored by Safe Access Highland Ltd)
Charley Heyman showed his class again racing the Scottish Championship as he adapted to the technical track easily in qualifying. He took his time by riding over half the session at a steady pace before ramping up the pace. He didn’t post the fastest lap though as Glen McCormick showed he wasn’t just there to make up the numbers and proved it with third on the podium. Bailey Johnston’s 2,3,2 was enough for second overall, but no one could get close to Heyman as his pace and smooth riding saw him finish over 40 seconds ahead in two of the races. Ryan Thomson had a challenging day as he nursed his brand new bike as it suffered overheating due to a faulty O ring on his radiator cap resulting in him having to change bike for the third race.
MX1 (Sponsored by Safe Access Highland Ltd)
Conrad Mewse approach to qualifying was similar to Charlie Heymans. He ran round the track looking for the best lines before hammering out a qualifying lap. John Adamson and Billy MacKenzie had the benefit of riding on the Saturday and were only 0.5 second behind Mewse. The rest of the top 10 riders were only a mater of seconds off the pace so it promised to be a thriller.
In race 1, John Adamson edged out Billy MacKenzie at the first corner, but it would be MacKenzie that did all the running in the first few laps of the race. It took Conrad a few laps to get to grips with the track before he hit the front and ran out a comfortable winner as John Adamson ran off track and into a bog taking a few posts with him, but he managed to reclaim a few places before the end.
Race 2 saw Conrad do what he does best, holeshot and disappear. This left MacKenzie running in second for the bulk of the race before he came together with Tristan Purdon who had go to grips with the track and started to look strong. Jason Meara ran in third before a blip mid race sent him back to 6th, but he rallied to secure his third spot again.
Race 3 saw the top four positions swap throughout the race as crowd favourite John Adamson looked like he was going to pull off the win especially after an old school brake check sent Conrad to the ground on a slow left hander as Mewse tried to cut inside but John maintained his line. Mackenzie also had a spell at the front, but Purdon slowly pulled through from fourth to take the lead on the penultimate lap. With Conrad catching and passing Adamson, he secured second leaving John third. Brad Todd showed some real grit as he came from 12th position on lap 1 to a fourth in the final race. I was enough for him to break into the top five overall. Billy MacKenzie had a solid fourth after leading several laps throughout the day, but Jason Meara consistency meant he would take the third podium place. Tristan Purdons 4,2,1 put a beaming smile on his face but the overall of course went to Conrad Mewse who continued his push and challenge Purdon in the championship. Having missed round 1, he’ll need to rely on other results if he is to be Scottish Champion!
Campbell Chatham interviewed Conrad Mewse after the podium presentations where he highlighted that he’d had good day albeit a tough challenge where he was not prepared to put his season on the line at the first corner or risk injury trying to bag the holeshot. He was also very complimentary towards the tracks in Scotland and intimated that not only were they good enough to run British MX events but GP races! High praise indeed, let’s hope that more top riders catch on and attend some Scottish Championship races in the near future. With Duns round the corner, it’s not far from the border.
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 Duns MX Track (nr Berwick) 15th/16th June.
Image: Raymond Thomson / madmaxmedia
