The third round of The ScotMX Scottish Championship, powered by Milwaukee, was held over two consecutive Saturdays at Doune MX, which is run by Scott Gardner, former British Motocross Championship rider and owner of Planet Advanced Racing Suspension. Day 2 concentrated on the Adult races, but Stuart Flockhart added a Super Mini Cup, based on a race format from the U.S.A. for 85cc – 112cc bikes and riders being 10yr-14yrs old. This gave the youths a great opportunity to race without the pressures of a championship and win some prize money courtesy of SS Plant Services.

The weather on Saturday was probably the hottest day of the year and meant the on-site sprinkler system was used overnight and first thing to ensure the track was in prime condition and maintained throughout the day. The racing started at 10:30 and ran non-stop through to 17:30. Stuart Flockhart and his Team kept everything running cool which was just as well as the racing was blistering, just like the relentless sun.

Saturday 17^th July

Qualifying got underway at 10:30 and all classes would get the chance to secure the best spot on the line. With tight qualifying times throughout the classes, it looked like the racing would be just as close all day.

MX1 / MX2

Tony Craig had the benefit of having raced Doune last week in the Adult support and made sure he was prepared for the MX1 class sponsored by Carnegie Fuels. He had to be, as the field was packed with experience and fast young riders. Qualifying showed his efforts last week had paid dividends as Martin Barr, coming back from injury, would push him all the way. George Simmutch, who had also raced last week and even beat Craig in one race, was third fastest, just under a second behind Barr. Four seconds would split the rest of the top 10 as the MX2 riders did their best to beat the bigger capacity bikes. Kyle McNicol had bragging rights over Ben Kennedy and Steven Craig but who would make up the podium in the MX2 sponsored by Safe Access.

Race 1 and Ross Rutherford (Bunga) would have the fastest lap of the first race and push hard all the way but Tony Craig would lead the entire race and win by 3s. Martin Barr gained two places to round out the top 3 in MX1. Kyle McNicol was too busy racing against the MX1 riders to notice his fellow MX2 peers. He finished 6^th in the first race way ahead of his nearest rival Steven Craig who got the 2^nd MX2 place. Logan Hendry bagged the final podium in race1. Business as usual for Tony Craig in race 2 as he was beginning to make it look easy in the roasting sun. Martin Barr improved upon his third in race 1 to finish second as he continued his progress coming back from injury and ease past Gary Gibson who dropped back from running second to finish 5^th.

It was George Simmutch who would impress in the second race as he enjoyed some close racing with Ben Edwards and Gary Gibson on his way to third. Bunga and Ryan McLean were having a ding dong battle on lap 1 until Bunga lost his front wheel in a corner clash with McLean. Bunga dropped to 15^th but even with a broken rib, after the clash with McLean, the adrenaline was enough coupled with determination and it got him a 7^th.

Ryan McLean would go on to have a more serious clash mid track with another rider and come off worst ending his day. It was another hard fought race for Kyle McNicol in MX2 as he mixed it with the bigger bikes. Ben Kennedy got the better of Steven Craig as he made up for a poor first race. The final race saw another win for Tony Craig and a closer second place for Martin Barr. Barr had to get passed Bunga and Gary Gibson but did so mid race and tried hard to catch Craig but was 6s off the win. Gary Gibson had his best finish of the day with the final race podium. Ben Edwards ran just behind the top three all day but it was enough for the overall third behind Craig and Barr and he retained the overall red plate as championship leader.

George Simmutch and Bunga would finish on equal points as the veteran rider just failed to get the 4^th by finishing behind the youngster in the last race. Herculean effort considering he was banged up in race 2. Three easy race wins for Kyle McNicol as the GRT Holeshot KTM rider showed he’s still the one to beat in this class. Steven Craig’s second place was well clear of Logan Hendry, another lad riding injured but he managed to hold off Ben Kennedy for the final podium as the Irish rider had a poor first race.

Vet’s o40/o50/o60

With the Over 40’s/50’s and 60’s all running in one race, there were 34 riders lined up for the first race and it would be bar to bar right from the start. Richard Miller was quickest off the start in Race 1 as he grabbed the first AMD Hole-shot prize, he would do his best to keep the pack at bay but Barry Gray would ease passed into the lead and stay there for 4 laps before Micky Graham showed he meant business and got into the lead with 2 laps to go. The o40’s ran at the front of the pack all day as the o50’s and 60’s would have their own battles.

Lewis Farrow had to settle for 3^rd in race 1 as he had some competition after a clean sweep last round. In Race 2, Gordon Morrison (Montana), back after injury, blasted out the gate like he’s never been away but he would slip back to finish 5^th. Micky Graham and Lewis Farrow got after it in race 2 as Barry Gray made an early mistake and dropped to 7^th. He clawed back positions getting up to 3^rd before a race ending crash meant he would limp back to the pits and have to drop out. This gave Jamie Black a well deserved podium as he literally rolled up his sleeves and got the job done. The o50’s race was just as tight further down the order as Tony Whitelaw (Mad Dog) was battling with Montana for the honours.

In the o60’s, the solid riding of Kenny McCloy on his quick Husqvarna 2 stroke was enough to keep Scottish Vet Legend Paul Chiappa at bay. Micky Graham would manage to get passed Lewis Farrow for the win in Race 3 as Lewis ran at the front until the last lap. Graham dived passed Farrow in a desperate attempt to get all three race wins. He had ridden through the field after a poor start but his efforts paid off. With Irishman, Paul Carey having a tough time of it dropping out of third and down the order, Mad Dog grabbed the final podium in race 3. The o40’s would see Micky Graham win the overall comfortably over Lewis Farrow with Richard Miller completing the podium as his 4,4,3 in his class was enough to win ahead of Jamie Black. Tony Whitelaw got back to his winning ways in the o50’s with Gordon Morrison doing enough to beat Graham Anderson into third. Morton Hannah’s race crashes relegated him to fourth after challenging all day. The o60’s saw Kenny McCloy and Paul Chiappa 1^st and 2^nd respectively, with Douglas Garrick third.

Adult ‘C’

Another packed gate with 37 riders in Qualifying. Cain McElveen and David Murray would come within 2 tenths of each other in qualifying but their race results wouldn’t be so successful. The Milwaukee sponsored rider, McElveen had his best race in race 1 against Scott Forsyth, as the two would battle for the win. Forsyth came off best but the ride of the race came from Darren McDougal as he came from way back in 13^th to finish 3^rd against the fast starting Mike McLarty who got pipped for the podium. David Murray’s first corner crash would ruin his chances for the day as he battled to get any kind of result. It was Jordan Aitchison who would lead in race 2 before Darren McDougal’s better start would net him the win. Mike McLarty would fade after another good start as Lewis Fleming made a better race of it riding from 6^th to 2^nd.

Mark Kirkpatrick got the final podium in race 2 as the places would swap all through the race between the top 6. The final race would see Lewis Fleming run at the front for most of the race as Mark Kirkpatrick improved on his 3^rd to bag a 2^nd. In race 3, Scott Forsyth dropped from the lead on lap 1 but did enough to stay in front of Martin Lyell who had chosen Doune to make a comeback. Darren McDougal’s 5^th in race 3 was just enough to secure the overall as he beat Scott Forsyth, whose second race cost him the overall. Mark Kirkpatrick and Lewis Fleming were also split by 1 point as Lewis’s first race could not make up for his 3^rd and 1^st.

Adult ‘B’

Josh Gray would continue his run of form as he won the overall by a comfortable margin but that didn’t reflect the close racing. Podiums would be gained by the top 7 riders but consistency was key to bag a top three. On lap 1, the top 4 riders would all crash round the track and disappear from the placings as Josh Gray and Niall McAuley would benefit from their misfortunes. Jack Bradbury did well to ride through to grab the final podium in race 1. Josh Gray would get the win in race 2 as he rode in front for the majority as Niall McAuley made it tough for himself with a mistake on lap 1. He would recover to finish 5^th as Rusty Robertson would push Josh all the way finishing just under 2s behind.

Myles Reid had the final podium as he beat Jack Bradbury by 1s. In the final race, Rusty Robertson got a deserved win after his efforts in the 2^nd race. Niall McAuley pushed hard but couldn’t threaten Rusty as he managed to gap Josh who would take 3^rd.  The top 4 places were hard fought as John Gray finished 7 points ahead of Rusty Robertson. Niall McAuley couldn’t overhaul Rusty but he did enough to stay ahead of Jack Bradbury. There was a fair gap to the rest of the field as inconsistency and mistakes would decimate the field.

Super Mini Cup

The entry may have been modest but that didn’t reflect the fantastic quality of racing on show from the youths. With ages ranging from 10-14ys, the race times were incredible. The lap times might even have been good enough to win in the Adult C and secure a top10 in the B’s! Rhys Whyment continued his racing recovery after missing the entire season up until last week and he showed he’s on form. It would be Troy Flockhart’s day as he made race 1 look easy with Rhys pushing him. Great show from the small wheel rider as he pushed his big wheel counterpart but Troy’s 8s win showed he kept his cool all race.

Malachi Allan got the final podium finishing just ahead of Jaden Anderson. Jaden would improve in race 2 by grabbing the AMD hole-shot and leading the race for a lap before Rhys Whyment would pass and do his utmost to stay in front of Troy Flockhart. It would be Troy’s day though as he shadowed Rhys lap by lap before a small mistake cost him the race and Troy got passed. Rhys had done enough to keep his place as Jaden Anderson managed to stay ahead of Malachi Allan in the final race to beat him on countback and finish third overall. The podium pals were rewarded for their efforts with some prize money courtesy of SS Plant Services as they proudly held up their trophies and their winnings for the proud families.

Round 4 of the ScotMX Scottish Championship, Powered by Milwaukee, will continue on 14^th/15^th August at Rhynie MX Track, north of Aberdeen.

Go to www.scotmx.com for entries. Info/ pics: Raymond Thomson / madmaxmedia