Newcastle’s Carlton Husband has been dominant throughout theRock Oil Ecosse XC Winter series, winning all races to date. However, despite leading off the line in the closely fought opening moto on the sandy Dunbar track on the south east coast of Scotland last Sunday, he didn’t have it all his own way and had to settle for the runners-up spot behind Jay Hague, who took the lead at the end of the first lap and never looked back. An on-fire Husband wasn’t about to settle for second again and went on to win the next two races from start to finish, with Hague doing the same in second place. Eventually finishing third overall, Ryan McLean, found himself down in 15th place on lap two of the second race. He put in a sterling performance to recover to fifth whilst, from the world of enduro, Fraser Flockhart let his talent shine through to take a fourth, third and fourth, securing fourth overall in the process.
In the B class, the overall winner was Paul Benham with a win, second and third finishes. Even though he won the next two races, a DNF in the opening moto put Andrew Williams on a backfoot – he finished 11th overall. Second overall with two thirds and a second was John Hartley, whereas Barry Hartley who rounded out the class podium, didn’t feature in the top three in any of the races – he posted a seventh, fourth and fifth.
The packed C class with 37 riders on the start line saw overall winner Chris Charlton making life difficult for himself. First off the line in race one, he then went on to yo-yo between the top three and 25th place, not once, but twice. The second race saw him starting in 15th to finish third and, in the final, he tussled with third-placed Jordan Gill before taking the win. John Ballensby finished second overall.
The combined Rookies and Vets saw a total of 38 riders set off with the super-fast Rookies having a 10-second start advantage over the Vets. Sam Hurst, fifth overall in the Rookies had an interesting couple of races, racing from the top to the back of the pack no less than four times in the middle moto, and pretty much repeating the routine in the third – he ended up an incredible fifth overall. Ryan Thomson won each race to take first overall, with Gregor Campbell second and Bradley Parkin third. In the Vets, Scott Murry was out front and, together with second-placed Alan Thain, the only one to catch up with the runaway Rookies. Gordon Morrison stood on the third step of the Vet podium.
There were some new ultra-fast lads leading the way in the BW 85 class with Sam Atkinon going three-one-three to take the overall, Jack Graysham behind him with a one-four-one, and Ayden Smith going three-two-three and third overall. A new name on the Ecosse SW 85 map was Bailey Johnstone who secured two class wins and a second, with a fast-charging Jay Cheel and Ollie Colmer behind him. These lads are used to racing against each other but, with a mammoth effort from a battling Cristina Palmer – recovering from two broken wrists – not far behind them in fifth overall, they’re going to have to keep their wits about them to keep her at bay.
In the youngest category, the 65cc group, Ryan Waggot put in some lightning starts to win the first two races and second in the final to take the overall. Graham Haddow in second overall had two seconds and a win, whilst Conner Smith in third had a fourth and two thirds.
Results;
A Class: 1. Carlton Husband, 2. Jay Hague, 3. Ryan McLean.
B Class: 1. Paul Benham, 2. John Bennett, 3. Barry Hartley.
C Class: 1. Chris Charlton, 2. John Ballensby, 3. Jordan Gill.
Rookies: 1. Ryan Thomson, 2. Gregor Campbell, 3. Bradley Parkin.
Vets: 1. Scott Murray, 2. Alan Thain, 3. Gordon Morrison.
BW85: 1. Sam Atkinon, 2. Jack Graysham, 3. Ayden Smith.
SW85: 1. Bailey Johnstone, 2. Jay Cheel, 3. Ollie Colmer.
65: 1. Ryan Waggot, 2. Graham Haddow, 3. Conner Smith.
Next round:
The next Ecosse XC event is a Hare & Hounds on the 11th of February at Tyninghame, near Dunbar, EH42 1XW – just across the water from the motocross track. The track is around 15-minutes in length with MX field, open tracks and woodland. Two sessions for adults and youth riders. Youth races 9.00am to 10.30. Juniors 8 to 12-years on 85cc. Youths 12 to 16-years on 85 cc to 125cc and Girls class. Adult race 11.30 to 2.30pm – Sportsman, Clubman B, Clubman, Over 50s, Over 40s, Expert. Adults £34. Youth £35. Call Luke @goracemx on 07958 033524 or Mark Ritchie on 079 464 942 59 for entries.