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Simpson wins at Woodside! ScotMX Scottish Motocross Championships Round 5 – Race Report & Results

Simpson wins at Woodside! ScotMX Scottish Motocross Championships Round 5 – Race Report & Results

The fifth round of The ScotMX Scottish Championship, powered by Milwaukee, was held at one of Scotland’s best tracks. It’s the “Hawkstone” of the north. There are many similarities between that iconic track and Woodside as the deep sand and uphill tree sections make it an amazing test for all those riders who have travelled far and wide to race the penultimate round.

Report & Images by Raymond Thomson – Madmaxmedia

Saturday 4th September

The track was immaculately prepared by the Woodside MX Team and the addition of the ScotMX sponsor banners made for a fantastic sight as the Scottish championship continues to grow from strength to strength and has become a draw to riders of all abilities. Saturday was “kids” day and to maximise the available parking, all races were done in one day to make room for the Adult races on Sunday.

Lyall Rutherford – Auto

Auto’s

Lyall Rutherford’s late championship push might be too late to overhaul Zak Hendry’s command of the series but he certainly showed he was up to the challenge by riding from dead last in race 1 and winning three out of four races. Zak had a problem with his bike in qualifying but he was able to borrow a bike. Not ideal, but Zak kept his championship on track with the overall second, he did win the second race but he narrowly missed out on the overall win. The usual suspects weren’t far behind as Tucker Moffat got the final podium ahead of Caleb Shearer. Ivan Williamson’s consistent riding was rewarded with the fifth and Hunter Haldane did enough for sixth.

Malachi Allan – 65’s

65’s

Malachi Allan showed again why he is the runaway leader of the championship with a textbook performance at woodside. No one could get near him as he never looked out of shape all day. Apart from missing out on some AMD Hole-shots as Kian McGill got out the gate, the deep sand took its toll on a few riders as they all battled for position. Robbie Scott had to come through the pack at times and Kyle Graham admitted it was not his favourite track but to his credit, he soldiered on for the final podium spot. The fast-starting Kian McGill was overall fourth as he relished the deep corner starts. Alfie Lawrie had a tumble in the last race and it looked to be a serious arm injury but he was fine and managed to secure fifth. George “Doodle” Dryden had a blinding race as he rode like a demon which was enough for him to bag the final top 6 place as he finished on the same points as Ryan Jackson. The next 4 riders were within 3 points of the top 6 in this hard-fought class.

85 Big Wheel and Small Wheel – Start

85’s SW/BW

The frantic mixed class race is always a crowd-pleaser as the small wheel riders battle to outshine the big wheels. It would be a struggle in the deep sand but they did their best.

SW

Ben McConville and Lewis Spratt ran 1st and 2nd respectively in every race unchallenged. There was only 1 point between Robbie Peace and Jaden Anderson for the final podium as Jaden paid the price for a poor third race. They both had two third places during the day but Robbie sneaked it. James McGowan’s consistency was enough to beat Alfie Stott into fifth as Alfie couldn’t consolidate his two fourth places as his poor final race sent him down the race order after a big crash in the wood section.

Jack Fletcher 85 Big Wheel

BW

Jack Fletcher had a faultless day again at Elgin with four easy wins. Rhys Whyment showed early promise as he would grab the AMD Hole-shots and run at the front before Jack would overhaul him. Mistakes would cost Rhys a possible podium as his results were ruined by a poor third race, crashing down to 11th. Troy Flockhart has demonstrated he can run consistent races behind Jack and was only beaten by Rhys in the last race for third. His overall second was his reward. Ryan McKinney is always a threat and his final podium never a doubt as he beat Rhys into fourth. The high flying Ewan McPherson couldn’t do enough to overhaul Rhys but he edged out Ryan Ingram by 2 points.

Rookies Start

Rookies

Ayden Smith was nearly 2 seconds clear in qualifying and turned that into a barnstorming day by winning three races. It wasn’t all plain sailing though as the diminutive rider would have some thrills and spills as Charley Irwin would push him all the way with his usual hard riding lap after lap. Kyle Peel matched Charley’s lap times in qualifying but found he couldn’t quite catch him during the races. To his credit, he rode fast and hard all day and his consistent thirds and one fourth bagged the final podium.

Charley Irwin – Rookies

Adult Support

There’s always a few riders who take the opportunity to ride the Adult Support on the Saturday to bed themselves in for Sunday. Ben Kennedy rode his MX2 bike in preparation and luckily, after running at the front in race 1, noticed his oil filter cover was loose and pulled in or it could have been costly. He would win race 2 but didn’t figure in the overall. The win went to Steven Rennie as only Ben could beat him in the second race as his 1,2,1 was an easy result. Mikey Graham’s two seconds showed he was dialled in for the Sunday as Adam Slavin narrowly beat Stuart Mack into fourth as the experienced enduro rider ragged his 300 2 stroke around Elgin. He would have loved to disappear into the woods and rip through those trees off track as he looked like he was enjoying himself in the deep sand.

Sunday 5th September

After an overcast day on Saturday, Sunday promised to be slightly better with the forecast rain just holding off until the racing had finished. Due to parking limitations, the Kids were done on the Saturday and most of them had gone home to allow the Adults to take up the parking slots.

Mikey Graham – Vets

Vet’s o40/o50/o60

Mikey Graham had used the races on Saturday to set himself up for a clean sweep on the Sunday. He bagged the AMD Hole-Shots and race wins and he pushed hard early in the races and seemed to coast for easy wins as he gapped the field by over 30s in two of the races in the o40’s. Only Jason Moir would get within 30s but only just as he managed an overall third by taking a second place in his last race. He had a bad start and had to ride through the pack in his earlier races. He did enough to match Alan Deans on points but on countback, he took the podium. Kevin McBride’s return to racing o40’s was rewarded with the second overall as he showed he still had good pace to stay ahead of the chasing pack at times but not enough to catch Mikey.

Ayden Smith

In the o50’s, Gordon “Montana” Morrison also benefited from the track time on Saturday and had the best results of his season. After an early injury in the year, he’s getting back to where he should be, running up front. Still not there with the AMD Hole-shots but two race wins was an easy podium. 1 point separated the next three riders as Ian Wilson missed out on the podium because Alastair McGowan and Graham Anderson edged second and third. McGowan got second on the better last race finish. Wilson’s third race win was not enough to get on the podium but he travels to the Vets Des Nations at Farleigh next week on form. Douglas Garrick was the only o60 rider but he looked like he was enjoying riding in the pack with the younger vets.

Adult C start

Adult ‘C’

The riders in the “C” class are predominantly from Fife and at times, they are like a train and the “Fife Flyers” rail round the track in unison vying for bragging rights. Keiran Hunters return to racing was rewarded with the overall as his AMD Hole-shot turned into an easy race win in the first race. John Kenny was determined to ruin Keiran’s comeback party and it wasn’t until the third race he managed to do it with the race win and overall second. Kenny had to push had through the pack in the first race and proved there’s more race wins to come on the right track. Josh Rea bagged the third overall as his season had turned the corner at Rhynie and he kept it on track with another solid result.

Rusty Robertson Adult B

Adult ‘B’

Niall Macauley grabbed the first AMD Hole-shot but was ground down by some determined riding by Josh Gray in race1. Josh had designs on the top step but that was foiled by a bad off-track line in race 3 which resulted in him being tangled in the track rope, this dropped him right out of the podium places and left him reeling. Rusty Robertson benefited from Gray’s mishap as he took the overall with race wins in second and third races. Macauley ran a close second as Stuart Mack’s weekend ended up with the final podium, much to his delight.

Shaun Simpson

MX1 / MX2

There had been a few rumours in the paddock as social media hinted that Shaun Simpson might have a run-up to “Sunny Elgin” instead of Turkey, as the MXGP rider had to alter his plans during the week. SS24 rolled out of his motorhome with a big beaming smile and ready for business. This was a great opportunity for all the MX1 and MX2 riders to measure themselves against the MXGP vet to see how they faired. Tony Craig held back on the start line in qualifying, as he does, and he went for a flying lap. Unfortunately, his foot came off the peg and he lay concussed on the track as Ryan Maclean and Shaun Simpson stopped to check on him. That was the end of Tony’s season. He’s on the mend but it was a stark reminder that MX injuries can happen to the best riders. With Simpson qualifying fastest but only 0.2s ahead of local star Ben Edwards, who was on a high having secured the MX National MX1 Expert class two weeks before.

Richard Mckeown

It was a masterclass from Simpson, known for his sand riding capabilities, he rode hard and was never troubled by the chasing pack. With all three AMD Hole-Shots and the SafeAccess Bonus, it was a good day for Shaun and the crowd as he proved he’s still got loads to offer and can master any riding or track conditions. Ben Edwards continued his strong form with a great display of focused riding as he turned his local knowledge into three comfortable second places ahead of the very fast vet Richard Mckeown who looked like he had turned back the clock at times as the young guns in the MX2 class couldn’t quite catch him in the first two races.

Kyle McNicol

The MX1 podium matched the three race results as Simpson, Edwards and Mckeown raced in order all day. In the MX2, Kyle McNicol matched Simpsons form with the AMD Hole-shots and race wins. Lewis Hall looked like he was up for pushing McNicol all the way but his bike had other ideas. Race 2 DNF meant it was a long trip home with nothing to show for it. Ben Kennedy was the biggest benefactor from Hall’s misfortune as he bagged the next two race seconds to get the overall. Steven Craig has held on to the red plate for the last two rounds and did enough to keep it going with three solid races and the overall third. On a sad note, Ryan Maclean and Logan Hendry crashed out and joined Tony on the injury list but they’ll be back refreshed next season.

Ben Edwards

The motocross fraternity was shocked by the sudden death of Jude Morris last week at Duns as the promising rider sadly passed away after an unfortunate crash. At 1.01pm both days, the ScotMX team blew the whistle to commence a parade lap in Jude’s honour. As the riders did their lap, the crowd clapped in respect to the fallen rider who touched everyone he met. There are many fitting tributes being posted and none more so than by his father. A solemn moment but we race on and do so by celebrating Jude’s life. RIP#101. There will be a raffle this weekend at Landrake for Jude’s Air Ambulance UK Fund. There is also an auction section with race shirts on from World and British Championship riders. The auction will go live shortly so make sure you stay tuned.

https://judemorrisracing.muchloved.com #Ride4Jude

Round 6 of the ScotMX Scottish Championship, Powered by Milwaukee, will continue on 9th / 10th October at Duns Motocross. Go to www.scotmx.com for entries

Be sure to Follow ScotMX on Facebook/Instagram for all your regular updates

John Kenny

Results

MX1

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3
1 Shaun Simpson 75 25 25 25
2 Ben Edwards 66 22 22 22
3 Richard Mckeown 60 20 20 20
4 Josh Bentley 54 18 18 18
5 Aiden BRUCE 48 16 16 16
6 George Stewart 45 15 15 15
7 Adam slavin 42 14 14 14

MX2

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3
1 Kyle McNicol 75 25 25 25
2 Ben Kennedy 64 20 22 22
3 Steven craig 55 15 20 20
4 Steven Rennie 49 16 18 15
5 Seth Moir 46 14 14 18
6 Jack Arthur 44 12 16 16
7 Ewan Kermack 40 13 13 14
8 Steven McCormack 39 11 15 13
9 Lewis CAMPBELL 34 10 12 12
10 Lewis Hall 22 22
11 Logan Hendry 18 18

Auto’s

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3 R4
1 Lyall Rutherford 95 25 20 25 25
2 Zak Hendry 91 22 25 22 22
3 Tucker Moffat 80 20 22 20 18
4 Caleb shearer 72 18 16 18 20
5 Ivan williamson 65 15 18 16 16
6 Hunter Haldane 60 16 14 15 15
7 Cole McAuley 56 14 15 14 13
8 Harris Curran 53 13 13 13 14
9 Anna HALDANE 44 12 9 11 12
10 Josh ALEXANDER 42 11 12 10 9
11 Liam Hannah 37 9 8 9 11
12 Jacob Sammels 35 8 11 8 8
13 Jack Heath 32 10 12 10
14 Stuart duchart 24 10 7 7

Junior 65’s

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3 R4
1 Malachi Allan 100 25 25 25 25
2 Robbie Scott 86 22 22 20 22
3 Kyle Graham 72 20 18 16 18
4 Kian McGill 61 3 20 18 20
5 Alfie lawrie 60 16 15 22 7
6 George Scott Dryden 56 14 13 14 15
7 Ryan Jackson 56 15 16 11 14
8 Jamie mckee 54 18 8 12 16
9 Ricky Barrack 53 11 14 15 13
10 Charlie Casselden 47 12 12 13 10
11 Ronnie Moar 46 13 11 10 12
12 Declan Cook 40 10 10 9 11
13 Maddox Patterson 29 7 5 8 9
14 Kie Flint 29 9 7 7 6
15 Reuben Oates 28 6 9 5 8
16 Callum smith 24 8 6 6 4
17 Riley Crawford 14 5 4 5
18 DEXTER FORSYTHE 14 4 4 3 3

Small Wheel 85’s

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3 R4
1 Ben McConville 100 25 25 25 25
2 Lewis spratt 88 22 22 22 22
3 Robbie Peace 72 14 20 20 18
4 Jaden Anderson 71 20 18 13 20
5 James McGowan 62 16 16 16 14
6 Alfie Stott 59 18 14 18 9
7 Jay Baker 57 12 15 14 16
8 Checoby rainey 52 13 12 12 15
9 James Lindsay 52 15 11 15 11
10 Aaron Tait 47 10 13 11 13
11 Tyler Mearns 41 11 9 9 12
12 Dylan Thorndick 39 9 10 10 10
13 Chloe Hamer 29 7 7 7 8

Big Wheel 85’s

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3 R4
1 Jack Fletcher 100 25 25 25 25
2 Troy Flockhart 86 22 22 22 20
3 Ryan McKINNEY 76 18 20 20 18
4 Rhys whyment 68 20 16 10 22
5 Ewen McPherson 62 15 15 18 14
6 Ryan Igram 60 16 18 16 10
7 Harrison Byers 55 13 13 14 15
8 Charlie Macdonald 54 11 12 15 16
9 Glen Rollo 54 14 14 13 13
10 Harry Nunn 43 10 9 12 12
11 Dylan Hamer 38 8 8 11 11
12 Drew Leslie 28 9 10 9
13 Ryan O’Connor 23 12 11
14 Aiden EWEN 14 7 7

Rookies

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3 R4
1 Ayden smith 97 25 25 25 22
2 Charley Irwin 91 22 22 22 25
3 Kyle peel 78 20 18 20 20
4 Euan Aiken 76 15 14 12 9
5 Logan FERGUSON 63 18 11 16 18
6 Jamie Mackay 59 14 16 13 16
7 Calum Moore 56 13 10 18 15
8 Caydan Mearns 55 16 12 14 13
9 Euan watson 51 11 20 6 14
10 Gavin Scott 45 10 13 15 7
11 Marley nelson 37 12 15 10
12 Ryan Lowes 36 5 9 11 11
13 Aaron Rollo 35 9 4 10 12
14 Tallon Leask 30 6 8 8 8
15 Jake Masson 24 3 7 9 5
16 Kagen walsh 22 7 6 5 4
17 Harris Milligan 14 4 3 4 3
18 Rossi Crawford 9 2 2 3 2
19 Thorfinn Byers 3 1 1 1
20 Craig Ingram 2 2
21 Fraser Leslie 1 1

Vets Over 40’s

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3
1 Micky Graham 75 25 25 25
2 Kevin McBride 60 22 20 18
3 Jason MOIR 58 18 18 22
4 Alan Deans 58 16 22 20
5 PAUL CAREY 48 20 12 16
6 Mark mason 40 9 16 15
7 Richie Bryce 39 10 15 14
8 Lee Shepherd 33 8 13 12
9 Kevin Charles 32 5 14 13
10 Gary PATTERSON 25 4 11 10
11 Paul Seymour 22 1 10 11
12 Alistair LESLIE 18 9 9

Vets Over 50’s

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3
1 Gordon MORRISON 70 25 25 20
2 Alasdair McGowan 62 20 20 22
3 Graham Anderson 62 22 22 18
4 Ian Wilson 61 18 18 25
5 Stephen Pollock 44 14 15 15
6 Morton Hannah 43 11 16 16
7 Andrew leask 43 16 13 14
8 Mikey Duff 42 15 14 13
9 Ian Ross 36 12 12 12
10 Chris BYERS 35 13 11 11

Vets Over 60’s

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3
1 Douglas Garrick 75 25 25 25

Adult B

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3
1 Rusty Robertson 68 18 25 25
2 Niall McAuley 64 22 22 20
3 Stuart Mack 55 13 20 22
4 Josh Gray 54 25 18 11
5 Myles REID 49 20 11 18
6 Dylan Grieve 46 15 15 16
7 James HADDOW 41 16 13 12
8 Adam Scott 40 12 14 14
9 Rory Johnston 39 14 16 9
10 Ivan williamson 35 11 9 15
11 Ross Marshall 31 6 12 13
12 Ryan Lowes 28 10 8 10
13 Leon Murray 24 9 7 8
14 Harry hamilton 18 8 10
15 Ryan Smith 17 5 5 7
16 Douglas CAMPBELL 14 2 6 6
17 Greg McDonald 13 7 3 3
18 Russell VALENTINE 10 4 2 4
19 Myles Nelson 7 1 1 5
20 Lewis Kennedy 7 3 4

Adult C

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3
1 Keiran Hunter 72 25 25 22
2 John KENNY 67 22 20 25
3 Joshua Rea 52 10 22 20
4 David MURRAY 45 15 18 12
5 Darren wilkinson 44 18 11 15
6 Martyn LYELL 43 20 9 14
7 Lewis Fleming 42 13 16 13
8 Harry smith 42 16 15 11
9 Logan Adsley 40 9 13 18
10 Ross bradley 40 12 12 16
11 Jordan Aitchison 35 14 14 7
12 Ryan sim 28 8 10 10
13 Jed barker 28 11 8 9
14 Mark Elliott 15 3 6 6
15 David Dick 15 6 4 5
16 Ross Heath 14 7 7
17 William Anderson 13 4 1 8
18 Alex Mowat 9 5 4
19 Craig donaldson 7 5 2
20 Ben Reid 6 2 3 1
21 Kris CROOK 3 3
22 Aaron Hamer 2 2
23 Claire Winthrop 1 1

Adult Open Support

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3
1 Steven Rennie 70 25 20 25
2 Mikey Graham 62 22 18 22
3 Adam Slavin 52 16 16 20
4 Stuart Mack 48 15 15 18
5 Gordon MORRISON 38 13 13 12
6 Logan Hendry 36 14 22
7 Adam Youngson 36 10 11 15
8 Joshua Rea 34 11 9 14
9 Dan Monks 30 14 16
10 Darren Wilkinson 29 8 8 13
11 Ben Kennedy 27 2 25
12 Ben Reid 25 7 7 11
13 Paul Carey 24 12 12
14 Dylan grieve 20 20
15 Lewis Kennedy 19 9 10
16 Myles Rein 18 18
17 Nathan Oman 11 6 5
18 Mark Elliott 11 5 6
19 Dylan MORGAN 4 4
20 Austair LESUE 3 3