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© Bob Mullins   

News

The final round of the Scottish Enduro Championship was held at Griffin forest four miles south of Aberfeldy. This event was postponed in September following a week of rain, this time it was looking good until a substantial downpour on Saturday. Following a track inspection it was decided to cut out half the course leaving a much shorter lap but including all the special tests. The riders were pleased to have a run around having made the trip to Aberfeldy.

Looking fresh and tanned from his trip to Portugal supporting the British and Scottish ISDE teams Neil Chatham won by 44 seconds over Allyn Scotland on his Jim Allan Suzuki. Neil and Allyn have been training together pushing each other hard and the results have come for both of them. There was a difficult hill in the special test that caused problems for many although Neil and Allyn managed to charge their way through the stricken riders. More importantly this result lifts Drysdale Suzuki's Neil Chatham to second in the Scottish Expert Championship with three wins, more than any other rider in this extremely competitive year. D3 Racing's Murray Thomson usually excels in these conditions but a fall on 'the hill' in one of his tests cost him crucial seconds dropping him to third. Dennis Irvine's Fraser Norrie was riding a KTM 250 two stroke in preparation for the Sheffield Indoor Enduro next week, finishing 4th on the day. Grant Smith and Derek Little were both riding to salvage some points for the end of the season although despite their brave efforts it must have been difficult to find the motivation having returned from the 30 degree heat of Portugal to the wet and cold mud in Aberfeldy. Both ISDE medal winners made the finish despite the rush back to set up their bikes for a muddy event. Denis Irvine sponsored Derek Little finished the year on a high clinching the Scottish Expert Championship overall with a solid mature and consistent season to add to his gold medal at the six days.

Sean Wooley dropped out with water in his plug cap leaving the way open for Alex 'Ivan' Kirk to take a well deserved win. Gavin Johnson must be wondering what he has to do to take another win having come so close on several occasions finishing second again. Perth motorcycle dealer Tommy Drysdale turned up to try his hand at a time card Enduro and had a rude awakening, 'I always though motocrossers would be good at enduros but now I can see the skills it takes are quite different' he said politely after finishing third in the over 40 class.

David McArthur clinched the Clubman Championship with the overall win in the Clubman class with his championship rival Ryan Bruce having a problem in the first test dropping him right down the order. Ever cheerful Ayrshire trooper James Harvey finished second with consistent test times. Improving at every event and very good in the slippery conditions Jamie Reid stepped onto the final step of the podium in third.

Stevie Currie Junior won the Clubman B class in his final ride before moving up to the Clubman Class next year following a successful year. Dax Edgely finished second with Rodger Summers third.

The sportsmen had the greatest difficulty with 'the hill' in the test and that explains the wild variances in the special test times, at one point there were several riders strewn over the track. Lee Philip made the two best runs through the special test taking the class win with Graham Mechun coming home in second setting the fastest sportsman special test time leaving David MacGillivary in third place.

A sticky muddy end to one of the most competitive and successful seasons ever for the Scottish Enduro Championship. There have been events in the sand that you didn't have to clean your bike, wet events that were run in the dry for a change and some very muddy conditions from mid season. In the Expert Class there was only four points between Derek and Neil with eight winners from eleven events.

None of the above would be possible without the hard work from everyone involved in organising all the events. It is also worth noting that thanks to the success of the Enduro Championship the Scottish clubs have managed to raise enough money to finance one of the best results in the ISDE for many years, well done to Derek Little Grant Smith, Ricky Mair and team manager Sam Davidson. There is only a few weeks now until the start of the newly established Scottish Hare and Hound Championship, let's hope that this new series proves as popular and competitive as this years Enduros.