Aiden Ace in the Auto’s! 2023 Scottish Motocross Championship Round 4 – Report & Results

The old school hard pack track at Achnashelloch on the west coast of Scotland was in need of some TLC. Who better to give it some love other than Johnny Douglas Hamilton and his Team.

Report and Images by Raymond Thomson – Madmaxmedia

Extra horsepower was required to get the work done so Scott Gardner from Doune Motocross was drafted in to make sure they gave it maximum attention leading up to the race weekend. A De-stoning Machine was also drafted in from Davidsons Land Services, where it was recently used to prepare a REVO British meeting so literally, no stone was left unturned! JDH and Scott worked round the clock to transform the track. With the track re-modelled, the Scottish Championship sponsorship banners from Dyce Carriers, Site Sealants, Safe Access Highland, Shirlaws Aberdeen, FXR, Stirlings Powersports, ACTiPH and AMD made for a very impressive sight against the backdrop of the lush greenery of the hillside.

Round 4 promised so much but the weather would play its part as torrential downpours through Saturday night put a halt to proceedings.

Saturday 29th July

Auto’s

Shirlaws – KTM Aberdeen championship leader Aiden Anton extended his lead at Lochgilphead with a 1,2,1. The Auto riders rode a large portion of the track, and it kept the parents busy as they followed their riders round. Considering the conditions, it was an incredible sight to watch the wee ones master the mud and ride through the ruts as the day progressed. Jack Quinn did grab the win in race 2. It was an improvement on his first race where he had to ride through the pack to get a second place. Aiden also had a challenging race 2 as he swapped places with Jack for the lead, but Jack would win out. No such problem in race 3 as he showed why he deserved the overall. Nathan Strachan couldn’t quite match the top two but grabbed the final podium with a spirited final race where he finished second.

65’s

The FXR championship lead is almost unassailable. Lyall Rutherford has been the man to beat all year and his dominance had meant a healthy lead coming into Lochgilphead where he would dominate even further. He has used the Bridgestone Masters to develop his riding and it showed on Saturday. Sevens seconds a lap faster in qualifying than his closest rival, Lyall would turn that into AMD Hole-shots and three race wins. He was nearly a lap clear of Alex Fraser who had a solid day with 2,2,2. Riley Crawford and Harris Curran would battle it our for the final podium with Riley being the more consistent.

85’s Small Wheel/Big Wheel

Stirlings Powersports have come on board as sponsors for one of the hardest fought series in the Scottish Championships. The SW riders have certainly thrilled the crowds throughout the season and Lochgilphead had them leaning over the barriers cheering the riders on.

Small Wheel

Robbie Scott and Malachi Allan have battled each other all season and the pair have never finished out of the top 2. Malachi had the edge coming into Lochgilphead, but Robbie would leave with the bragging rights. James McCann did his best to get into mix it by grabbing the first AMD hole-shot but he would be overhauled by Robbie as he disappeared in race 1. Allan reversed the result in race two but couldn’t quite match Scott in the final race. The pair crossed the line within 0.5s of each other as Scott held on for the overall. James McCann narrowly beat John McCann for the final podium spot with the Irish pair being separated by a point.

Big Wheel

Jaden Anderson is another rider with a commanding championship lead, but that lead would be reduced as Team Hutch rider Joshua Hutchinson makes a push to catch Jaden. Although Anderson had the fastest time in qualifying, he couldn’t turn that into a race win as he could only grab a pair of thirds. Josh ended up winning all three races but there were some thrills ‘n’ spills along the way as the top three would all drop their bikes and swap the lead. Race three was there for the taking as Josh fell on lap two. Jaxon took over the lead but lost it to Jaden, but he failed to convert the win as Josh rallied when Jaden crashed late in the race. Jaxon Haswell would spoil Anderson’s day as his consistent riding would see him finish second. A 1-2 on the podium for Team Hutch as their riders put in some great performances in all classes.

Youth 125/250

Jack Fletcher showed he meant business in qualifying by narrowly posting a quicker time than 125 series leader Ryan Waggott. Fletcher may not be racing directly against Waggott, but the pair have been in separable all season as they have put on a fantastic show. Riding a 150cc KTM, Fletcher is competing against the 250f 4 stroke bikes. On track, Fletcher finished first in two of the three races as Waggott took the other. Both riders would have a 1,1,1 in their class as the rest of the field were left fighting it out for podiums.

In the 125 class, Louis Perrin-Brown did enough to stay in front of Connor Smith with two second places. Smith’s 3,3,3 showed his consistency but missed out by a few points. The 250f class saw another hard fought battle for the podium places with Euan Aiken edging out Ryan O’Connor by one point.

2 Stroke 150/Open

The two stroke bikes raced with the Adult support to optimise the race program and it made for some thrilling racing. Andrew Pohlen was pushed by Lewis Farrow in all three races but with youth on his side, he had three comfortable wins. Claire Winthrope had a steady day and rounded off the podium. In the Open class, Frazer Hansen won easlity ahead of Aaron Rollo who enjoyied a return to racing after missing the last round due to injury.
Adult Open Support

The Adult Support always has a mixed bag of riders but serves up some great racing through out the field. The MX1 and MX2 boys get the chance to dial in their bikes for the Sunday and the mix of B, C and Vets brings its own rewards. Billy MacKenzie turned up on the line last minute and true to form hole-shot his KXF450 right from the outside of the gate. Tristan Purdon had his work cut out, but his determined fluent riding got him to the front of the pack where he never looked back. Race 1 saw Purdon come close to finishing nearly a lap ahead of the chasing pack.

Race 2 was a much closer affair with Carlton Husband joining the party. Purdon grabbed the holeshot this time and MacKenzie and Husband battled it out for most of the race with Carlton just easing past Billy near the end. The rest of the pack served up some intense racing with Irishman Jamie Clarke enjoying a good day. Lee Cameron was also in the mix with Bradley Watling and Sam Menzies all swapping positions in the first two races. With a few heavy showers and preservation mode kicking in, the third race was heavily depleted, as the bulk of the riders chose to sit it out. Only the hard-core turned out for the last race of the day which saw the two stroke riders take the top three positions. Fraser Hansen finished comfortably ahead of Andrew Pohlen as Lewis Farrow rounded out the final race podium.

Sunday 30th July

After a torrential bout of rain on Saturday night, it was a tough decision, but the second days racing was called off. The Vets, B Class, C Class, MX2 and MX1 races were not run so the championship places will remain the same.

With a busy race calendar and holiday season on-going, the next race will be held at Hawick in the Scottish Borders on 14th/15th October. Check The Scottish Championship Facebook page for entry details.

Results

Auto’s

Junior 65’s

Small Wheel 85’s

Big Wheel 85’s

Youth 250F

Youth 125

150 Stroke 

2 Stroke Open