It was a trip up north and across the border to Scotland for the second round of the 2025 Acerbis Amateur Nationals series at the superb venue of Drumclog in South Lanarkshire. A lot of riders travelled a fair distance to get there, and what a circuit they were gifted with, a deep sandy flowing circuit littered with jumps and hills, and it certainly provided excellent racing.
Race Report by Arran Murphy – Images courtesy of Matthew Rudd Photography
First up was the LS2 Helmets Vets Over 40 class, where former 2 time British MX1 champion and 3 time Japanese GP winner Billy MacKenzie made a wildcard appearance and totally decimated the field, storming to five race wins from five starts. Local man Paul Johnston was back from his knee injury he picked up at Farleigh last year and put on a great performance, taking an easy runner-up spot while Lee Martin consolidated his championship lead, fending off Sam Calow for the lower step of the rostrum.
The Motoverde Ladies, mixed with the Over 40 class and scored separately, were also first on track, and the ever-dominant Grace Richards romped her way to another maximum points haul, leaving the rest to fight over the remaining points. Nadiya Jones made the journey and was rewarded with runner-up overall with a bag full of runner-up spots, while Amber McGregor and Claire Winthrop battled it out for the third spot on the podium, with McGregor coming out on top in that particular battle.
In the Roberts Plant Engineers Vets Over 50 class, it was business as usual for Factory Phil Mercer as he took his FUS Marsh GasGas machine to maximum points and extended his lead in the championship in the process. Danny Tollett had a better round in Scotland and finished the weekend runner-up with four seconds and a third, moving him to second in the points. Simon Bonsor finished the weekend third overall while Dave Dunn and Paul Coward rounded out the top five.
The Acerbis MX1 class was full of tight, intense action as wildcard Ross Rutherford took home the overall honours comfortably with 1-2-1-2-2 results. Series leader James Dodd extended his lead at the top with a moto win in the second outing and runner-up overall ahead of nearest challenger Jayden Ashwell. Ashwell gave Dodd a run for his money in the final three encounters, but in the end had to settle for third overall, with a first race sixth not helping his cause for a shout at the runner-up overall.
The California MX Dreams Open 2 stroke category looks to be as tight as it was in 2024, as Joe Jones and Patrick Jackson are locked together in the fight for the title. Jones managed to claim the overall honours with 1-2-2-1-1 results compared to the 2-1-1-2-2 scorecard of Jackson, and the pair have separated themselves from the rest in the series standings. Charlie Palmer had a solid weekend and finished with third overall while Archie Hicks and Adam Nevitt finished inside the top five.
The Moto Connection 125 class was totally dominated by one man, Ryan Waggott. The 55 machine took all five holeshots and demolished the field, winning all five motos to more than double his lead at the top to 18 points. Damon Strydom rode hard all weekend but in the end had to settle for runner-up overall and will be back ready to continue to fight for the title at Brookthorpe. Luke Newman landed on the podium for the first time this season aboard his Yamaha while Wyatt McGregor continues to improve and managed to take home fourth spot overall on his Midwest Husqvarna machine.
In the Craigs Motorcycles MX2 category Tyla Hooley took home a maximum points haul but didn’t have it all his own way as FUS Marsh Honda man Henry Williams pushed him the whole weekend, Williams led for most of the third moto until the final lap and eventually came 1.5 seconds short of his first win of the year but you can guarantee he will be back again at round three even hungrier than ever. Jake Walker finished the weekend with a bag full of third place finishes as Rhys Whyment and Scott Hamilton rounded out the top five.
Last up were the Manchester Xtreme Junior Open class, where wildcard Thomas Carruthers took the overall victory by a mere two points ahead of Jack Ratcliffe after the pair went into the final moto tied on points. Championship leader coming into the weekend, Dan Nevitt, had another solid round by finishing third overall, as Ben Walker had a consistent weekend to take home fourth, ahead of Frankie Elwell, who salvaged fifth after a moto two fourteenth.
With round 2 done and dusted, it’s onto round 3 and further down south to Brookthorpe at the end of May.
Results
MX1
| Pos | Start Number | Competitor | Total Points | r 1 | r 2 | r 3 | r 4 |
| 1 | 295 | ROSS RUTHERFORD* | 194 | 40 | 38 | 40 | 38 |
| 2 | 292 | JAMES DODD | 182 | 34 | 40 | 38 | 34 |
| 3 | 211 | JAYDEN ASHWELL | 172 | 30 | 36 | 36 | 36 |
| 4 | 20 | AIDEN BRUCE* | 163 | 36 | 34 | 32 | 32 |
| 5 | 36 | DAN PARRY | 149 | 32 | 32 | 30 | 27 |
| 6 | 447 | SIMON BOOTH | 141 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 28 |
| 7 | 957 | JAKE PRESTON* | 134 | 38 | 30 | 34 | – |
| 8 | 613 | CHRISTOPHER JACKSON | 133 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 26 |
| 9 | 148 | THOMAS DODWORTH | 116 | 28 | 29 | – | 29 |
| 10 | 33 | BEN EDWARDS* | 80 | – | – | – | 40 |
| 11 | 19 | JOSH WATERMAN* | 56 | – | – | – | 30 |
| 12 | 565 | REECE WAINE | 26 | 26 | – | – | – |
MX2
No Overall results available as of yet
Open 2 Stroke
| Pos | Start Number | Competitor | Total Points | r 1 | r 2 | r 3 | r 4 | r 5 |
| 1 | 54 | JOE JONES | 196 | 40 | 38 | 38 | 40 | 40 |
| 2 | 805 | PATRICK JACKSON | 194 | 38 | 40 | 40 | 38 | 38 |
| 3 | 8 | CHARLIE PALMER | 174 | 34 | 36 | 34 | 34 | 36 |
| 4 | 777 | ARCHIE HICKS | 168 | 32 | 30 | 36 | 36 | 34 |
| 5 | 118 | ADAM NEVITT | 154 | 28 | 32 | 30 | 32 | 32 |
| 6 | 340 | TOM HIRONS | 150 | 30 | 29 | 32 | 29 | 30 |
| 7 | 161 | LEWIS PETFIELD | 141 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 30 | 29 |
| 8 | 27 | ROSS BENTON | 112 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 28 | – |
| 9 | 61 | JACK WATERMAN | 81 | 26 | 26 | 29 | – | – |
| 10 | 210 | LEE TRUMAN | 70 | 36 | 34 | – | – | – |
125 2 Stroke
| Pos | Competitor | Total Points | r 1 | r 2 | r 3 | r 4 | r 5 |
| 1 | RYAN WAGGOTT | 200 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
| 2 | DAMO STRYDOM | 190 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 38 |
| 3 | LUKE NEWMAN | 171 | 34 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 29 |
| 4 | WYATT McGREGOR | 159 | 30 | 34 | 29 | 32 | 34 |
| 5 | FIN PICKERING | 155 | 36 | 26 | 28 | 29 | 36 |
| 6 | WILL TURNER | 155 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 27 | 32 |
| 7 | BEN SULLIVAN | 153 | 27 | 30 | 34 | 34 | 28 |
| 8 | SAMUEL JACKSON | 147 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| 9 | PHIL BURTON | 128 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 25 | 26 |
| 10 | HARRISON DREWELL | 125 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 27 |
| 11 | TIM GARHAM | 125 | 23 | 27 | 26 | 24 | 25 |
| 12 | EWAN CAMPBELL | 111 | 22 | 21 | 23 | 22 | 23 |
| 13 | ASHTON CROSSLEY | 107 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 22 |
| 14 | LUKE PHILLIPS | 107 | 26 | 28 | 25 | 28 | – |
| 15 | MARCIS LILIENTALS | 91 | 21 | 23 | – | 23 | 24 |
| 16 | RICHY BRYCE* | 41 | – | – | – | 20 | 21 |
| 17 | FARNKIE JUBB | 29 | 29 | – | – | – | – |
Ladies
| Pos | Competitor | Total Points | r 1 | r 2 | r 3 | r 4 | r 5 |
| 1 | GRACE RICHARDS | 200 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
| 2 | NADIYA JONES | 190 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 38 |
| 3 | AMBER McGREGOR | 176 | 34 | 36 | 34 | 36 | 36 |
| 4 | CLAIRE WINTHORP* | 174 | 36 | 34 | 36 | 34 | 34 |
| 5 | HANNAH JONES | 160 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 |
| 6 | SOPHIE JONES | 149 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 30 |
| 7 | SASHA TOLLET | 143 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 27 |
| 8 | INDIA HODGKINS | 140 | 29 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| 9 | LIUCY COWARD* | 111 | – | 28 | 28 | 27 | 28 |
Vets Over 40
| Pos | Competitor | Total Points | r 1 | r 2 | r 3 | r 4 | r 5 |
| 1 | BILLY MACKENZIE* | 200 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
| 2 | PAUL JOHNSTONE | 190 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 38 |
| 3 | LEE MARTIN | 176 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 32 | 36 |
| 4 | SAM CALOW | 172 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 36 | 34 |
| 5 | DAIN TAYLOR | 160 | 32 | 32 | 30 | 34 | 32 |
| 6 | DAVID EVANS | 147 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 28 | 29 |
| 7 | CARL STANARD | 144 | 30 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| 8 | LEE LARKIN | 138 | 22 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 28 |
| 9 | CLAYTON HOGG | 134 | 29 | 28 | 26 | 26 | 25 |
| 10 | MATT CHAPLIN | 132 | 26 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 27 |
| 11 | ANDY LILIENTALS | 129 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 26 |
| 12 | GAVIN HALL | 120 | 25 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 24 |
| 13 | RYAN PALMER | 114 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 22 |
| 14 | PAUL CURTIS | 89 | 24 | 22 | 22 | 21 | – |
| 15 | JAMIE MENZIE | 46 | – | – | – | 23 | 23 |
Vets Over 50
| Pos | Competitor | Total Points | r 1 | r 2 | r 3 | r 4 | r 5 |
| 1 | PHIL MERCER | 200 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
| 2 | DANNY TOLLET | 188 | 36 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 38 |
| 3 | SIMON BONSER | 180 | 38 | 36 | 34 | 36 | 36 |
| 4 | DAVE DUNN | 162 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 34 | 32 |
| 5 | PAUL COWARD | 150 | 28 | 30 | 30 | 32 | 30 |
| 6 | PAUL WIECORKE | 144 | 27 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 29 |
| 7 | NIGEL SMORFITT | 139 | 30 | 27 | 27 | 29 | 26 |
| 8 | ADY BRADLEY | 138 | 34 | 34 | 36 | – | 34 |
| 9 | DALE SILK | 129 | 29 | 28 | 25 | 23 | 24 |
| 10 | DAVID HOPKINS | 127 | 26 | 24 | 22 | 27 | 28 |
| 11 | ROB PEARCE | 125 | 23 | 26 | 28 | 25 | 23 |
| 12 | SEAN HUNTER | 123 | 25 | 23 | 26 | 24 | 25 |
| 13 | STEVEN HUMPRIES | 121 | 24 | 25 | 24 | 26 | 22 |
| 14 | STAN MPRPHET | 108 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 21 |
| 15 | DAVE BOTTERILL | 102 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 19 |
| 16 | KEVIN PRIDE | 95 | 18 | 19 | 21 | 19 | 18 |
| 17 | PAUL BLICK | 89 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 17 |
| 18 | ADRIAN JESSOP | 82 | 21 | 20 | – | 21 | 20 |
| 19 | TD | 55 | – | – | – | 28 | 27 |
| 20 | NEIL HOPES | 19 | 19 | – | – | – | – |
Junior Open
| Pos | Competitor | Total Points | r 1 | r 2 | r 3 | r 4 | r 5 |
| 1 | THOMAS CARRUTHERS* | 194 | 36 | 38 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
| 2 | JACK RATCLIFFE | 192 | 38 | 40 | 38 | 38 | 38 |
| 3 | DAN NEVITT | 171 | 40 | 36 | 29 | 30 | 36 |
| 4 | BEN WALKER | 166 | 30 | 34 | 36 | 36 | 30 |
| 5 | FRANKIE ELWELL | 158 | 34 | 22 | 34 | 34 | 34 |
| 6 | JACK TOMPKINS | 139 | 29 | 25 | 30 | 27 | 28 |
| 7 | AIDAN CARNEY | 134 | 32 | 27 | 28 | 24 | 23 |
| 8 | JESSE PEARCE | 117 | 26 | 32 | 7 | 25 | 27 |
| 9 | JOSH BAILEY | 111 | 25 | 26 | 16 | 22 | 22 |
| 10 | BILLY WIECZORKE | 110 | 28 | 21 | 12 | 20 | 29 |
| 11 | JONAS BROWN | 107 | 27 | 30 | 17 | 26 | 7 |
| 12 | HAYDEN STEVENS | 104 | 24 | 18 | 26 | 11 | 25 |
| 13 | OLIVER DAVIS | 100 | – | 29 | 27 | 18 | 26 |
| 14 | TYLER WILCOX | 100 | 17 | 15 | 25 | 23 | 20 |
| 15 | JACK JORDAN | 98 | 22 | 24 | 19 | 15 | 18 |
| 16 | JAMES MILNE | 93 | 16 | 19 | 23 | 19 | 16 |
| 17 | ROSS DEAN | 89 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 14 | 17 |
| 18 | BEN HUGHES | 89 | 20 | 17 | 22 | 16 | 14 |
| 19 | GEORGE POOL | 87 | 14 | 16 | 21 | 17 | 19 |
| 20 | SAM RAYNER | 85 | 19 | – | 24 | 21 | 21 |
| 21 | AJAY SIMPSON | 84 | 21 | 13 | 18 | 32 | – |
| 22 | COLIN McLUCKIE* | 75 | 15 | 28 | 32 | – | – |
| 23 | DYLAN HARRISON | 65 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 15 |
| 24 | KYLE NOBLE | 64 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 10 |
| 25 | FRAZER HANSEN* | 60 | – | – | – | 28 | 32 |
| 26 | STEPHEN WATSON* | 53 | – | – | – | 29 | 24 |
| 27 | HARRY WIECZORKE | 50 | 7 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 12 |
| 28 | SAM CORNWELL* | 46 | 23 | 23 | – | – | – |
| 29 | DAN EVANS | 45 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 13 |
| 30 | GEORGE BOTTERILL | 38 | 8 | 3 | 13 | 3 | 11 |
| 31 | JACK BLIGHT | 38 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 6 |
| 32 | MATT READMAN | 33 | – | 8 | 10 | 6 | 9 |
| 33 | RYAN ROWBOTTOM | 32 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 8 |
| 34 | TOMMY DRENNAN* | 28 | 10 | 10 | 8 | – | – |
| 35 | IAN McDOUGAL | 16 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 4 | – |
| 36 | ALBIE HOPES* | 11 | – | 6 | – | 5 | – |
| 37 | CALVIN PATTERSON* | 8 | 6 | 2 | – | – | – |
| 38 | BEN PROSSER | 5 | – | 5 | – | – | – |
