Mewse & Heyman make it back to back Scottish Motocross Championship wins – Round 3 Race Report & Results

.

The long established Achnashelloch MX Track set in the glorious hillside location near Lochgilphead, just a stone’s throw from the iconic Kilmartin GP track, which had a major overhaul last year was the venue for Round 3 of the 2024 Scottish Motocross Championship.

Race Report and Images by Raymond Thomson – Madmaxmedia

A year ago, the old hard pack track was levelled by Johnny Hamilton and Scott Gardner as they worked around the clock to get it ready. Unfortunately, the meeting was cancelled after the first day, due to a biblical bout of rainfall, but no such problems this year. Unlike last year, the meeting ran like clockwork and all the hard work finally paid off as the riders enjoyed 2 days of hard racing. The hard pack track was a stiff test for all riders of every ability, from Auto to MX1, the intense racing meant the wins were hard fought and well deserved but not without some thrills and spills! There was a familiarity about the results as the main championship contenders in each class showed why they are at the front.

Saturday 4^th May

Auto’s (Sponsored by FXR)

Ellik Miller signed in and checked out. 3 hole-shots and 3 race wins, job done. His racing did all the talking. Finlay Hoskisson and Ollie Hain both had a steady day as they would finish second and third in all three races making the podium straight forward. Riding a good portion of the main track, all riders cam through unscathed much to the relief of their anxious parents.

65’s (Sponsored by FXR)

Isaac Arnold had three race wins in his class as he maintained his form in round three. Szymon Skuratowski repeated his overall second from the last round as Liam Hannah tried his best to beat Szymon into third but a slightly poor first race limited his chances.

85’s SW/BW (Sponsored by Plews Tres)

Ethan Gawley looked set for the overall win as the Irish lad stormed out of the gate in the first two races but a poor result in race three knocked him off the top spot. Harry Hall was there to make the most of Gawley’s misfortune and took the overall. A poor start for Alfie Lawrie in race 2 meant he could only manage third even after winning the last race. James McCann had a tough day having to battle down the order in each race but just couldn’t secure a podium.

Another rider that dominated his class was Malachi Allan. Three easy race wins as he continued his push for the championship. Reid Simpson was the best of the rest with Leo Self not quite able to overhaul Simpson. There was some frantic racing down the order at times which the crowd enjoyed as they cheered on their favourites.

Youth 125/250 (Sponsored by Stirlings Powersports)

The future’s bright based on the youth that were on show. In the 125’s, Robbie Scott’s decision to jump from SW85 this season has so far paid off. His 1,1,3 was more than enough to bag to top spot. Zach Pearson’s long journey was well worth the effort as he finished in second place. Louis Perrin-Brown finally broke into the podium places and enjoyed a win in the final race to prove there’s more to come.

The 250 race always keeps you guessing who will take the overall and it was Ryan Lowes chance to shine. Pulling some big whips on the tabletops, it was not just show boating, he got two race wins and ended up dominating as Jack Meara’s early promise in race 1 was dashed with a poor second race. Charley Irwin kept pushing and matched Meara on points taking the overall second with the better result in the last race. Rhys Whyment missed out by a single point but admitted it was not his best surface. The Youth Championship looks like it will go down to the wire.

2 Stroke 125/Open (Sponsored by Drysdales Motorcycles)

Ryan Waggot cruised to the overall in the 125 class as the 2 Stroke race had everyone trackside watching the drama unfold. Andrew Pohlen and Louis Tobin established the running order for the top three in all races. Tobin looked like he was relishing racing the 125 instead of his customary four stroke.

It was an all Irish podium with John Meara enjoying his first Scottish Championship meeting running out the easy winner. Vet Richard McKeown continued to defy his years by turning back the clock on his old RM250 and running hard all day ahead of Jordan McCaw. The resurgence of the two stroke class even tempted Billy MacKenzie out on his CR500 in race 1.

Adult Support

The Adult Support class brought out some of the big guns. John Adamson ran out an easy winner in race 1 but his “one and done” strategy was enough for him to prepare for the MX1 on Sunday. Tony Craig, Billy MacKenzie and Ross Rutherford battled it out in race two as they turned back the clock. Craig suffered chronic arm pump all day, but he still managed a grimaced smile after the race win. The final race saw just a handful of riders brave the technical track with the deep ruts making the riders choose their lines wisely. Josh McCorkell took the race win as he got dialled in for his B class on Sunday.

Sunday 5^th May

Vets 40,50 and 60 (Sponsored by Drysdales Motorcycles)

Barry Gray and Mikey Graham renewed their rivalry in the O40’s Vet’s and after swapping race wins in the first two races, it was Gray that would triumph. Both riders kept up their consistent lap times, but Gray was just too strong in the last part of race three. Alan Deans came out on top of the next three places as Souza Antonio and Kevin McBride all finished on the same points. Deans never looked out of shape and his riding style suited the conditions.

Gordon Morrison blasted out the gate in race 1 and showed Morton Hannah he meant business in the O50’s. Hannah couldn’t match Morrison as the pair finished ahead of Graham Ross who did just did enough in race three to bag the final podium ahead of Kevin Charles who’s second place last gasp effort in race three wasn’t quite enough to get on the podium.

In the O60’s, Les Winthrope bagged another overall with Ian Wilson away watching his son racing UCI MTB in Fort William. Stephen Pollock made the most of Wilson’s absence finishing second and Andrew Beatty rounded off the podium.

Adult C (Sponsored by Drysdales Motorcycles)

After winning the first race, Rory Cultra couldn’t capitalise on his good start and missed out narrowly on overall second after he finished on the same points as Charlie McCann. Jamie Mottram’s results got better each race as his 3,2,1 would be enough for the overall win and he beat McCann into second.

Adult B (Sponsored by Drysdales Motorcycles)

Josh McCorkell continued his winning ways in round three and bagged the overall with three wins. Charley Irwin’s two second places made up for a poor first race as he comfortably finished second. Myles Reid’s return to the B class was rewarded with the final podium place but he had to race through the pack in two races after bad starts. He looked relieved to be back on the 450 after racing a 125 in the last meeting. Going by lap times, the top 10 riders looked like they had the pace to run in the top 10 of the MX2 class so it made for some thrilling racing.

MX2 (Sponsored by Safe Access Highland Ltd)

Charlie Heyman showed his class again racing the Scottish Championship as he adapted to the technical track easily in qualifying. He took his time by riding over half the session at a steady pace before ramping up the pace. He didn’t post the fastest lap though as Glen McCormick showed he wasn’t just there to make up the numbers and proved it with third on the podium. Bailey Johnston’s 2,3,2 was enough for second overall, but no one could get close to Heyman as his pace and smooth riding saw him finish over 40 seconds ahead in two of the races. Ryan Thomson had a challenging day as he nursed his brand new bike as it suffered overheating due to a faulty O ring on his radiator cap resulting in him having to change bike for the third race.

MX1 (Sponsored by Safe Access Highland Ltd)

Conrad Mewse approach to qualifying was similar to Charlie Heymans. He ran round the track looking for the best lines before hammering out a qualifying lap. John Adamson and Billy MacKenzie had the benefit of riding on the Saturday and were only 0.5 second behind Mewse. The rest of the top 10 riders were only a mater of seconds off the pace so it promised to be a thriller.

In race 1, John Adamson edged out Billy MacKenzie at the first corner, but it would be MacKenzie that did all the running in the first few laps of the race. It took Conrad a few laps to get to grips with the track before he hit the front and ran out a comfortable winner as John Adamson ran off track and into a bog taking a few posts with him, but he managed to reclaim a few places before the end.

Race 2 saw Conrad do what he does best, holeshot and disappear. This left MacKenzie running in second for the bulk of the race before he came together with Tristan Purdon who had go to grips with the track and started to look strong. Jason Meara ran in third before a blip mid race sent him back to 6^th, but he rallied to secure his third spot again.

Race 3 saw the top four positions swap throughout the race as crowd favourite John Adamson looked like he was going to pull off the win especially after an old school brake check sent Conrad to the ground on a slow left hander as Mewse tried to cut inside but John maintained his line. Mackenzie also had a spell at the front, but Purdon slowly pulled through from fourth to take the lead on the penultimate lap. With Conrad catching and passing Adamson, he secured second leaving John third. Brad Todd showed some real grit as he came from 12^th position on lap 1 to a fourth in the final race. I was enough for him to break into the top five overall. Billy MacKenzie had a solid fourth after leading several laps throughout the day, but Jason Meara consistency meant he would take the third podium place. Tristan Purdons 4,2,1 put a beaming smile on his face but the overall of course went to Conrad Mewse who continued his push and challenge Purdon in the championship. Having missed round 1, he’ll need to rely on other results if he is to be Scottish Champion!

Campbell Chatham interviewed Conrad Mewse after the podium presentations where he highlighted that he’d had good day albeit a tough challenge where he was not prepared to put his season on the line at the first corner or risk injury trying to bag the holeshot. He was also very complimentary towards the tracks in Scotland and intimated that not only were they good enough to run British MX events but GP races! High praise indeed, let’s hope that more top riders catch on and attend some Scottish Championship races in the near future. With Duns round the corner, it’s not far from the border.

The Scottish Motocross Championship has an impressive lineup of sponsorship this year with Drysdale’s Motorcycles, Safe Access Highland Ltd, FXR and Plews Tyres as race sponsors. Series sponsors Dyce Carriers Ltd, Site Sealants, Stirlings Powersports , Just1, LS2 Helmets, Modu, Actiph, Slavin Plant Hire and Lochwinnoch all help to keep the championship healthy.

The next round of The Scottish Championship will be at Duns MX Track (nr Berwick) 15^th/16^th June.

Results

MX1

Pos	Competitor	Total Points	r 1	r 2	r 3
1	CONRAD MEWSE	72	25	25	22
2	TRISTAN PURDON	65	18	22	25
3	JASON MEARA	52	16	20	16
4	BILLY MACKENZIE	52	22	15	15
5	BRAD TODD	51	15	18	18
6	JOHN ADAMSON	49	13	16	20
7	BEN EDWARDS	41	14	14	13
8	CARLTON HUSBAND	40	20	6	14
9	RICHARD MCKEOWN	35	11	13	11
10	ROSS RUTHERFORD	32	10	10	12
11	TONY CRAIG	31	12	9	10
12	RICHARD BIRD	30	9	12	9
13	JAKE WINNARD	24	8	8	8
14	AIDAN BRUCE	21	7	7	7
15	MARTIN BARR	17	6	11	–
16	JOSH SPINKS	5	5	–	–

MX2

Pos	Competitor	Total Points	r 1	r 2	r 3
1	CHARLIE HEYMAN	75	25	25	25
2	BAILEY JOHNSTON	64	22	20	22
3	GLEN McCORMICK	60	18	22	20
4	RYAN THOMSON	50	16	16	18
5	JORDAN MCCAW	44	20	15	9
6	FRAZER NORRIE	43	13	14	16
7	RYAN WAGGOTT	43	15	13	15
8	DAVID RUSSELL	38	12	12	14
9	JOSH BUCHANAN	32	9	10	13
10	ALEX BUCHANAN	32	11	11	10
11	SETH MOIR	30	10	8	12
12	LEWIS CAMPBELL	27	7	9	11
13	JAMES MACKREL	18	–	18	–
14	GARY SHARP	15	8	7	–
15	LEE CAMERON	14	14	–	–

2 Stroke 150

Pos	Competitor	Total Points	r 1	r 2	r 3
1	RYAN WAGGOTT	75	25	25	25
2	ANDREW POHLEN	66	22	22	22
3	LOUIS TOBLIN	60	20	20	20
4	JACK YOUNG	51	15	18	18
5	DEAN SEWELL	48	16	16	16
6	SCOTT SNR FORSYTH	48	18	15	15
7	JOHN BENNETT	42	14	14	14
8	SCOTT FOOTE	38	12	13	13
9	CLAIRE WINTHROP	37	13	12	12

2 Stroke Open

Pos	Competitor	Total Points	r 1	r 2	r 3
1	JOHN MEARA	75	25	25	25
2	RICHARD MCKEOWN	64	20	22	22
3	JORDAN MCCAW	62	22	20	20
4	FRAZER NORRIE	50	18	16	16
5	MATTY FRY	46	16	15	15
6	JACK BRADBURY	42	15	14	13
7	JAKE HALL	40	14	12	14
8	JASON MARTIN	38	13	13	12
9	RYAN THOMSON	36	–	18	18
10	JORDAN DOHERTY	32	10	11	11
11	ANDREW SLAVIN	31	11	10	10
12	DYLAN DOBBIE	27	9	9	9
13	SCOTT CRAWFORD	24	8	8	8
14	SEAN MEIGHAN	12	12	–	–
15	IAN MACDOUGALL	7	7	–	–

Autos

Pos	Competitor	Total Points	r 1	r 2	r 3
1	ELLIK MILLER	75	25	25	25
2	FINLAY HOSKISSON	66	22	22	22
3	OLLIE HAIN	60	20	20	20
4	LACHLAN JNR JAMES	52	16	18	18
5	RHYS WALKER	50	18	16	16
6	ARCHIE DIGNALL	44	15	15	14
7	OLIVER FENTON	40	12	13	15
8	ARRIANNA RICHARDSON	40	13	14	13
9	JOSHUA WILSON	38	14	12	12
10	JACK JAMIESON	33	11	11	11

Junior 65cc

Pos	Competitor	Total Points	r 1	r 2	r 3
1	ISAAC ARNOLD	75	25	25	25
2	SZYMON SKURATOWSKI	62	20	22	20
3	LIAM HANNAH	60	18	20	22
4	THOR SIMPSON	52	22	16	14
5	JAKE AIRLEY	47	11	18	18
6	JACK HEATH	46	16	14	16
7	AIDEN ANTON	45	15	15	15
8	ASHTON BAIN	39	13	13	13
9	NATHAN STRACHAN	38	14	12	12
10	KOHEN BELL	33	12	11	10
11	MITCHELL GIBSON	21	–	10	11

Small Wheel 85

Pos	Competitor	Total Points	r 1	r 2	r 3
1	HARRY HALL	69	22	25	22
2	ETHAN GAWLEY	61	25	22	14
3	ALFIE LAWRIE	58	20	13	25
4	JAMES MCCANN	55	15	20	20
5	BAILI BLACK	47	13	16	18
6	TY SIMPSON	44	16	18	10
7	ZAK HENDRY	43	12	15	16
8	JAY-J COOPER	38	18	5	15
9	CONNOR THOMPSON	35	8	14	13
10	ALAN THOMSON	31	10	10	11
11	LYALL RUTHERFORD	30	7	11	12
12	GEORGE DRYDEN	29	14	12	3
13	ALEX FRASER	26	11	7	8
14	JACK MARTIN	21	3	9	9
15	RILEY MARWOOD	21	6	8	7
16	CALEB SHEARER	21	9	6	6
17	RILEY CRAWFORD	12	5	2	5
18	IVAN WILLIAMSON	12	4	4	4
19	HARRIS CURRAN	7	2	3	2
20	SEB CRAIG	3	1	1	1

Big Wheel 85

Pos	Competitor	Total Points	r 1	r 2	r 3
1	MALACHI ALLAN	75	25	25	25
2	REID SIMPSON	60	20	18	22
3	LEO SELF	58	22	16	20
4	ANDREW PIGGFORD	53	15	20	18
5	OLLIE HOLLAND	53	18	22	13
6	COREY WHEATLEY	45	16	14	15
7	JAXON HASWELL	42	13	15	14
8	KIAN MCGILL	41	12	13	16
9	TYLER MEARNS	37	14	11	12
10	RUBEN TREW	30	7	12	11
11	MICHAEL PATTERSON	28	9	9	10
12	BEN DONALDSON	28	11	8	9
13	EVAN BENNETT	26	8	10	8
14	RONNIE MOAR	20	10	7	3
15	MADDOX PATTERSON	17	5	5	7
16	GRIGOR WRIGHT	17	6	6	5
17	CAMPBELL ROBERTSON	13	3	4	6
18	GABRIAL CRAFT	11	4	3	4

Youth 125

Pos	Competitor	Total Points	r 1	r 2	r 3
1	ROBBIE SCOTT	70	25	25	20
2	ZACHARY PEARSON	64	22	20	22
3	LOUIS PERRIN-BROWN	58	11	22	25
4	JADEN ANDERSON	52	16	18	18
5	OWEN BENNETT	47	20	12	15
6	AARON TAIT	45	13	16	16
7	GLEN ROLLO	44	18	15	11
8	RYAN HADDOW	41	14	13	14
9	DYLAN THORNDICK	37	15	10	12
10	JAMES MCGOWAN	36	12	14	10
11	ROBERT WOOD	29	8	8	13
12	ROBBIE PEACE	29	10	11	8
13	STRUAN ROBERTSON	27	9	9	9
14	EVAN DEANS	21	7	7	7
15	BLAIR DEANS	18	6	6	6
16	AIDEN MACGILLIVRAY	15	5	5	5

Youth 250

Pos	Competitor	Total Points	r 1	r 2	r 3
1	RYAN LOWES	72	22	25	25
2	CHARLEY IRWIN	59	15	22	22
3	JACK MEARA	59	25	14	20
4	RHYS WHYMENT	58	20	20	18
5	MATT FEARNLY	50	18	16	16
6	ZAC NEWLANDS	49	16	18	15
7	FINLEY EASTON	43	14	15	14

Adult B

Pos	Competitor	Total Points	r 1	r 2	r 3
1	JOSHUA MCCORKELL	75	25	25	25
2	CHARLEY IRWIN	60	16	22	22
3	MYLES REID	54	22	16	16
4	SCOTT PATERSON	53	15	20	18
5	EWAN KERMACK	50	12	18	20
6	LOGAN HENDRY	46	18	13	15
7	LOGAN FERGUSON	41	13	14	14
8	TONY MCCANN	41	14	15	12
9	MATTY FRY	33	10	12	11
10	JACK RATCLIFFE	29	8	11	10
11	JACK BRADBURY	24	11	7	6
12	OWEN HENDRY	24	20	4	–
13	JAKE BEATTIE	22	9	8	5
14	JOE KHAMOULI	21	4	9	8
15	JAKE HALL	20	7	6	7
16	RYAN MCKINNEY	19	5	5	9
17	ANDREW WILLIAMS	17	1	3	13
18	ROSS FITZSIMMONS	15	2	10	3
19	THOMAS CURRUTHERS	6	3	2	1
20	STEPHEN WATSON	6	6	–	–
21	JAMES MARWOOD	4	–	–	4
22	JOSHUA REA	2	–	–	2
23	TALLON LEASK	1	–	1	–

Adult C

Pos	Competitor	Total Points	r 1	r 2	r 3
1	JAMIE MOTTRAM	67	20	22	25
2	CHARLIE MCCANN	65	18	25	22
3	RORY CULTRA	65	25	20	20
4	DYLAN DOBBIE	55	22	18	15
5	KRISY COULL	50	16	16	18
6	JACK YOUNG	44	15	13	16
7	DAVE DICK	39	14	11	14
8	DUNCAN ROBERTSON	36	13	10	13
9	SCOTT FOOTE	35	11	12	12
10	ROBBIE MACKENZIE	35	10	14	11
11	DYLAN SUMMERS	28	4	15	9
12	HARRIS MILLIGAN	27	9	8	10
13	SCOTT CRAWFORD	21	12	3	6
14	CLAIRE WINTHROP	20	8	9	3
15	STRUAN FERGUSON	19	5	7	7
16	LEWIS DIVERS	17	3	6	8
17	MARK HAMILTON	15	6	4	5
18	GREGOR PATTERSON	9	–	5	4
19	PETER MacGREGOR	9	7	–	2
20	AARON McCLARTY	4	2	2	–
21	KYLE WINGATE	2	1	1	–
22	CRAIG DOUGLAS	1	–	–	1

Vets Over 40

Pos	Competitor	Total Points	r 1	r 2	r 3
1	BARRY GRAY	72	25	22	25
2	MICHAEL GRAHAM	69	22	25	22
3	ALAN DEANS	54	18	16	20
4	SOUZA ANTONIO	54	16	20	18
5	KEVIN MC BRIDE	54	20	18	16
6	GAVIN JONES	45	15	15	15

Vets Over 50

Pos	Competitor	Total Points	r 1	r 2	r 3
1	GORDON MORRISON	75	25	25	25
2	MORTON HANNAH	64	22	22	20
3	GRAHAM ROSS	55	20	20	15
4	KEVIN CHARLES	54	16	16	22
5	ANDREW LEASK	52	18	18	16
6	TOMMY DRYSDALE	48	15	15	18
7	IAN ROSS	42	14	14	14