Finally, for what seemed like an eternity, Round 5 of the Scottish Motocross Championship was run in England on October 14th & 15th. You might think this was a strange decision, but after the cancellation of Day 2 of Round 4 due to some horrific weather conditions and the late cancellation of Hawick, Johnny Douglas Hamilton took the difficult decision to run the event at Schoolhouse. As it transpired, it worked well for all involved and was an added bonus for the enduring riders that had put in the hard miles through the years travelling from far and wide to be part of something good. Even though the track is a going concern, you could see the effort to tailor it for some great racing. With all of the sponsorship banners in place, it looked fantastic.
Words: Raymond Thomson / madmaxmedia, Images: Deka Davison
Saturday 14th October
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The Shirlaws KTM Aberdeen Championship leader Aiden Anton had his points lead over second place Ellik Miller cut slightly at Schoolhouse. Olly Mclean had his eye on the overall and finished ahead of the championship-leading pair with a confident display. Local lad Ellik had to settle for second but finished ahead of Aiden who had to settle for the final podium.
65cc:
The FXR Championship is a lot more straightforward with Lyall Rutherford commanding an almost unassailable lead. He dominated the day at Schoolhouse as his championship rival Alex Fraser fell by the wayside finishing out of the top 6. Isaac Arnold and Jenson Branney would make up the podium as the other Scottish riders were ousted from their usual placings.
85cc SW/BW
The Stirlings Powersports Championship always serves up some of the best racing on the day. Schoolhouse was no different.
Small-Wheel:
Arthur Moore was fastest in qualifying and managed to separate Malachi Allan and Robbie Scott on the podium by winning race 2 but there was no beating Malachi on the day. He proved why he’s first in the championship and Robbie has his work cut out in the final round to overhaul him. Being 12 points behind will be a tough ask but he’ll be up for the challenge.
Big-Wheel:
Hayden Statt had a 4-second lead in qualifying but a big crash in the final race would ultimately cost him the overall. With series leaders Jaden Anderson and Josh Hutchinson running down the order, this made for a very different outcome. Joel Winstanley-Dawson would take the top step as Hayden did enough to secure second. Andrew Piggford did just enough to grab third by one point ahead of Jaxon Haswell as his second place in the last race just wasn’t enough. Jaden, Joshua and Jaxon will battle it out at Clayshant for the title as it comes down to the wire.
Youth 125/250:
Ryan Waggot was almost untouchable on the day and strolled the 125cc class with Louis Perrin-Brown and Zachary Pearson making up the podium. The mixed class does make for great racing and Jack Fletcher always pushes hard and was joined by Austin Beasty to give Waggot some competition. A poor race two result would cost Fletcher as Beasty earned the overall in the 250 class ahead of Josh Hall. Ryan Lowes steady riding secured the final podium.
2 Stroke 150/Open:
The mixed class saw some frantic racing as Jordan McCaw enjoyed winning the overall in the Open class. Kyle Peel did manage the win in race three and a well deserved second. Matty Fry had a solid third place although Fraser Hansen was lurking in case he faltered.
The 150 class saw Andrew Pohlen breeze the overall with Scott Foote and Claire Winthrop making up the podium.
Adult Open Support:
The Adult Support race was stacked with MX1 and MX2 riders. The mix of youth and vet were also prominent as Ross Rutherford and Richard McKeown showed there’s still life in their mid 30’s. Carlton Husband enjoyed the win in race 1 ahead of Ross Rutherford but Rutherford took the win in race 2 as Husband sat out the rest of the day. Youth would shine through in Race 3 as Lee Cameron took a hard fought win.
Sunday 15th October
Vets 40,50 and 60 including The Vets Cup:
One of the biggest classes of the day, the popular Vets race was very close. In the O40’s, Mikey Graham was pipped at the post in the first race by Niall McAuley as the Geordie missed the last lap flag and thought he still had another lap to stay ahead of the fast Irishman. McAuley showed he was the one to beat with all three race wins. Jamie Black did his best to overcome Graham but a creditable second and third in two races was not enough as Graham was just too good.
The O50’s had a familiar feel to it as hole-shot specialist Gordon ‘Montana’ Morrison kept Morton Hannah off the top spot. Brian Fraser coasted to a comfortable third place using his experience racing down south to fend off the rest of the pack.
Ian Wilson fought hard against his peers in the younger classes to show there’s still plenty left in the old tank as the O60 rider has plans to retain his World Vet Championship later this year in California.
Adult C:
Logan Adsley managed to turn his qualifying times into race wins as he edged out Torren Husband for the overall. They fought hard in each race and race 2 was the closest with Adsley narrowly beating Husband. The pair were untouchable as the rest of the pack fought it out for the final spot. There were only a few points separating the next five positions as Daniel McDonald and Charlie McCann would end on the same points, but McDonald came out with the vital third place after a better result in race three. McDonald looks to push Adsley all the way for the championship.
Adult B:
After dominating the last few meetings, Scott Paterson had to make do with third. A challenging first race would ultimately limit his chances of the overall. Logan Ferguson was on a mission as he led from the front in races 1 and 2 and his efforts in race 3 were rewarded and he pushed from 7th to 2nd to earn the win. Ferguson is still within striking distance of the championship if Patterson falters but he looks like a strong favourite for the win. Aaron McGregor split the podium with a deserved second overall.
MX2 Safe Access Highland Ltd:
Carlton Husband not only dominated every race, but he won the overall MX2 championship at Schoolhouse, job done and then some. Kyle McNicol grabbed second on the day and also moved up to second in the MX2 championship as Brad Anderson was racing overseas. Great to see Kyle getting back to where he belongs. Another rider getting back to form is David Plank. His hard work and consistency paid off by bagging the final podium spot.
MX1 Carnegie Fuels:
John Adamson and Conrad Mewse renewed their rivalry at Schoolhouse with Mewse coming out the runaway winner. The favourite is still Adamson for the Championship if he can keep his results on the podium but with Mewse’s dominance at each round and Brad Todd pushing to get in the mix, John will have his work cut out. The results could have been different had Tristan Purdon not crashed out in race 1. His season-ending crash cost him any chance of a podium and ultimately the end of season bonus for finishing in the top three. This meant that Brad Todd amongst others would have a clear run and he took advantage of it. Todd got within 2 points of Adamson and is now lining up his final push at Clayshant. Tony Craig isn’t one to take things lying down as he proved at Schoolhouse and will look to better his results at the final round and bag the bonus.
Full results for Schoolhouse are here: https://www.dirthub.co.uk/full-house-at-schoolhouse-for-mewse-husband-2023-scottish-motocross-championship-round-5-results/
With everything to play for in their respective championships, Clayshant will see all the deserving champions crowned. Who’s your money on? Who’s gonna take it? There’s one way to find out, and that’s get along to Clayshant this weekend to see who comes out on top!
See the preview for Clayshant here: https://www.dirthub.co.uk/stars-prepare-for-scottish-championship-final-round-at-clayshant/
