SACU 2003 Championship ENDURO
Round 3 - Melville MC Barrhill - Girvan
27th July 2003
A second visit to Dumfries in as many months brought the riders to a new venue - this time for a Championship Enduro. Run by the Melville MC and laid by Andrew McConnel and Brian McCleary it was a real test of man and machine stamina.
Run over an 18 mile course it was mostly soft going with some felled areas and a lot of bogs and moss. The trick was to avoid getting stuck and keep moving. Andrew had set the times out to be fairly easy bt a lot of riders still lost time after burying their bikes. Fun was not a word heard a lot - but it was an event that had a lot of satisfaction to getting round. Sportsman had been warned that it was going to be tough and the few who came deserved their finishers awards. Alex Hood on his XR650 must have wondered if he would ever see the finish but got back and seemed happy to complete his one lap. The boys from the Lakes were keen and John Lupton pushed hard to win the Sportsman class.
The test was a quick blast round a quarry - and then down into a track that was probably harder than some of the course. Choice of line was crucial in the test as there were some bogs that were really hard to get the bikes out of once stuck - causing more than one person to lose critical time.
In the Experts the battle was again between Crawford Carrick -Andereson, Murray Thomson and Grant Smith with only 30 seconds separating Murray and Crawford after nearly 5 hours of racing. An important race to win for Championship points.
Derek Little was back racing again after his broken leg in round one. With his bike playing up in the early laps and the course very physical the race took it's toll as he was forced to retire just before the end. An amazing effort to be back and racing so soon.
In the over 40's a tie for 1st place between Dougal Walker and Andrew Flockhart - with both looking for a title this year. The final test proving the trial as both riders lost time. Ian Paterson in 3rd keeps his title hopes alive as he put in another consistent performance.
Duncan Jamieson looked very smooth on his way to the clubman win over Chris Buchan with some very fast test times . The championship is wide open at this time and every race is important.
To all who didn't complete the full course - well done for getting out there - you will rarely find a harder event. And you know you have been in a race !
Report from the organisers
The weather the week prior to the event turned what would have been a relatively straight forward enduro, into a test of man and machine as rider ability came to the fore. The course was sell set out and marked by Andrew McConnell and Jeff McLeary. The lap timing was spot on and all who finished should receive a speical award - It was a true mud and guts enduro. If you didn't make it to the end you were not alone. ( Kenny Donaldson)
Provisional Results
No Name ST1 ST2 ST3 ST4 Penalty Total Position EXPERTS 4 Crawford C-Anderson 256 272 261 264 0 1053 1 5 Murray Thomson 263 278 284 265 0 1090 2 2 Grant Smith 264 290 300 308 0 1162 3 8 Julian Stevens 291 314 313 299 0 1217 4 1 Derek Little 373 353 396 Retired 3 Richard Neaves 281 296 454 Retired 6 Malcolm Bissett 319 337 Retired 9 Joe Gilroy 292 297 Retired
OVER 40's 26 Dougal Walker 305 300 341 0 946 1 35 Andrew Flockhart 295 294 357 0 946 1 36 Ian Paterson 314 333 357 0 1004 3 33 Kenny Donaldson 304 370 637 0 1311 4 34 Alex Kirk 315 406 349 300 1370 5 30 Ian Parker 414 420 477 900 2211 6 27 Jim Wightman 316 436 Retired 29 John Turner Retired 31 Stuart McCaig Retired 32 Dougie Meek 355 377 Retired 37 Iain Wood 393 Retired 38 Geoff Pennycook 381 363 Retired 40 Hugh O'Neill 381 542 Retired 28 Stephen Baker NS
CLUBMAN 56 Duncan Jamieson 277 288 302 0 867 1 50 Chris Buchan 282 317 354 0 953 2 62 Paul Richardson 340 333 358 0 1031 3 70 Graham Smith 344 376 373 0 1093 4 60 Findlay White 337 394 371 0 1102 5 46 Campbell Chatham 379 386 367 0 1132 6 66 Rab Moir 328 333 499 0 1160 7 75 Alex McGowan 376 402 437 0 1215 8 47 Tony Wood 354 396 471 420 1641 9 69 Paul Scott 355 342 338 960 1995 10 52 Anthony Crowe 330 334 934 420 2018 11 48 Keith Reid 345 395 Retired 49 Steve Irvin Retired 51 Allan Ritchie 369 592 Retired 53 Paul Usher 347 Retired 54 John McGaff Retired 55 Chris Stewart 305 715 Retired 57 Craig Jagla 350 Retired 58 Colin Jagla 301 Retired 59 Stephen Gilhooley 345 524 Retired 61 Graeme Hewitson 600 Retired 63 John Barbour 317 365 Retired 64 Duncan Braid 360 397 Retired 65 Stan Petersen 421 427 Retired 67 Colin Armatage 354 475 Retired 68 Allan Richardson 426 Retired 71 Mark Clark 361 Retired 72 Les Gamble 333 892 Retired 73 Duncan McCormick Retired 74 Gary Buckett 519 Retired 76 Paul Glass Retired
SPORTSMAN 105 John Lupton 386 498 0 884 1 116 Robert Farrell 495 544 2160 3199 2 101 Alex Austin 394 437 3360 4191 3 103 Martin McMinn 381 1367 2880 4628 4 106 Ian Rayton 709 554 3600 4863 5 100 Alex Hood Retired 102 Stephen Forrest Retired 104 James Darrie Retired 107 Michael Grindey Retired 108 Keith Wright Retired 109 Craig Gordon 1480 Retired 110 Chris Scott 620 Retired 112 James Ballantyne Retired 113 Derek Cook Retired 114 Derek Fortune 1451 Retired 115 Michael Arnold 450 Retired 117 Liz Millett 580 Retired 118 Mark White Retired 111 Jimmy Patrick NS
 Keith Reid and his Tartan KTM |
 Jeff McCleary - plus Otterburn Injury - Nasty Collarbone |
 Ready for the off. |
 The Champ and the challengers Crawford - Derek - Grant |
 Campbell Chatham - warming up for the over 40 class next year. |
 He's back again - Alex Hood and his monster XR650. |
 Chris Stewart from Ormiston Focused. |
 The Boys from the Lake District |
 A smiling Liz Millet |
 True Blue ...... Honda CR450f Martin Mcminn |
 Jim Wightman dives into the test |
 Julian Stevens exits the test |
 Joe Gilroy flying before he lost his back tire |
 Ian Parker |
 Geoff Pennycook roosting the brown line |
 John McGaff - never without a smile |
 Duncan Jamieson showing how to ride the bogs |
 Ian Rayton - on his way to a finish |
 Derek Little charging into the test |
 Ian Parker in the test |
 Graham Smith getting the power on in the test |
 Keith Reid getting sideways in the test |
 Paul Richardson - just like home! |
 Chris Buchan going for it |
 Findlay White with Rose Patrick - timekeeper and motivator ! |
 Crawford Carrick-Anderson Flying as usual |
 John Lupton - still smiling ! |
 Brian McCleary - chief marshall - seemed to be everywhere |
 The test - looks simple - but it was the hardest this year. |
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