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2005 Championship ENDURO

Round 1 - Grampian MCC - Lossiemouth Enduro

27th march 2005

Results for Lossie 05 - click here

Report by Campbell Chatham -     Photos at the bottom of page.

Chris Hay won the Grampian Motorcycle Clubs first round of the Scottish EnduroChampionship. This event has become one of the most competitive events of the year, and confirms that the Scottish Championship is as fiercely fought as any Championship in the UK - and with 12 scheduled rounds is one of the largest.
In the Expert class and Over Forty class there was only one second between the top three or four riders in some special tests.

With the clock changing on Saturday night most riders arrived on time and the event started on a very grey day. The running order had been mixed with Sportsmen first away to allow the experts a clear run at the tests and this seemed to work. The times were slack at the start of the day but as the day wore on this was to change to a very tight schedule for the last couple of laps. All riders in all classes had to ride at special test pace to stay on time, only a few riders completed the course on time.

A new feature for 2005 was the introduction of a river crossing and some wee bogs. Usually the BAJA of the North it was a proper Scottish event with a wee bit mud thrown in .

The first special test was Johnny's trip to the seaside, there are very few opportunities to ride on sand dunes and this event provides a unique opportunity to ride in the sand. Although the sand is great fun to ride it also absorbs the riders energy and this combined with the tight time schedule makes this event more difficult than it appears at first. Although the test was 5 minutes long it still proves very competitive with Chris Hay, Crawford Carrick Anderson and Richard Hay split by only a couple of seconds. Crawford is improving at every race but he fell off on the last test which cost him the event. The second slalom test zig zagged its way across a small field with the turns in the trees and again was more difficult than it looked. It was difficult to be smooth with loose rocks making traction hard to find. Chris Hay was riding a bike which is running below par and the motor is already stripped to be rebuilt for the next event, more than one person remarked that it sounded like a bag of nails. Despite this Chris maintain consistent times on the tests to win the event overall. Richard Hay must be wondering what he has to do to catch the top riders although some of his times were spectacular. Event organiser Derek Little finished just off the podium in fourth place, he was under orders not to hurt himself as he flew out to Cyprus on Monday for his wedding next week. Murray Thomson and Grant Smith were both very consistent with Murray winning sixth place. Ricky Mair is still looking for a clean run in an event this year to prove what he is capable of ,bike troubles and a fall muted his performance. Watch out for Ricky when everything goes faultlessly for him as he is a great hope for Scotland. Paul Chatham found the going harder than he expected in the expert class and as with many riders the tight times and sandy going took its toll on his energy level as the event unfolded. Paul was happy to finish and he has learned some valuable lessons for the future.

In the Over Forty class the finishing margin was just one second between Graeme Naismith and Andy Flockhart. These two riders are enjoying the rivalry but really there was nothing between them. Andy had the upper hand on the slalom test but Graeme won the longer beach tests. Two other old rivals fought out third place with Campbell Chatham and Ian Paterson split by just two seconds. Campbell had very consistent times but Ian had provided the quicker times with a fall in the longer test handing third place to Campbell. Jim Lauder enjoyed a good day out in fourth. Stuart Livingston was back on a 200 KTM and rode a very credible race and he was unfortunate to drop a couple of minutes at the end of the day. The Webmaster Charlie MacKenzie was in a determined mood right from the start to finish this event after bike damage and a broken rib in previous Grampian events. Although he lost some time he finished the event in one piece. Jim Patrick also finished after a determined day and enjoyed the experience.

Alan Lauder won the clubman class with a special test time that would have embarrassed many of the experts. Alan will be in the over 40 class soon and the old boys are looking forward to putting him under a little more pressure than he is currently experiencing in the clubman class. George Stewart finished second on his KTM with Ian Sheddon third on his TM. Duncan McCormick finished fifth on his new KTM and Stan Peterson is picking up the pace following his broken leg nearly two years ago. Rab Moir rode with his son Robert although they did not finish it is good to see more of the younger generation taking part in enduros and we need to encourage more of these young lads to join us.

Thomas Melrose won the Sportsman class with very reasonable test times. With a slack lap time most of the riders completed the course with time to spare and I am sure they thoroughly enjoyed their day out. Matt Betts brought his big 520 KTM home second and Gordon McDonald finished third on his Honda. Jim Ballantyne finished despite his wife's worries regarding his new knee, when the doctor told him to do anything he wanted he did not know he had an entry in the Lossie enduro in mind. Finally the legend continues, Ian Bell finished the event with style and grace, there should be an over 70 class for him (In the US of A - this is the Gentlemen Racers class ) as he continues to amaze all who see him. His Yamaha with the electric start has if anything revitalised his riding and long may he continue to enjoy himself. I doubt may of us will still be riding at his age.

The Grampian events are always good fun and John Little likes as many riders as possible to reach the finish. Although the tight times have changed the characteristic of this event more riders are making the trip north and enjoying the experiance.

Thanks to Johnnie and the team lead by Clerk of the course Kevin Gauld for another great event. And a special thanks to Atholl and Caroline for travelling up from Glasgow to help with the timing.

All photos courtesy of the ever present Rosie Patrick.

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