Classic Dirt Bike — Autumn 2017

W

ord goingroundthe paddockat

the ScottishGrandNationalMX

wwaassaalloonnggtthheelliinneessooff“wwhhaatt

afantasticsetting...”and

it certainlywasagreat placeto hold a

scramble.Laid out by the ScottishClassic

RacingMotorcycleClub’sscramblessection,

the trackwasnot particularly technicalbut

providedlots of closeracingwith fewspills

and agreat weekend for competitorsand

spectatorsalike.

CDBonly managedone day–Sunday–

whichwasfine, warm and sunny, though

aappppaarreennttllyySSaattuurrddaayyhhaaddssoommeeiinntteerreessttiinngg

weather.Inany case,the trackwasinprime

conditionthanksto the rain, with morethan

one rider saying how dustyit wouldhave

beenotherwise.

Ridersfrom several Europeancountries

such as Belgium,France and Eire, plus a

fewcomingfurther afield from the USA and

Australia,joinedafull contingentof Scottish

aannddEEnngglliisshhrriiddeerrss..OOnnhhaannddttoommiinnggllee,,mmiixx

and presentan award or two at the end was

former world MX championGrahamNoyce.

The racingwassplit up into popular

classesof pre-68unlimited,pre-75unlimited,

twinshock 60+ chancers, twinshockover

50 s,twinshockunder 5 0sandacoupleof

teamraces.

Oncethelastrider ofaracecrossedthe

line,thenextracewasonthe gridwaiting

forstarterDarrenHudsontodropthe

gates.Whatfollowedwhenhedidwas

either 10 or 12 minutesplusonelap

ofracingandthedifferencebeing

dependentontheparticularclass.

Thoughthefasterridersineach

race soonpulledawayfromthe

pack that didn’tmeantheracing

wasany lesscompetitivefurther

downthefieldastherewasas

muchactionin 10 thplaceas

therewasforfirst.

Intheend,thelastrace

Scottish Classic

GRAND

NATIONA

July 15 / 16 , 2017 – DrumlanrigCastle,DumfriesandGalloway

Words:Tim Britton Pics:FionaWatson

Edinburgh’s Gavin

Robertsongetshis

weightwellupfront

onhis 490 Maico.

Andthey’reoff...the

gatedropsonthePre- 75

unlimitedrace.

AL

Sporting

action

58

058 Sport_044.indd 58 01/08/201712:56:10