Here is my report from the first round of the Motul British Enduro Championship.

There was a large turnout of Scottish riders at this years event. A complete white out greeted all the competitors at Thetford Forest for the first round of the Motul British Enduro Championship. Severe snow storms on Friday morning covered the area in an inch of snow, the organisers had to consider a C schedule for a track covered in snow and ice. Luckily the temperature rose and the snow cleared except a light covering overnight.

There was some ice on the forest roads and unfortunately it caught out Ricky Mair on the second and very tight check. Ricky cannot remember what happened, a trip to the hospital ruled him out of the running for Sunday. Chris Hay crashed in the same spot and bruised his hip and broke his triple clamps with obvious effects to his bikes handling and his own confidence on his new 250cc machine. Chris managed a credible 14th place finish despite his problems and was happy to finish the first day. On day two he finished in 11th place and was starting to 'chime in' on the E2 class machine. Kevin Murray finished one place higher in the overall standings in 11th place when the dust settled.   

Euan McConnell had no such problems on his return to full time employment reaching as high as third place behind his  employer, Paul Edmondson, before finally dropping to fourth place overall for the weekend. His sabbatical has helped recharged his enthusiasm for the sport. Richard Hay put up some quick times but he was not happy with the overall result but he did enjoy the event with his family in support.

In the Expert class Crawford Carrick Anderson had a annoying time as his back brake faded intermittently. As the weekend went on he did not know whether his back brake would work or not. In these conditions it made life very difficult for him and you have to wonder if he would have won had he not had this problem. Reading his expression on Saturday night I think he was extremely frustrated. 4th place was his reward for a determined ride.

Alastair Lauder on his 525 KTM started cautiously on Saturday, and finished 5th on Sunday.

Murray Thomson had a consistent run and thoroughly enjoyed the event with Grant Smith one place behind in 30th place in this very competitive class. Jeff McCleary finished in 40th place and is improving as he gains experience in the longer events. Malcolm Bissett was pleased to finish 62nd after dropping a minute but he had enjoyed the experience.

Paul Chatham went to the Brecklands with one goal, to win the E1 Clubman class and in doing so won the Clubman class overall. It did not look that way initially as he was in second place until the last test on the second day.  Ashley Wood had led the first day but crashed in the final test. Paul had to ride consistently fast and not throw the event away. He won ahead of British Clubman Champion Graeme Naismith by 2 seconds. Graeme could console himself with the honours for best over 40 by some margin. Alan Lauder visited the event last year and decided to have a go himself this year.On day one he was blocked by a rider in the test who did not understand his Anglo Saxon expletives. He was pleased with his performance and worries about carburettor problems were unfounded as he finished 7th. Douglas Page also went along for the ride and finished 88th. This will possibly be the last event at this location which would be a terrible loss for the sport as this event is the highlight of the year to many riders. This event has been extremely well organised and I would wish the Diss Club every success in finding a new location. I am sure many Scottish riders would be happy to make the long trip south again next year.

Yours in sport

Campbell Chatham