5 riders from the SBEC headed south to Helmsley for the penultimate round of the NEEC championship , having been very heavy rain the night before & on the Saturday an Vinduro had been using the course it was going to be tricky conditions . At the start you were straight into the stubble field test so that got the adrenalin pumping straight away then a further 2 tests per lap after , 1 in the woods using the test they used for the BEC rounds & back into the stubble field for another test . The going was slippery to start with & there were plenty tree roots to give you no rest but got better as the day went on. 

   Alistair Millar was was riding in the Experts they were doing 4 laps & 9 tests in total , Alistair finished 5th with some pretty consistent times

   Mark Ritchie rode in the O40s & went clean on lap times & finished 8th place not bad for having a dodgy hip , knee , elbow , head

   Ben Thomson rode in Clubman E1 & finished a fantastic 2nd place in class & 3rd place out of all the Clubman classes 

   Peter Nixon rode in Clubman E2  finished the race after giving his Elbow a good workout as he gets back to fitness , Pete finished 11th & dropped only 23 mins yes that's right 23 mins 

   Lindsay Rae was also in Clubman E2 & finished in 8th place after dropping 8 mins yes only 8 mins (serious lack of fitness)

 

    Good day was had by all & well done to Dirtbike Action for another great event         Thanks Lindsay Rae

 

Paul Carlyle is away racing motorcycles in the Sahara. The Merzouga Rally takes place from the 20 to 27 October in southern Morocco. 

www.merzougarally.com is the race web-site for updates if you want to see how badly I’m doing 

http://vulcain.iritrack.net/tdcom/eviewer/merzougarally/ is the site for live tracking to laugh at me stuck in the sand 

My race number is 45 – I’ll be the dot moving more slowly than the others.

You can email Paul at paul@carlyledesertracing.com - with messages of support.

Monday - Day 1 Prologue - Safe day and no penalties. Check out his Blog  and twitter @paulcarlyle  Racing starts on Tuesday.

Tuesday - Paul up to 34th from 43rd - sounds like a tough day - watch him live on iritrack. Looked like lots of sand rocks , valleys and climbs

Wednesday - Paul tweeted - long day and some navigation errors in dunes. Dropped a few places. Looks like another planet

Thursday - starter motor failed in the dunes. Got back to Parc Ferme . Team fixed the bike leading to big time penalties

Friday - seeing how much he can make up in the final 50k stage.

 

 

Neil Chatham Under 23 E2  2013 Champion 

Neil Chatham made the long trip down to Banbury for rounds 7 and 8 of the ACU British Enduro Sprint Championship. Neil had led the class from the start of the season ..... more

2013 Husqvarna ACU British Sprint Enduro Championship, Rnds 7&8

The 2013 Husqvarna British Sprint Enduro Championship comes to a thrilling close with Matti Seistola crowned 2013 BSEC Elite champion…

The final two rounds of the 2013 Husqvarna ACU British Sprint Enduro Championship, rounds seven and eight, at Chacombe saw the crowning of all of this year’s champions. With the series moving to a new venue, the season finale saw competitors tested with a dry, fast and flowing course. Greeted with the last of the summer sun, the added heat ensured riders would have no easy run to the finish line..... More

 

Scottish Riders triumph at North of England Enduro - North Yorks

Round 8 of the North of England Championship Series, was held at Camphill Plantation just outside Masham, North Yorkshire. The typical British weather was hit and miss over the weekend with heavy rain showers and sunny spells, which caused the track for Sundays race to be greasy and like an ice rink.

With the heavy dew laid to rest over night this meant the riders were going to be put to the test.

The sun began to shine making the gloomy day a lot brighter, with the weather forecast spot on of showers and sunny spells. After a few track alterations the adults were away at 11.30am sharp.

Fraser Flockhart began to stretch a lead in the Championship class but Tom Healey was on form and keeping hot on Flockhart's heels. After building up a pace Flockhart fled away slightly forcing Healey to push. Fraser took a solid win on 14 laps 8 minutes ahead of Healey in second and David Wood in third.

Part time Scotsman Mark Ritchie was going well in the top 3 in the over 40’s however had to settle for 5^th place with 12 laps having twice to repair the exhaust of his 150 KTM after being dislodged from the port.

Bill Beattie was also running for honours in the over 50’s class right up to the last lap when the 3 hour wall hit and he was passed which left him with a solid 3^rd place result.

http://www.enduronews.com/events/camphill13.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYkKzGINLeM&feature=youtu.be

Elgin Endurance Club, National Hare & Hound, Birkenhill, 19/05/2013

 Opportunities for getting out on our bikes have been fairly thin on the ground so far this year. The traditional two opening rounds of the Scottish Enduro Championship at Lossie were given over to the British Championship, the Melville rounds in April were cancelled without reason and the SBEC Straiton round was cancelled due to a water logged course a week before it was due to run. On top of that our Championship Hare & Hound scheduled for 5^th May had to be cancelled due to the loss of our parking area. The course at Birkenhill was the venue for the BEC test that we couldn’t use due to police action at the time. Instead of the H&H, the club managed to organise a practice weekend that was well received by those who attended.

Read more .... (Thanks to Brian Donald for the report) - And a big thank you from all the riders to Kev and Barry for all their work.

Results for Sunday (forgot to put them up yesterday - sorry)  click here

Pics from Barry - click here

Click here to see how Phil made sure his bike meets legal police requirements for Elgin.

 

2013 Husqvarna ACU British Sprint Enduro Championship, Rnds 1&2

Daryl Bolter (KTM) and Matti Seistola (Husqvarna) secure Elite class victory at rounds one and two of the Husqvarna ACU British Sprint Enduro Championship at Chavenage Farm.

Enjoying near prefect weather conditions the 2013 Husqvarna British Sprint Enduro Championship got off to an exciting start at Chavenage Farm, Tetbury, Gloucester. Utilising the venue’s flowing terrain, event organisers GMC Events delivered a challenging cross-country style course that mixed high-speed ‘motocross’ style sections with technical woodlands and rolling grassy hills. More ...

Great rides from Neil Chatham (2nd under 23 day 1) and Fraser Flockhart (3rd Under 23 Day 2) - keeping the Scottish flag flying.

Check out the great - high quality Official video of round 1 and 2. Worth a watch. Click here

SBEC go racing again - True Grit

5 Riders from S.B.E.C headed to Sledmere Estate in Yorkshire on Sunday for True Grit Off Road XC 

After Heavy rain on the night before the event the track had turned pretty muddy but being Chalky base under the mud the going got easier as the race went on . The course was all in the woods & was tight going and quite rutted up after the 2 races in the morning with one little Bomb hole to get up or not at times.

the Burger van also did a great Bacon roll .

Pete Nixon was in the O40s class & finished 4th on 12 laps ( scared to run with us young guns in the clubman class)

Owen Gourlay was in Clubman E1 & finished 7th on 13 laps ( brake lever was catching on handguard for 3 laps , he was flying in the later stages of the race)

Ben Thomson was in Clubman E1 & finished 2nd on 14 laps ( would be in the top 10 overall , great going for the young 16 yr old & a Trophy for 2nd )

Lindsay Rae was in Clubman E2 & finished  12th on 11 laps ( enjoyed his day out & the Burger van)

Les Pole was in  Clubman E2  &  finished  14t h on 10 laps  ( enjoyed his day out & the Burger van also)

 Great Day out & TGOR made us very welcome

SBEC Goes racing

6 riders from SBEC headed south to North Yorkshire on Sunday to Thorp NE-XC for 3hrs racing in perfect conditions , set in the grounds of Thorp Perrow Arboretum. The youth race was run in the morning so it gave us a chance to look at the Extreme part of the course consisting of tyres & log jumps but i was keen to check out the Chicken Run , 

At 12 the flag dropped & the Championship , Experts & O40s set off at the same time , Stuart Ross was riding in Championship got 5th place ,In the O40s Mark Ritchie got 3rd place which he was happy with as he had done the same laps as the winner . Peter Nixon got 10th place in the 040s said he was so fresh after the race he could do it all again.

E1 clubmen were next away Owen Gourlay after being nearly last off the line , still managed to be 3rd into first corner , Owen got 4th place in E1 but said he may have got 3rd if it was not for a big fly getting stuck in his throat which a marshall had to remove with a pair of long nose pliers.

E2 clubmen followed Lindsay Rae was riding a wild bike for 2 laps until he got used to the power of the 250 , Lindsay now knows what a test dummy feels like after so many crashes , Lindsay got 15th

O50s & Sportsmen set off 30 mins later shorter race , Willie "Viper" Beaty on his Sherco powered Mig-28 was flying getting away to a good lead until he was seen checking out a drainage ditch for the lesser spotted newt, he remounted and took 2nd place. there was only 25 second between the top 3

 A great days racing was had by all

Thanks for the report by Lindsay Rae

 

 

Sick of the cold and wet - want to read about warm places - Brian and Colette Donald decided to take a bike trip round Europe for their 25th Anniversary. Read the full trip with pictures here. Click here (2Mb file)

 

Scots Awa

NEEC Helmsley Enduro 3rd March - quick report by Lindsay Rae

Several riders from S.B.E.C headed south of the border on the 3rd March to the first round of the NEEC championship at Helmsley

The course was run on the one used at last years BEC round , with having no rain for at least 2 weeks the course held up well with just a few tricky bits in the trees mostly roots. The test was fast & twisty through the trees , weather stayed dry & good enjoyable day was had by all

Alistair Millar rode in Experts & got 5th place  with some consistent Test times

Murray Thomson rode in the over 40s & won his class

Ally Lauder rode in the over 40s & got 7th place on his first race in a good few years

Owen Gourlay , Pete Nixon , rode in Clubman E1 coming 7th & 10th . 

Lindsay Rae & Les Pole rode in Clubman E2 coming 11th & 13th

Willie Beaty rode in the over 50s class & got 3rd place still life in the old fox

Thanks to the Pit Crew                                                                                                                                            

Ricky Mair starts his Enduro season with a long trip south

Steady Start!
 
Instead of racing at the first round of the Scottish Motocross Championship at Tain, I decided to make the long trip to Diss M.C.C Santon Enduro on Sunday 24th February. The event is held in the Muntjac area and is always a good test of how fast and fit you really are. With only 5 weeks until the BEC kicks off at Lossiemouth I needed to see how much work I had infront of me.
 
We made the 10 hour journey on Friday night and eventually arrived at the event on Saturday afternoon. This gave me enough time to walk the special test a couple of times and prepare myself for the gruelling event ahead of me.
 
This would be my first event on my race bike KTM 250 EXC and I had a few suspension and jetting settings to try out.
 
After a short ride on Sunday morning it was straight into the first special test. The test started well, riding smooth and hitting the lines I had walked the previous day up until about 2/3 of the test when my front brake started binding. It was a real mission just to stay on and I had to limp round the rest of the test. Needless to say, the test time was below par...14th! I whipped the front brake lever off and arranged for my dad to have a spare front brake assembly ready at the next check point.
 
With a bad test already on the cards, I knew it would be crucial to stay on time for the rest of the day when the times tighten up. I changed the front brake for the next lap and moved onto the second and final special test of the day. My goal for this test was to have no dramas, I knew I was never going to pull back the time I had lost already so rode smart and tried not to make any mistakes. Better this time, I was 7th but more importantly I had preserved myself and bike for the following laps.
 
The last lap tightened up by 14mins and would be the deciding factor if I could climb up the table or not.  I rode hard and the bike felt awesome with the smooth and tracticable EXC power. I cleaned the last check along with 5 other riders and finished the day 6th.
 
The day was a success, we had some problems which I'm glad happened here rather than at Lossiemouth and I know where I'm at and where I need to be. Looking forward to 5 weeks of blood, sweat and gears!!
 
Ricky Mair

Full results - click here
 
Supported by Safe Access (Highland) Ltd, Highland Temporary Works Ltd, Drysdale Motorcycles, KTM UK, Inverness Taxis, Autocare, MXM Graphics, GMX Radiators, Dunlop Tyres, Elgin Endurance Club