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2005 Championship ENDURO

Round 5 and 6  - Melville MC Yarrowford - Selkirk

23rd/24th July 2005

Results for Selkirk Sunday - click here

Day 1

Ian Bell passed away on the course during his first lap with a suspected heart attack. Ian Bell was a seven time Scottish Scrambles Champion and a Gentleman racer. He will be greatly missed by his motorcycling friends he left behind.
The organisers had to abandon the event to allow the emergency services access to the scene.
The Melville Motor Club and Ian’s family would like to thank the riders and emergency services who tried in vain to revive Ian. The Club would also like to thank Kenny Donaldson, Campbell Chatham, the ladies at the checks and the Marshals for their part on this difficult day.

Day 2

The Club was given consent by Ian’s family to go ahead with the second day of competition. Just before a short speech by Campbell Chatham and a minutes silence there was an unexpected flypast by the The Red Arrows, there could not have been a more fitting tribute to the Grandfather of Scottish off road motorcycling.

The weather was perfect and all the riders were looking forward to one of the best events of the year. Many of the riders chose to wear black armbands as a mark of respect.

The course was fantastic, although some riders found the special test quite tricky until a clear line and berms built up. There was a mixture of wide-open moors and some narrow forest tracks. The brave riders were able to get completely air born over the smooth flowing hills.

Richard Hay emerged as the winner overall although Grant Smith had pushed him all the way until the final test. Richard must have pulled out all the stops to win by six seconds. Mark Godfrey travelled up from the south to finish an excellent third. Derek Little finished fourth with the two young guns Scott Maxwell and Paul Chatham just behind in their first year in the Expert Class. Murray Thomson was subdued following a fall in his final special test but his result places him at the head of the Championship table.

Andrew Flockhart continued his current run at the top of the Over 40 Class with another win over arch rival Ian Paterson. Ian finished second despite a few moments spent winding himself up before starting each special test. Sean Woolley was delighted to finish third despite a fall on his second test. Campbell Chatham was disappointed to miss out on third place by just one second although he had a very enjoyable day. Campbell was relieved that the day went ahead without any major incidents. Alex Kirk and Kenny Donaldson rode together for most of the day as they had when they set up the course, finishing 4th and 7th respectively.

The Clubman Class was won by Alan Lauder who is now leading the Clubman Championship by 28 points. Allyn Scotland must be disappointed that he missed the Newton Stewart round as he would be closer to the top of the Championship if Sunday’s performance is anything to go by. There is still hope if he competes at every round until the end of the season. Paul Scott was back on form with a great ride to third place. Paul was delighted that the event went ahead. Gavin Douglas was fourth and Stuart Young fifth.

Matt Betts won the Sportsman Class by 20 seconds with Scott Harvey second and Graham Barron just 2 seconds behind in third. David Fergus was forth and Garry Scotland fifth. Garry wins the James Young Memorial Trophy for the fastest special test time by an under 25 year old Sportsman. This new Trophy will be presented at the Melvlille Motor Club Annual Diner Dance.

A few snippets from the pits –

The gentleman wearing the lovely hand knitted woolly jumper for the entire days racing was Brian Eland – who beat the ladies in the village hall down from £2 to £1 for it– and there was some talk of a bet about him wearing it. Very stylish – if not as hard wearing as his normal race shirt. I don’t think he was able to resell it at the end for a £1 – but he did try !
Two riders were seen struggling to get a tire changed mid race – the problem – they were struggling to fit an 18” tube onto a 19” rim. They managed and with time to spare – well done lads.
One bit of advice – if you cable tie your tool bag to the handle bars – DO NOT tie the brake hose as well – it will last about ½ a lap. And this was one course you did not want to lose your brakes on. April Marr also lost her brakes and did well to get back to the pits in one piece.
Barry Davis No 36 was unfortunate enough to fall off his bike – and then get trapped under it beneath a working electric fence. It may only be 12 volts – but it still stings !

Thanks to the Melville Club for another superb event – flat out all day and no rain! It takes a lot of work before and during the event to organise the races. For those of you who have never helped set out or help at an event – speak to the organisers or your club secretary and offer a hand next time. The more helpers we have the more events we will have.

Thanks to Stu Young and Shug for the pics

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