Reports

The track at Lochhouses was frozen on Sunday morning which led to an hour and a half delay to the start while the farmer raked the whole track. Once the ground was broken up the sunshine melted the ice and softened the sand leading to perfect racing conditions for all classes. There were fewer riders than previously as there were events at Tain and Brampton although these events were cancelled and a number of additional competitors made a mad dash to East Lothian and of course the delayed start helped.

Craig Trew was out to complete his domination of this winter series and he was in no mood to concede a win to anyone since returning from the Le Touquet beach race last week winning all three races. Ryan McLean pushed as hard as he could to try and force an error from the sand master but to no avail, ultimately finishing second. Neil Chatham took the holeshot in the final race but he too could not hold off the hard charging Suzuki mounted Craig Trew. Colin McLuckie rode consistently all day now he is almost back to full fitness finishing third with George Walton fourth, Neil Chatham fifth and Drew Harvey sixth. Neil had driven all night to get to the race following a test session with the Mucci Racing team in Italy on Friday and Saturday, no sleep and riding a borrowed RMZ450 he was out to consolidate his position in the Melville Motocross series.

There was a battle royal at Lochhouses Farm on Sunday, one of the best ever. A cold cloudy wet day greeted all on Sunday morning although it did not actually rain. There was less of an atmosphere than in December although that was to change very quickly once the race started despite the relatively low entry of 125 dedicated competitors. Ecosse MX supplied a pair of goggles for the holeshot in each class.

D3 Racing’s Murray Thomson took the Ecosse Mx holeshot prize in the Expert class (He was told he had to win as he needed new goggles) with Fraser Norrie, Derek Little, Darren Carter and Drysdale Motorcycles Neil Chatham all in hot pursuit. Fraser charged through to the front and was never headed for the remainder of the first lap. Neil was within sight in second and for the next hour they swopped the lead more times than either of them could remember. There was never more than 13 seconds between them as they carved there way through the backmarkers.

 There was an extreme section for the first time at a Melville but it did not seem to slow the two young terriers as they made it look easy. Fraser stopped for fuel allowing Neil to build up a gap but with a lightening fast pit stop he was soon on his tail again. Neil managed a quick stop and re entered the track right behind Fraser although he needed another stop with Neil having enough petrol in his big tank to make it to the finish. Unbeknown to everyone Neil’s brakes had worn out with the earlier battle and he was struggling to stay ahead. It looked like Neil was going to be caught but Frasers energy was spent with the frantic pace of the early laps allowing Neil to maintain his lead after the Dennis Irvine Superbike ace refuelled. Neil could not believe it as he had considered stopping once his brakes had gone but he persevered and took his most satisfying win so far. Fraser Norrie looked exhausted but the two shook hands at the finish, they both knew they had put on a great show and they had both ridden brilliantly.

D3 Racing's Murray Thompson took the holeshot in the Expert Class from Neil Chatham although Neil passed Murray on the second corner and led for half the first lap. Tom Sagar took command at the half way point and never looked back taking the overall. Tom revelled in the excellent conditions and said that it was as good an event as he had ridden anywhere in Britain. Neil and Lee battled it out for a lap with Mark Roberts and Neil Flockhart giving chase followed by a hard charging Frazer Norrie with Allyn Scotland and Murray Thompson in their own battle. Motocrosser and Melville regular Craig Trew had problems in the early laps dropping him down the order. Lee was riding superbly in a safe second place when he failed to appear with twenty minutes remaining. Word came back to the parc ferme that he had broken his foot and he would have to head to hospital. The latest news is that he will need an operation on Tuesday, the Melville Club deeply regrets that this has happened at one of our events and everybody would like to wish him a speedy recovery. Mark Roberts worked his way up to second and stated that it was the best hare and hound course he had ridden. Neil Chatham enjoyed leading the race early on but had missed Mark overtaking him while he made his one fuel stop and consolidated his third place with Lee's exit from the race. Frazer Norrie was looking really quick in fourth with his mentor Murray Thompson not far behind in fifth place. Neil Flockhart was as high as third at one point on his new Suzuki RM250 but after hitting several trees he decided to back off a little finishing sixth.

Neil Chatham win lifts him to second in the Scottish Enduro Championship

Neil Chatham won the East Lothian Road and Trail Bike Club Scottish Enduro Championship final round at Griffin Forest near Aberfeldy on Sunday. Neil was one of only three riders who managed to clear a difficult slippery hill in the special test every lap, some times with several riders strewn over the track. This result lifts Neil to second overall Expert at the end of a season that has seen him ride in the sun and sand at the start of the season in Elgin, drop out with an eye injury in Dumfries, a visit to hospital in Selkirk for concussion but ending with three wins, more than any other rider. There have been eight different winners in eleven events making it one of the most competitive ever in the 27 years of the Championship.

‘This is the result I have been working for at the end of the season’ said Neil afterwards ‘I knew I could not win the Championship before the event so I just pushed for the win on the day to ensure second overall in the Championship. I am really please the ELRAT Club went ahead with the event despite the weather as I know they had put a lot of work into it. I would also like to thank the SACU for taking me out to help the Scottish Team at the ISDE in Portugal as I came back having learnt a lot from the experience. My Suzuki RM125 has been awesome this year and it has made a huge impact on my riding and I would like to thank Thomas Drysdale of Drysdale Motorcycles in Perth for his support this year’.

‘ I am looking forward to riding closer to home at Lochhouses Farm in the Melville motocross winter series starting on the 15th November’.

All the Experts made it round easily within the time allocated, only Allyn Scotland making a mistake on his time card and loosing valuable points as a result. The first special tests were clear of traffic and there was more grip available than the riders had expected.

The deifficulty in the test was to balance speed with caution over the rocks. At the finish the talking point was who had made it through the traffic in the later laps, with stories of the riders fighting their way past the Sportsmen.

Neil Chatham came out on top winning with the quickest times in all the tests, his confidence was up following his E1 win at the Natterjack British Enduro Championship the week before. Frazer Norrie also returning from the Natterjack with a class win and the British E1/4 Clubman Championship secured finished second, Frazers maturity at such a young age to master these tricky rock sections beggars belief. Murray Thomson who was expected to excel in these technical conditions but he was caught out trying to pass a back marker, spinning his bike around and costing him valuable time. David Vass came out to play at this round and finished fourth with Allyn Scotland with his time card error fifth.

Neil Chatham had a rollercoaster weekend culminating in 1st E1/2 and 2nd Expert overall at the Natterjack Metzeler British Enduro Championship.

Neil was feeling a little under the weather before the event and even the brilliant sunshine could not raise his spirits although once the adrenaline kicked in he was pushing as hard as ever. The first decision was whether to climb the wall in the extreme test or take the slightly longer easier route. It was decided that he would ignore the wall and push round the easier route to avoid damaging his bike or himself as a good result was the priority. The second decision was whether to do the big jump in the sandy motocross test, Neil had discussed it with Paul Edmondson and he reckoned that it could not be done on a 125 although when he was 19 he would have had a go. On the second run at the motocross test Neil cleared the jump setting his fastest time so far with Johnny Little and Jimmy Ballantyne witnessing the spectacle, they did not think he was going to make it as he was so sideways but clear it he did. At the end of the three laps Neil was leading overall by a fraction of a second and headed into the final two Enduro tests behind the Championship riders, unfortunately one of them became stuck on the logs and blocked the course for Neil, if he had gone through the tapes he would have been excluded, he had to wait until the un named rider cleared the logs costing him 16 seconds and the overall win by just 6 seconds. Third overall and second E1/2 was his best result so far although there was a little disappointment at missing out on the win.

On day two Neil was still feeling unwell and could not eat very much and two crashes in the motocross test meant an uphill struggle. Neil pulled all the energy he could muster for the final motocross test and redeemed himself setting the fastest Expert time for the day. 4th overall and 2nd E1/2 was enough to win the E1/2 class and finish second overall for the weekend. Although disappointed not to take the win he was satisfied that his special test times were up with the Championship class.

'Thanks to all my sponsors and supporters, I have progressed a great deal this year in the British Championship and I am continuing to build my experience and pace on my Suzuki. Drysdale Motorcycles have given me great support and I am now focusing on a podium finish in the Scottish Expert Championship. Thanks also to Suzuki GB, Metzeler tyres, Fox and Shell.'