ORKNEY MOTOCROSS CLUB

Northfield, Burray was the venue for the 1st cup meeting. The riders were racing for the River Dee and Don cups. We once again had a good turnout of bikes, making for three rounds of fast and furious racing. The demanding track saw many riders take a tumble or two. ‘The dirty hole’ as described by the riders, proved to be the downfall of many and may have been the deciding factor in a few race results. Well, with the sun shining, riders and spectators at the ready, the juniors took to the line. 

  The five junior riders treated us to some good racing, working hard and learning some new skills. Connor Spence had a couple of good starts. George Bailey, once he had found his way, got some good speed on. Jake Flett was also having a good days racing. Jake was kept battling with Gregor Dowell and Ryan Watt. Ryan went on to be the winner of the day, taking the cup.

Top three places of the day:

1. Ryan Watt - 30 points.

2. Gregor Dowell - 28 points.

3. Jake Flett - 24 points.

  Next up were the schoolboys. Senior and intermediates racing together. As usual this group put on a good show. Michael Harvey had the best of things on the day for the seniors. James Brown, Alex Tait and Kevin Johnston all showed us some good moves and kept Michael on his guard, as one wrong move from him, and they were there to pounce. A couple of the riders seemed to be fond of the ‘dirty hole’. We saw Nicholas Taylor and Ross Miller lie down in it a few times. Michael, with three wins took the cup for the seniors. Aiden Cursiter and Scott Smith were battling it out in the intermediates. Both were going well, but it was Aiden with three wins who took the cup. 

Top three places of the day:

Seniors - 

1. Michael Harvey - 36 points.

2. James Brown - 30 points.

3. Alex Tait - 22 points.

Intermediates - 

1. Aiden Cursiter - 36 points.

2. Scott Smith - 30 points.

  We had eight C league riders on the day. Andrew Adamson had a good days racing with two of the three wins. Darren Prestwood, pushing him hard, took the third win. We saw the ‘dirty hole’ claim a few victims. Poor Andrew Johnston got trapped under his bike. Thanks to a couple of spectators he managed to finish. Andrew Adamson took the cup.

Top three places of the day:

1. Andrew Adamson - 34 points.

2. Darren Prestwood - 32 points.

3. Graham Nicolson - 22 points.

  The biggest turnout of bikes, the B league we up next. The starting line was an extremely tight squeeze, as was the first corner. This led to some exciting starts as no one wanted to be squeezed out. The first few laps of all three races were just a blur of bikes, until some space was pulled out. We saw some great racing here, with a win each for Leigh Mowat, Kevin Breck, and Ronnie Breck. Christopher Craigie, whilst on his bike, went well. William Sabiston, Paul Miller, Alex Brown and Derek Irvine also amassed some useful points. The dreaded ‘dirty hole’ had its fair share of victims in this group also. Leigh Mowat’s consistent riding saw him take the cup.

Top three places of the day:

1. Leigh Mowat - 30 points.

2. Ronnie Breck - 28 points.

3. Kevin Breck - 22 points.

  Finally, the top group of riders, the A league were on the line. There was a lot of fast racing in these three races. John Marshall, our reigning club champion, was flying over the track, making it look easy. Mark Garson in the first couple of races fell foul of the ‘dirty hole’ and left himself with everything to do. With good skills, he pulled himself back into second in the first race. David Henning must have had plenty of bananas, as he racked up two second places. Tony Leask’s days racing ended with a broken chain. Graham Thompson also had a good day, managing to finish all his races. Stewart Craigie started well in the first two races, but lack of bike fitness saw him retire for the day. John, getting maximum points, took the cup.

Top three places of the day:

1. John Marshall - 36 points.

2. David Henning - 27 points.

Mark Garson - 25 points.

  After a just for fun grand slam it was all over and time to get home. I was exhausted just watching. Thanks to Magnus Spence for the use of the track. Thanks also to the lap scorers and marshals. We will be back at Northfield this Sunday 1st May for round 2 in the points. Riders remember to fully charge your transponders. Come along and enjoy more great racing.

P.S & N.S.