Race Reports

Stirling 2016 R4 Race Report By Chris Montignani

The Scottish Twinshock
Scramble Club
Round 4 Townhead Farm Stirling
Sunday 19th June 2016
Report by Chris Montignani (Monty)

Townhead Farm Stirling right in the heart of central Scotland was the chosen venue for the Scottish Twinshock Scramble to hold Round 4 of their 2016 racing championship.

This picturesque venue has the accolade of having the exquisite Stirlingshire hills as a backdrop to what was looking like another great Twinshock Scramble Club encounter. The weather previous to this round four event was not a great week weather wise although the racetrack on race day was still in excellent condition despite the heavy rain during the week. 

We eventually managed to persuade the “Suzy Perry” of the Twinshock Scramble world big Rick Caldwell to take on his old post as chief presenter for Twinshock TV’s newly appointed You Tube Channel. The initial feedback has been good on this first day of transmission, although we are always on the lookout for more ideas from club members with regards to its future content. So if you’d like to be interviewed or maybe know someone who would then just see either myself or big Rick.
Anyhow as the racing finally got underway this is what went down . . . I think!
In the combined Fourstroke / Over 50’s class Andy Malloch showed the rest of the chasing pack a clean pair of heels as he took three class wins as he headed off into the distance on his Fourstroke Rotax Armstrong to secure the overall from Sy Grieg 2nd and Kris Crawford in 3rd. In the Over 50’s Jim Grieve was equally quick and was virtually unchallenged over the three legs as he circumnavigated the grassy Stirlingshire racetrack to take the 1st place podium win on his CR 250 Honda. (Jim also informs me that he has just recently conquered Everest and is looking to repeat the feat by doing the same in this years Over 50’s championship.)
Anyhow on the day Stewart Thomson gave chase to Grieve but could not pull back the very substantial he had built from the start-line and it would finish Grieve 1st, Thomson 2nd, and Ayrshire man Archie Baird in third.

The vintage antique Pre 77 class saw some good scraps throughout the day from Craig Robertson on the 250 Suzuki and Dunoon man Grant McClure on the Maico. These two put on a good show for the many assembled spectators that had come to witness this round 4 event at Townhead Farm and they were not disappointed with an overall win for Robertson with McClure and Alan Adair filling the remaining podium spots respectively.

The Twinshock Open class was another good showing from championship leader Paul Chiappa who took three leg wins and virtually never put a wheel out of place over the course of the three moto’s. Although this was still not just another day at the office for the Dunfermline Motorcycles boss who was hounded relentlessly by Clackmannan youngster James McLean. McLean was never more than a few bike lengths from the dominating Maico of Chiappa, and although he could not just get quite near enough to make the pass he was sitting in an excellent position ready to pounce should Chiappa slip-up at any time around the course. At the chequered flag it would finish Chiappa 1st overall and McLean 2nd. Brian Allardyce also made a welcome return to Stirling after a long lay-off with injury and he was soon up to speed with a very credible final podium spot for his heroic day’s effort.

Graham Miller is beginning to be force to be reckoned with in the Twinshock Under 300cc class and is making great progress up the leader board of this year’s club championships. Miller on his 250 Husqvarna secured another round 4 event victory over second place finisher Alex Joiner on the 250 Honda. Both riders were giving it 100% over the course of the day but Miller would be very worthy of the win from Joiner in the runner-up spot.

It was fast and furious in the Evolution class as Tom Grant was in electric form around the grassy Stirlingshire landscape. Three wins from three starts was just the perfect score for what was in essence a dominating display from the Team Loudon CR 250 Honda rider. Brian Alexander did what he could over the piece to make ground on the flying Ayrshire man, although Grants relentless speed would carry him easily through to a 1-2-3 win. Matthew Harper would fill the lesser placings to finish in a credible third spot from Roy Potts in fourth. In the final Evolution race of the day there had to be a re-start due to some over enthusiastic riders jumping the gun and taking half the start gate with them, although no injuries were reported and a complete start-gate re-build soon took place.

The little two-stroke Pre 1990 Evo 125 machines could be heard from a long way off as their screaming little motors were working very hard to put the power down on the hard and bumpy Stirlingshire grassland. William Penrice took the overall win in this class from Kieran Smart second and Damian Carter third.

Possibly the best racing of the day was supplied by the combined Two-Stroke and Day Members classes as they hurtled round at breakneck speed to what was a dazzling display from their modern day motors. Lewis Farrow was a class above and totally dominated the Two-Stroke formula as he screamed his way from corner to corner on his very rapid Husqvarna 125. Among the many riders and the assembled crowds it was never hard to pick up Farrow as the leader of this group as his little Husky motor had a very unique sound of its own when it came within earshot. Farrow of course took the overall win from Andrew White second and Karl Livingstone in third.

In the Day Members class Paul “Jonty” Johnston was riding like he could have won every single race on the day with ease as he took dominating wins in this formula. He also enjoyed further success during the day riding an Archie Baird sponsored Castrol Honda in the Evolution group, although as he was not registered to race in the current 2016 championship he would not score points, nevertheless he was still excellent entertainment for the large crowd that had gathered to witness the spectacle. Brian Colligan also had a freak incident in moto 2 when the rear wheel of his bike disintegrated and totally fell apart and left him stranded trackside until a suitable replacement was located in order to return the bike to the paddock.

Another large contingent of riders filled the start gate in the Monoshock modern bike class and their cutting edge suspension was well worked as they tried to soak up the bumps and impacts of the now very bumpy Stirling racetrack. Alan Shields who was without doubt the best man overall just managed to keep DeeJay Bruce on the KTM at arm’s length long enough to secure the top spot on the podium. Greg Maxwell put in another superb performance to take third spot from Chris Wilson on the Kawasaki fourth.

Just as the final riders crossed the line for the last race of the day the heavens opened up and it was decided that it was not appropriate to have a Grand National race for this Round 4 finale. Nevertheless it was yet another superb event held at this stunning Stirlingshire track. Of course more of the same will be supplied when we visit our next round event at Dalry in early July, although unfortunately I will not be unable to attend this round due to other commitments but will return for round six at Drumclog.

Finally Fiona Colligan informs me that she is in the process of putting together groups of riders for photo’s that will eventually be made into a calendar for sale for a charity at the end of the year. I know we tried this before and it never came to fruition but I think that was because we wanted riders to get their gear off and be photographed in the “skuddy”. But this time it will be much more family oriented with mainly groups of riders and some bikes, so if your interested let Fiona know.

See you at Round 6 Drumclog.
Monty

Thursday, March 28, 2024
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