NEWS . . .

• SACU Bulletin: 06/2009
• SACU Bulletin: 05/2009
• SACU Bulletin: 04/2009
• SACU Bulletin: 03/2009
• SACU Bulletin: 02/2009
• SACU Bulletin: 01/2009

• Latest Motocross News
• Latest Quad News
• Latest Trials News
• Latest Road Race News
• Latest Enduro News

SACU BULLETIN - No. 06/2009

1) SACU SEMINARS
We have written out to all those officials whose certificates are due to expire next year to remind them to re apply through their respective clubs in good time. We must also however at this time of the year give the customary request to all clubs to consider if any of their officials need/wish to attend the seminars early in 2010. A sample application form is enclosed and if more are required either photocopy or request further supplies from the office. Club secretaries should countersign applications. In the Bulletin dated 12 December 1996 it was intimated that clubs organising National events must staff these events with certificated officials, otherwise permits may be withdrawn. Officials requiring certification will be Clerk of Course, Secretary of Meeting, Technical Officer, Chief Marshall and Club Steward. Clubs should state the names of the officials and their certificate number on event regulations and club secretaries should ensure that all club members organising events are made aware of these conditions. Particular reference is made to the Clerk of Course who is the Chief Executive Official and under whose direction the other event officials may be appointed according to the type of competition. (National Sporting Code 5.02).

ROAD RACE SEMINAR SUNDAY 24 JANUARY 2010
TRIALS SEMINAR SATURDAY 30 JANUARY 2010
ENDURO SEMINAR SUNDAY 31 JANUARY 2010
QUAD SEMINAR SUNDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2010
MOTOCROSS SEMINARS WILL BE ARRANGED DURING THE YEAR BY R DUNCAN AS THE NEED ARISES

2) FIXTURES LIST
Enclosed herewith is a copy of the SACU Contact List for 2010. In addition to the contact list I am also enclosing separate lists of the dates for all the Championship and National events by discipline. Regarding the issue of licences, only the dates for the discipline applied for will be issued with the licence however the full dates list for all disciplines will be available, in due course, in booklet form as well as on our website.

3) ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP FEE
There are still a number of clubs who have yet to submit their annual membership fee (£50.00) and their membership list. It is essential that clubs submit a list of the names and addresses of their members as the number of members declared on the list will determine the number of votes allocated to each club at the AGM. Failure to submit a return by the due date will result in no nominations being accepted nor any votes being allocated. It also follows that there will be no permits issued and the issue of licences will be delayed until the fee and the membership list are received. The absolute closing date for the receipt of the membership fees & lists has been set at 31 DECEMBER 2009.

4) 2009 AWARD WINNERS – See attached sheet re the presentation of awards.

5) INSURANCE 2010
We have recently had our annual meeting with our Insurers, Lockton International, and it has been confirmed that there will be no change to the premiums for 2010.

6) RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR 2010
I am enclosing with this bulletin the Rules and Regulations for all the disciplines – as usual the SACU Rules and Regulations will be printed on coloured paper with the licences. We need to remind committees that the SACU Rules and Regulations are sanctioned by Insurers before the season starts and we cannot take on board any changes to these rules mid year. To do that we would need to get further approval from the Insurers and then re-issue them to those licence holders who were issued with the old Rules & Regulations.

7) ARRANGEMENTS FOR AGM
It was agreed at a management meeting earlier this year that the documentation to support the AGM should be separate from the normal bulletin in the hope that it will be more visible to the bulletin recipients. The appropriate paperwork is now attached under cover of a separate letter from E Jones.

8) SACU REPORT FROM R REID
We have been asked from several sources who are mainly involved with the competitive side of the SACU, to explain in detail what has been achieved so far and what value does the support from Bob Reid bring to the SACU. I am therefore enclosing a full report from him based on a request from A Shand seeking such information. Clubs and officials who have little or no involvement at all in the non competitive side of the SACU may not be aware that he has taken on board a lot of work, particularly in dealing with Local Authority Planning Legislation which will ultimately be of benefit to the competitive side – further details of this can be found in the report. The report unfortunately has to be fairly lengthy so that no one is left in any doubt about the amount of work that Bob Reid has given to the initiative and it is hoped that clubs and officials will now begin to appreciate the many complex issues that the SACU is having to deal with.

9) SACU HEADED PAPER
There have been instances recently where SACU headed paper has been used by individuals and neither the office staff nor the directors were aware of such correspondence being issued. The directors have asked that this practice now stops and that if individuals require to communicate on SACU headed paper then sanction must be obtained first from the SACU office.

10) KNOCKHILL MOTOR SPORTS CLUB
An application has been received from the above club for affiliation to the SACU. It is customary that such applications be tabled for one month to allow clubs to submit comments on the application. The closing date for the receipt of comments is 7 January 2010.

11) OFFICE CLOSURE OVER THE FESTIVE PERIOD
The SACU office will close on Wednesday 23 December (early!) and re-open for business on Wednesday 6 January. Eric, Stella, Ann and myself wish you all the compliments of the season.

SACU BULLETIN - No. 05/2009

l) FIXTURES LIST
We are still awaiting further dates for Motocross however I am enclosing the up to date list of dates received so far. Please remember that permits will not be granted for the AGM, Remembrance Sunday or the Awards Ceremony. The full list of approved dates will hopefully be included in the next bulletin and from 1 December the fixtures list will as usual be issued along with the licences. Please remind the riders when they are asking for their licence application forms to keep referring to our website for up to date information - www.sacu.co.uk. As intimated in the last bulletin the absolute closing date for the receipt of the national dates is 16th November.

2) CLUB MEMBERSHIP FEES
Once again the annual fee for membership of the SACU will be £50.00 and this needs to be submitted to the SACU before 1 December 2009. ALL clubs are required to submit, with the fee, a full list of all club members detailing their names and addresses. There is a real constitutional need for this return as the voting system at the AGM is based on club member numbers. Failure to submit the membership return and the annual fee will attract the same penalties as has been imposed in the past for the non-payment of capitation fees i.e. no permits insurance etc. We do however recognise that there are a number of smaller clubs of under 10 members who do not run any events and that the registration fee may give them problems. Management are once again prepared to look at a reduced fee in certain circumstances and these clubs will need to write in to the office explaining their circumstances and seeking a reduced registration fee.

3) LICENCE FEES
The ACU has now confirmed that there will he no change to their licence fees for 2010 apart from the schoolperson new start where it will be £25.00 for the first year. I am enclosing the new licence application forms for next year. Please destroy the existing forms as they are now out of date. It has been agreed by management that there will be no one event licences issued to National and Championship events - only closed to club. There are however a very small number of one off events e.g. the Thornhill scramble and the Rest & Be Thankful trial where one event licences can still be taken out. For clubs wishing the licence forms on line please e-mail the office. Please bear in mind however that the youth licence form needs as usual to be printed on green paper. All SACU Bulletin recipients will as normal receive a hard copy of the ACU handbook and it has once again been agreed that all licence holders will receive their handbook on CD format. If any licence holders wish a hard copy of the handbook then they will either need to write or telephone the office.

4) RULES AND REGULATIONS
A full set of Rules and regulations for all disciplines will be issued with the next bulletin. Some of the committees still have changes to make.

5) COMMITTEE VACANCIES
The next bulletin will be calling for nominations to committees and as some clubs are now beginning to arrange their AGMs it is felt appropriate that a reminder should also be included in this bulletin to ensure that the subject of SACU committee nominations are brought to the attention of club members. It is very clear that the business of the SACU is becoming more complex and requires committee members to bring with them supplementary qualities necessary to enhance the ability of committees to make rational business decisions. Membership of committees can no longer afford to attract candidates solely on the basis of long term service to the sport - we now need additional dedicated expertise to take the sport forward. We also now urgently need young blood - there are too many greybeards about and that includes the ex office manager!

6) DATES CHANGES
I would also once again like to mention in this bulletin the problems I have been having this year with clubs failing to inform the office of an event cancellation or change of date. This has also a knock on effect to the website and riders have been complaining about the information being incorrect. We all need to tighten up on this and it is essential that the office is advised, preferably before the event, of any changes. Clubs should advise the office of the event cancellation on the Monday following the event - failure to do so will result in the permit costs not being refunded nor transferred to a later date. I am also attaching with this bulletin the 2010 permit application form. This form can also be issued by e=-mail and any club secretary wishing the form by electronic means please let the office know.

7) INSURANCE ISSUES
Lockton's are due to visit us in November to renew our annual contract. Some of you will be hearing about initiatives that the ACU are considering not least about them, as a company, building up their own insurance reserves. Given the comparison in the difference of the number of riders between the ACU and the SACU it would not be possible for the SACU to match their actions. We will be seeking the status quo as regards the level of payments to be paid to the Insurers. If we are successful then it would be 4 years since the insurance premiums have been increased. I would also like to take this opportunity to remind all clubs about ensuring that officials are signed on before each event. Where the official uses a motorcycle for the purposes of assisting then a helmet MUST be worn otherwise there will be no insurance coverage. If the official does not want to wear a helmet then, for insurance purposes, he is regarded as being not signed on for the event. There have been some claims this year where I felt that claims were taking a bit longer to settle. The SACU office cannot be involved in such claims due to their personal nature however if you know of any rider or official who has submitted a claim and it has taken a while to process please let me know and I shall speak to Lockton's about it.

8) COACH TRAINING
I mentioned in the last bulletin about coach training. We have now decided on 2 dates the first will be on 2 December to cover applicants from the North of Scotland and the second on 6 February next year at the SACU Office. Regarding the North of Scotland seminar, until we know the number of applicants and from where they reside we shall then be able to arrange a suitable location. Anyone wishing to apply for coach training should contact his or her discipline chairman for an application form. Applicants will be notified individually in due course regarding the final arrangements. Club Secretaries should make their members aware of this training.

9)   ACU LICENCE SUSPENSIONS
The ACU have informed us that the undernoted riders have had their licences suspended for 12 months:-

   M McEvoy Lic No 83847 a motocross rider from Romsey
   A Cowshall Lic No 114845 a motocross rider from Salisbury.

SACU BULLETIN - No. 04/2009

1) DATES CALENDAR 2010
I enclose herewith the dates that have been submitted for 2010 for the various disciplines. There is likely to be a delay
once again getting the Motocross dates and the setting of the Road Race dates are also likely to be delayed. There is very little that the clubs can do about this as we are so dependant on International dates, then British dates and then finally the commercial circuit dates being set first. You will see that some clubs have also managed to submit their requests for National dates and these are included for information. Because of the delays management have agreed that we can therefore delay the submission of the National dates. Can I now ask those clubs who have yet to do so to ensure that their submissions as regards the National dates reach the office no later than Monday 16^th November 2009.

2) LICENCE FEES FOR 2010
Management have agreed that the licence cost for 2009 should remain at the same level for 2010 apart from schoolperson new starts where we would align with the ACU fee of £25.00. However if the ACU do increase their other licence fees then agreement was also reached that we match their fees (Note: just after this Bulletin was issued we received confirmation that the ACU will not increase their licence fees in 2010).The ACU are due to meet at the end of the month and we should be in a position to confirm the fees in the next bulletin. Revised application forms will be issued with the next bulletin. There are also a couple of issues outstanding for 2010 with the one event licence system and we shall also confirm the situation in the next bulletin.

3) LICENCE SUSPENSION.
The suspension against the undernoted competitor has now been lifted
Richard Ellis a Road Race competitor (ACU Lic No 111706) from Stockton on Tees.

The following competitor’s licence has been suspended until further notice
R H Harrison an Enduro competitor (ACU Lic No 138963) from Cardiff

4) AWARDS CEREMONY
We wrote to all clubs recently seeking names for Lifetime Achievement awards – would those clubs wishing to nominate please return their forms by the 5th October. Any nominations received after that date will not be considered.

5) TRIALS PRESS RELEASE
I am also enclosing a press release prepared by John Moffat dealing with the 2010 Trials Championships. (see Trials News on this page)

6) PROCEDURES FOR RECRUITMENT AND USE OF COACHES
Applicants for coach training should submit their names to the appropriate discipline chairman (who also have a supply of application forms). He will agree their suitability and endorse their application form. The office will then confirm the procedures to the applicant and advise the Head Coach (A Russell). The candidate at the same time should arrange for basic first aid training. After the coach training the Head Coach will confirm their status to the office and when the first aid certificate is received a pass will be issued and the coach is then available to undertake training. Clubs then set up training days (in the normal way of applying for a permit) nominating the coach(es) to be used. This scheme is basically set up to provide an inexpensive system to train riders from basic level up to Scottish National level of skill and is covered by our Insurers for that purpose. It is not intended to provide commercial coaches who profess to train to international level. It is our intention to hold 2 coaching seminars one at the beginning of December covering the North of Scotland and one at the beginning of February next year to cover the South. Further details will be announced regarding location and dates etc when we know how many applications have been submitted.

SACU BULLETIN - No. 03/2009

The time has once again come round for the submission of dates' applications to allow the compilation of the Fixtures List for 2010.

1) SCOTTISH CHAMPIONSHIP DATES:
It is essential that all returns reach the office no later than FRlDAY18th SEPTEMBER 2009. These will be approved or rejected early the following week and I hope to post out the provisional list of Championship dates within a few days thereafter. The GREEN coloured sheet should be used for CHAMPIONSHIP events only. The pre65 trial at Kinlochleven has been set for 30 April -1 May and the SSDT 2-9 May 2010.

2) NATIONAL AND NATIONAL RESTRICTED DATES: These dates should be arranged around the approved list of Championship dates and your requirements sent to reach the office no later than FRIDAY 16th OCTOBER 2009. Again it is hoped that the National dates will be sorted out, approved and despatched to clubs by return. The PINK coloured sheet is to be used for NATIONAL AND NATIONAL RESTRICTED dates.

3) REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY/AWARDS CEREMONY/AGM.

Remembrance Sunday 8 November 2009
Awards Ceremony 29 November 2009
AGM 28 February 2010

As in previous years Management have decided that no permits will be issued for the above days.
The Awards Ceremony this year has a change of venue. It is to held at Motherwell Concert Hall & Theatre, Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street, Motherwell. ML1 1AB starting at he usual time of lpm.

4) CLUB CONTACT:
Please complete and return the annex attached to this bulletin regarding your contact details for the Fixtures list/website for 2010. I would be grateful if the form could be returned by the end of September.

5) PERMIT FEES 2010:
You will see that at the foot of the application forms there are the details of the permit fee rates for 2010 and each event application MUST be accompanied with the appropriate fee. The Directors have agreed that the permit fees will remain the same as the 2009 rates.

6) REDUCTION OF LICENCE FEES FROM 1 SEPTEMBER 2009:
All Licences: £20.00, School Persons Trials D Class £10.00. As regards the licence fees for next year it is hoped to publish the new rates in the next bulletin.

7) ENVIRONMENTAL SEMINAR:
Mr Jim West has offered to hold a Environmental Seminar in the SACU Office, Uphall on 12th September 2009 the form for this has already been sent to Clubs for return as soon as possible. Only names on these returned forms will be considered for this seminar.

8) NOISE METERS:
Any Clubs with Noise Meters are asked to send these back to the office annually, I would suggest after the main National and Championship events are finished, so they can be calibrated in accordance with manufacturers instructions to ensure accuracy of results. This will be done free of charge.

9) GAMBLING LICENCE:
I have applied to the West Lothian Council for a Gaming Licence which will allow all SACU Affiliated Clubs to sell Raffle Tickets to the public to put towards their funds.

10) DISCLOSURE SCOTLAND:
Has been applied for and just waiting on all the paperwork coming through. I will be in touch with everyone as soon as everything is passed.

11) BO'NESS HILL CLIMB:
An application for affiliation has been received in the office from the above club. All clubs now have the opportunity to comment on the proposed affiliation and comments should reach the office no later than Friday 4th September 2009.

SACU BULLETIN - No. 02/2009

1) SACU RIDERS NEWSLETTER

I am enclosing with this Bulletin your copy of the next rider’s newsletter. Once again very many thanks to our Editor in Chief Charlie Mackenzie. There is also enclosed a flyer advertising the Grampian Motorcycle Convention at Alford on 6^th September. Please support it if you can – it looks to being a very enjoyable day and the Bon Accord Club is one of the joint organisers.

2) FORESTRY COMMISSION AGREEMENT

I am attaching a table which details the Forestry Commission charges for 2009 for Trials & Enduro. There has been a 4.2% increase to the 2008 rates.

3) PERMIT APPLICATION FORM 2009

I am enclosing a revised permit application form for 2009. There is now a space for the name of the trainer/coach where a training permit is being applied for an also a space for the name of the Child Protection Officer.

4) COMMITTEE CO-OPTIONS

First Name	Last Name	Appointment type	Address	Town	Post Code	Home Phone
TRACY	THOMSON	ENDURO	LOGANSLAND	GARVALD	EH41 4LN	01620 830621
GARY	BOYD	QUADS	6 PARK AVENUE	KILWINNING	KA13 7AD	01294 557821
GRAHAM	BARRON	ENDURO	MILL OF BARRAS COTTAGE, BARRAS	STONEHAVEN	AB39 2UB	01569 750340

5) CHILD PROTECTION
I am in the process of registering the SACU with the Central Register Body of Scotland for Disclosures. I will be the Co-ordinator and Child Protection Officer for the SACU. As soon as this is done I will be sending out Guidelines on ‘updated’ Child Protection Policies to all affiliated Clubs. So please bear with me, as this all takes time to set up, but at least the forms have all been completed and sent off. Hopefully I should have all the information required within a couple of weeks.

6) ONE EVENT LICENCES
It is essential that the reverse of the licence application forms, especially the medical declaration part, are completed on the day of the event where a one event licence has been taken out. We are also now getting multiple one event licences could club secretaries try to persuade such riders to upgrade to a full licence.

Can all Clubs please note that from 2010 there will be NO ONE EVENT LICENCES ISSUED at NATIONAL LEVEL. Only Closed to Club events will be able to offer One Event Licences. The Directors are however considering a dispensation on some National Events, will keep you posted.

7) ROAD RACE QUALIFIER LICENCES
Road Race licence holders who hold a qualifying licence can now get insurance to ride in Ireland but in support classes only.

8) AWARDS CEREMONY 2009
The awards ceremony is fast approaching and this year’s preparations have already started. A new venue has been booked this year at the Motherwell Concert Hall & Theatre, Civic Centre, Windmillhill St., MOTHERWELL. The 2 Guests of Honour are Ewan Buchan and Donnie Mcleod who were very happy at being asked. Both are experienced in Road Race, Motocross, Enduro and Trials also some Supermoto.

This year takes a different approach, 2 free tickets will be allocated to each Champion and if more tickets are required they will cost £x. (still to be decided).

I have enclosed a Life Time Achievements nominations sheet, can I ask Clubs to put names forward for this year. I ask this early for nominations, as it will give the Awards Committee time to go through the lists.

9) LEISURE & RECREATION
See attached letter from Bob Reid, Director of Leisure & Recreation

SACU BULLETIN - No. 01/2009

1) INSURANCE ARRANGEMENTS FOR 2009

We have now concluded our negotiations with Lockton's and the result is that event premiums will remain the same as in 2008. This is now the Fourth year in a row that we have kept the premiums at the same level and clearly the effort by officials in ensuring that our events are run in a safe manner is certainly giving dividends. We are regularly being charged to keep in line with the ACU and I hope that this example of the SACU determining its own finances will prove that the SACU is doing its best for the riders. With this bulletin I am also enclosing the Annual Public Liability Statement from Lockton's to cover the period from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2009.

2) ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The AGM was held in the Kaimpark Hotel, Bathgate, on 22nd February where 33 delegates attended. The successful nominations for the various committees were as follows:

●	VICE CHAIRMAN	A SHAND	3 YEARS
	VICE PRESIDENT	I SCRIMGEOUR
	(No voting required)

●	QUADS	J NEILL	3 YEARS
		I CLARK	3 YEARS
		K HADDEN	3 YEARS
	(No voting necessary - all candidates successful)

●	ENDURO	S LIVINGSTONE	3 YEARS
	(No voting necessary - only the one candidate for 4 vacancies)

●	TRIALS	A SCOTT	3 YEARS
		J MOFFAT	3 YEARS
		A MILLER	3 YEARS
	(No voting necessary - all candidates successful)

●	YMX	D CAMPBELL	3 YEARS
	(No voting necessary - only the one candidate for 7 vacancies)

●	MOTOCROSS	R DUNCAN	3 YEARS
		E BEATON	3 YEARS
		A MACDONALD	3 YEARS
		R GRAY	2 YEARS
		M GRANT	2 YEARS
		R BIRD	2 YEARS
	(There were originally seven candidates from which one dropped out before the AGM thus leaving 6 candidates for 6 posts. Voting was necessary to determine the periods of service)

There was also a proposal from the Kirkcaldy & District MC Ltd seeking an alteration to item 5c of the Rules and Regulations. This proposal was rejected.

I am attaching a list which details the names and telephone numbers of the members of each committee. This list may not be fully complete as there is likely to be further committee co-options which will be notified in later bulletins. Could members please advise the office of any changes required. The SACU accounts, a copy of which is enclosed for club secretaries, were explained as usual in great detail by Malcolm Marshall, Treasurer.

A Brownlie reported a very good year once again for fund raising and thanked all for their efforts on making the SACU one of the strongest contributors in the UK. A copy of his handout is enclosed.

3) HANDBOOK
As usual at this time of year I am enclosing your complementary copy of the ACU Handbook. The cost of the handbook is £8.00 and postage of £ 1.50 should you wish further copies.

4) LICENCE SUSP'ENSION
The MCUI has informed us that one of their motocross licence holder's has been suspended for 1 year. He is Mark Donelly of 134 Greencastle Road, Omagh.

5) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR OFF ROAD PRACTICE EVENTS
I am also enclosing a note which details the necessary arrangements to be put into place for such practice events.

6) SACU ENVIRONMENTAL CODE
I am also attaching a small information leaflet titled "The SACU Environmental Code". This leaflet has been produced free courtesy of the North Lanarkshire Council and Scottish Natural Heritage. It is intended that the leaflet will be included with the issue of licences. Should anyone wish any further copies please contact the SACU office.

7) OFFICE CLOSURES OVER EASTER
The office will be closed over the Easter weekend i.e. Good Friday 10^th April and Monday 13^th April.

MOTOCROSS NEWS
2009

YMX SCOTLAND
YOUTH SCOTTISH CHAMPIONSHIP – RD 3 – Ardersier, Invernesshire

Wow, another great YMX Scottish Championship weekend! Hosted this time by Highland MXC at the sandy track near Inverness, the youths turned out in force yet again to put on a spectacular show of great racing through all the classes. Scorching sunshine met us on Saturday morning and stayed throughout the weekend as an added bonus.

As usual the automatics got things started as they negotiated the dry and dusty conditions. The steep, sandy hills proved a challenge for some but they rose to it and put on a great show. Scott Russell was the lad out front dominating for most of the weekend, taking four wins from five. Lewis Dow gave everything he had but only managed to snatch one maximum from Russell. Jordan Gill, Kirk Watson and Ciara Robertson fought it out, swapping places often, but Gill managed to hold onto third overall.

Ben Edwards continued his domination of the 65cc class on his home track. Taking maximums in every race throughout the weekend, the chasing pack just couldn’t put up any sort of challenge. Daniel Dey took a fine second with some great riding, while Alexander Brown held off Lewis Campbell, both of them riding superbly in the tough combination of heat and dust.

With Championship leader, Matthew Callaghan missing, the door was open for the small wheel 85cc lads and Luke Cockburn was the first to stamp his authority with fastest qualifying and first race win. John Adamson and Jay Lamb were not going to let him have it all his own way and although Cockburn went on to take four of the five wins of the weekend, it was hard fought. Lamb took the other maximum with some excellent riding. John Adamson had to settle for third despite giving it everything he had; a couple of spills taking its toll on his final points.

Matthew Fleming once again ran away with the Big Wheel 85cc class by a country mile. The best of the rest were still pretty fast and some exciting racing ensued between Sam Winterburn and Murray Clunie. Over the race distance, Winterburn had the legs on Clunie but he had to work for it! Marcus Deans was in contention too until a dnf in race four spoiled his weekend.

A slightly depleted class of 125cc riders shared the gates with the 250/144 riders. Nonetheless, they had their own battles for supremacy going on and it was anybody’s guess who would take the wins. Up till this weekend, Harry Cooper had dominated but Jamie Blair and Scott Foote took the fight to him. Scott Foote took three of the wins but an engine failure in moto 3 put him out of sight of an overall win. Cooper was not on his usual form with a couple of spills and bike problems so the overall went the Jamie Blair with Cooper second and Dale Stewart third.

The 250f class was as ever hotly contested; with everyone at the top of the field battling for track position, it was anyone’s race each time. Mark Perfect was super quick in the first race of the day taking the win from Sean McDonald. McDonald then took the next two with Perfect and Arron McCarroll chasing him down, taking a second place each. Races four and five, Perfect and McCarroll took one apiece. The action never stopped throughout the weekend in this class with Steven Craig, Aiden Bruce and David Houston also up there in contention. Steven Craig took a big tumble in race three knocking him well down the points board. Perfect eventually took the overall ahead of Mccarroll and Aiden Bruce in third.

As usual the Adult MX2 Scottish championship contenders joined the racing on Sunday and saw Tony Craig out front as the man to beat in all three motos. Tommy Fenwick was hard charging as ever but just couldn’t quite match Craig’s pace and rode superbly to three second places. Ryan McLean was super quick and up there with the fast guys despite being just 16; and took third overall.

Tony Craig was obviously feeling fit as he also rode and won the adult support class, ahead of Ross Rutherford and Gavin Robertson!

The YMX Youth Scottish Championship and SACU Adult MX2 Championship move to the Borders for round 4 – the fantastic Duns Motoparc is the venue on 4^th/5^th July – don’t miss it!

RESULTS

Auto – Scott Russell, Lewis Dow, Jordan Gill, Kirk Watson, Ciara Robertson, Troy Anderson

65cc – Ben Edwards, Daniel Dey, Alexander Brown, Lewis Campbell, Lee Perfect, Aiden Campbell

85cc SW – Luke Cockburn, Jay Lamb, John Adamson, Greg Queen, Reece Wilson, Fraser Pohlen

85cc BW – Matthew Fleming, Sam Winterburn, Murray Clunie, Stuart Robertson, Blane Mcnally, Aidan Christie

125cc SP – Jamie Blair, Harry Cooper, Dale Stewart, Jasper Cochrane, Scott Foote, Aiden Fifer

250cc SP –Mark Perfect, Arran McCarroll, Aiden Bruce, David Houston, Lewis Dawson, Thomas Robertson

MX2 Adults – Tony Craig, Tommy Fenwick, Ryan Mclean, Frazer Norrie, Ralph Yeaman, John Soutar.

YMX SCOTTISH CHAMPIONSHIP 2009
ROUND 1 – LEUCHARS 11^TH/12^TH APRIL 2009

The much anticipated YMX Scotland 2009 Youth Scottish Championship kicked off this Easter weekend at the excellently prepared Leuchars sand circuit.

The sun shone, the track was first class and the racing was second to none.

Continuing with the two day format introduced last year, close on 200 riders lined up over the two days, with youth riders contesting 5 races over two days and the Adult 125 Championship riders joining them on the Sunday for 3 action packed races as their season got going.

For the first time, the Automatic class had a Scottish Championship to contest, and a big class of riders lined up early on Saturday morning for their qualifying. Relishing being part of the championship they all did themselves proud. Unfazed by the increasingly rough track over the weekend they battled for position throughout. Lewis Dow was on form taking the overall with 4 wins from 5. Behind him there were some good battles going on between Jordan Gill, Kirk Watson & Ciara Robertson. Gill took second place with Watson in a close third.

A fair few competitors from the south decided to take on the local boys – maybe they were here just for the Easter eggs?! Or maybe the fact that the BYMX is coming north to Leuchars in two weeks had something to do with it? Or is it because it is always great racing at Leuchars?

Whatever the reason, in the other schoolboy races, it was fast and furious with a great mix of regulars and visitors providing some fantastic racing.

The 65cc’s was dominated by the hard charging Conrad Mewse, the current BYMX leader. Kyle Peebles, with some fine riding, did everything he could to stop the domination but to no avail. Ben Edwards was in the mix too but had to finally settle for third at the end of the 5 races.

The biggest class of the weekend, the Small Wheel 85cc class was almost at capacity, and from the outset the racing was incredibly fast. Dominated by National riders, both visiting and local not an inch was given by anyone. Matthew Callaghan was the man to beat being in great form over all 5 races. Connor Clark, Ben Green, Luke Cockburn, John Adamson, Frazer Pohlen – all up there fighting every inch for position, and all giving a great display but in the end Clark and Green took second and third respectively behind Callaghan.

Local lad, and reigning champion in the Big Wheel 85cc class, Matthew Fleming was not going to let anyone get on terms with him! Despite a mistake in race one he came through the field to take the win. No more mistakes saw him take a clean sweep of maximums. Behind him there was again fantastic racing between Cameron Pendreich, Micky Eccles, Sam Winterburn, Murray Clunie and Tom Moore. Pendreich held off the chasing opposition for second with the ever quick Eccles only two points adrift after 5 races.

In the 125/250 schoolpersons class, they raced all as one group, but the 125cc lads were being scored separately for the championship.

Despite being the smallest class, the 125cc guys were no less determined to fight for their points! Harry Cooper was in excellent form keeping the rest of them behind him for most of the weekend. Behind him though there was a battle royal going on between Jamie Blair, Colin Smith and Ewan Marshall. Swapping positions regularly, Blair finally held onto second place ahead of Colin Smith in third.

The 250 boys were in fighting form! Fast and aggressive racing throughout the weekend made for some exciting spectating. Again, it could have gone any way between 5 or 6 riders. Consistency, at the end of the day was what made the difference, with Mark Perfect coming through as the eventual winner ahead of Arran McCarroll. Some fine racing from David Houston saw him pick up the final podium place. 1^st race winner, Steven Craig had luck against him when a big crash in the final race left him injured, but despite no score in this race he still held onto 6^th position.

The Adult 125cc Championship was better supported than it has been for a few years which is fantastic, and the racing at the head of the field was nothing short of spectacular! Tommy Fenwick set out as he meant to go on, and there was a three way battle all day between Fenwick, Sean McDonald and Tony Craig. Each of them gave everything in their armoury but for this round at least Fenwick had the better of them, taking two wins from three. McDonald took second ahead of Craig.

The adult support was won by Ross Rutherford with Bobby Gold second ahead of Gavin Robertson in third.

A fantastic start to the championship! The second round is on 2^nd/3^rd May at the fast hardpack track at Shiplaw, Peebles.

QUAD NEWS
2009

ZOE NEILLS NEWSLETTER FROM ROUND 3 and 4 - SACU QUAD CHAMPIONSHIP

On the 23^rd and 24^th of May it was the Scottish double header at Ardersier. When we got there the weather was good and the track was in good order. The 50cc’s had their own track, which was good. On the Saturday there was a few hic-ups with the youths>In the 100cc class Ryan McLeish fell off quite a sore one and in the 250cc modified Blair Brown fell off and got air lifted to hospital because we thought he had broke his arm but it ended up that he hadn’t broke it. In the 250cc standard Jamie Swan fell off a really bad one he had to get rushed to hospital but he had to stay in overnight. We never thought we would see him on Sunday but he did come to watch the racing and we were all glad he was a bit better. Get well soon all of you.

Apart from all of those fall offs the day was good for me because I got 1^st in my class, Connor Smith dominated all of the hybrids in his class and James Frew won the day in his class.

At the end of the day the Saturday results were;

50cc standard		50cc modified
1st	Arron Swan	1st	Abbi Clark
2nd	Ben McLeish

100cc geared		100cc modified
1st	Murray Graham	1st	Zoe Neill
2nd	Taylor Gibb	2nd	Thomas Tobin
		3rd	Cameron Barr

250cc standard		250cc modified
1st	James Frew	1st	Connor Smith
2nd	Amy Neil	2nd	Liam Nicol
3rd	Taylor Boyd	3rd	Michael Alexander

250cc hybrid
1st	Abbi Walton
2nd	David Forrest

SUNDAY
On Sunday it was another nice day and the track was a little rutty, sometimes I couldn’t even hold on because it was that bumpy. I had a bad day because my quad wasn’t working very well. I had to get my spark plug changed after every race. At lunch break we found out the problem, my piston was cracked and my quad had blown up so my dad, uncle Jim and Gary had to fix it and they did so I was very grateful and I got to continue racing but I couldn’t work my way up to second so I got 4^th I was quite disappointed but I was ok in the end because I knew I worked hard and finished the day. That’s enough about me. Ryan McLeish had a good day coming first with Thomas Tobin following behind. My big sister Amy Neill was having a good day too she ended up being 1^st with a clean sweep. I hope everyone had a great time too.

50cc standard		50cc modified
1st	Arron Swan	1st	Abbi Clark
2nd	Ben McLeish

100cc geared		100cc modified
1st	Murray Graham	1st	Ryan McLeish
2nd	Taylor Gibb	2nd	Thomas Tobin
		3rd	Mitchell Young

250cc standard		250cc modified
1st	Amy Neill	1st	Connor Smith
2nd	Taylor Boyd	2nd	Liam Nicol
3rd	James Frew	3rd	Michael Alexander

250cc hybrid
1st	Abbi Walton
2nd	David Forrest

ZOE NEILLS NEWSLETTER FROM ROUND 2 - SACU QUAD CHAMPIONSHIP

On Sunday the 26th of April 2009 Quad Racing Scotland held its second event of the year at Rhynie.On the Saturday night, when we arrived it was pouring and I thought oh! no, no racing tomorrow ! However we waited until Sunday and the weather was perfect.

Practise got underway with just one hic-up, the usual NOT ENOUGH MARSHALS (6 marshals short) but after pleading for about 15 minutes 6 people volunteered (thank you very much). Practice for all classes got underway. After that it was straight into the racing with the 50cc class first, with Abby Clark taking first position In the modified class but in the standard class Arron Swan took the lead with quite a gap. Ben McLeish behind him and poor Jake Summers didn’t start. After the 50cc race, the 100cc’s were on the line ready to go, which was a mixed class, geared/mod/pro. In the geared class it was Murray Graham who dominated the race and Taylor Gibb was 2^nd. In the 100cc mod, I was having a battle with Ryan McLeish, with Ryan coming out on top this time!!! Thomas Tobin 3^rd, Cameron Barr 4^th.In the 200/250 air cooled/hybrid class they all ran together, but lap scored separately. In the production class, Jamie Swan 1st with my big cousin James Frew in 2^nd(well done keep it up James). My big sister Amy Neill in 3^rdshe stalled her quad a few times which greatly frustrated her (ha! Ha! ).Taylor Boyd had a great race he came 4^th (get the trophy cabinet ready Taylor). In the 200/250cc modified class Connor Smith 1^st he absolutely ran away with the day (he even bet some of the hybrids!!). Ross McNair finished in 2^nd and Mark Hadden 3^rd,Liam Nicol 4^th. In the 200/250cc hybrid class David Forest winning the day with Steven Beagrie 2^nd Scot Sinclair 3^rd.

Most youth classes were well attended and some close racing was had. Thank you to everyone who took part, hope you all had a fantastic time racing with QRS.

P.S All you boy racers watch out because us girl racers are coming to beat you! (Ha ha)

Yours in sport Zoe Neill #5

50cc class:		50cc mod class:
1^st	Arron Swan	1^st	Abby Clark
2^nd	Ben Mcleish

100cc mod:		100cc Geared:
1^st	Ryan Mcleish	1^st	Murray Graham
2^nd	Zoe Neill (Me)	2^nd	Taylor Gibb
3rd	Thomas Tobin
4^th	Cameron Barr

200/250cc std:		200/250cc mod:
1^st	Jamie Swan	1^st	Connor Smith
2^nd	James Frew (big cousin)	2^nd	Ross Mcnair
3^rd	Amy Neill (Big sister)	3^rd	Mark Hadden
4^th	Taylor Boyd	4^th	Liam Nicol

250cc Hybrid Class
1^st	David Forest
2^nd	Steven Beagrie
3^rd	Scot Sinclair

TRIALS NEWS
2009

2009 Inter-Club Team Trial results

Team	Name	Status	Lap 1	Lap 2	Lap 3	Marks	Total	Award
Lochaber Over 40 'A'	Kevin Dignan	Expert	0	1	0	1	26	Gold Medals
	David Dignan	Non Expert	5	3	2	10
	Mike Fothergill	Non Expert	2	10	3	15
	Peter Nolan	Non Expert	16	8	4	28
Inverness & District Over 40	Gordon Murray	Non Expert	2	2	4	8	36	Silver Medals
	Frank Mackle	Non Expert	4	4	6	14
	Mike Jamieson	Non Expert	5	8	16	29
	Brian Mackay	Non Expert	6	1	7	14
Dunfermline & District	Bob Malloch	Expert	1	7	15	23	47	Bronze Medals
	Jim Buchan	Non Expert	21	13	28	62
	Iain Shankie	Non Expert	4	6	7	17
	Lee Shankie	Expert	0	0	7	7
Lochaber Over 40 'B'	Neil McKechnie	Non Expert	17	9	20	46	65	Best Over 40
	Allan McDonald	Expert	1	1	5	7
	Ian Fletcher	Non Expert	3	13	12	28
	Alistair Wardlaw	Non Expert	13	11	6	30
Inverness & District Youth 'A'	Grant Coward	Youth B	0	7	6	13	31	Best Youth
	Ross Murray	Youth A	0	0	0	0
	Darren Butchart	Youth A	19	14	65	98
	Ruidh Mackay	Youth A	2	10	6	18
Inverness & District Twinshock 'B'	Alan Crayk	Expert	0	0	5	5	75
	Mike Lumsden	Non Expert	10	19	18	47
	Scott Nicol	Non Expert	15	15	18	48
	David Moffat	Non Expert	6	9	8	23
Bon Accord	Chris Douglas	Novice	15	14	22	51	79
Bon Accord	Steven Morrison	Non Expert	8	3	3	14	79

2010 Scottish Trials Championships
As a result of a recent meeting of the SACU Trials Committee, it has been agreed that the Scottish Trials Championships are to be enhanced for the 2010 season.

2009 proved to be an experimental year with a revised marker system incorporating four colours, being Red (hardest); Blue; Green & Yellow (easiest). It has been decided to continue with the coloured gate system as mandatory for SACU championship events in 2010 as it was voted a success by clubs and riders alike, from soundings taken by SACU Stewards and clubs during the season.

The firm of Aquawash, High Pressure Cleaners provided the markers for SACU affiliated clubs to use throughout the season and also provided a first class Trials Control Unit, first pressed into service at the Scottish round of the ACU British Trials Championship at Kinlochleven in March.

The SACU have been delighted with the support received from Iain Shankie of Aquawash, himself a former Scottish motocross rider turned trials rider. Due to business and family commitments, Iain may not be able to cover all the 2010 championship rounds but has made the marker system available and the Aquawash Trials Control Unit will be at selected Scottish events during 2010. SACU trials clubs will be encouraged to contact Iain as soon as possible, after the 2010 trials dates are finalised, to make suitable arrangements on the availability of the Trials Control Unit.

With regards to the Scottish Championships, the main championship class will from now on be called the ‘Scottish Premier Trials Championship’ run on the red route, with a brand new ‘Sportsman Championship’ on the blue route and the ‘Clubman Championship’ on the green route. It is hoped that this will encourage more riders to compete and because of three routes, there will be something for every grade of rider from Expert to Novice at the championship trials during 2010. The SACU Support Championship which incorporates Youth; Pre65/Twinshock and over 40 classes will continue as previously.

The new Sportsman Championship mirrors the Clubman in that in can only be one once by a rider and is open to SACU, MCUI & ACU adult licence holders. The only other restriction is that Experts who wish to contest the Sportsman championship must be aged 35 or older at 1st January 2010, an age limit which will be on a rolling year basis. The Clubman class has no such adult age restriction but is not open to Experts or former Expert competitors, it is open to ACU/SACU & MCUI licence holders of Novice or Non-Expert grades.

SACU Trials Chairman, John Moffat said: “The Scottish ACU has been monitoring the numbers of competitors at championship trials during the past two years and we understood that the name ‘championship’ possibly scared away some riders, we want to redress this. At the same time we were listening to more experienced riders who felt the red route was too challenging and the green route too simple, so we have given them a brand new challenge for 2010 to ensure that our events are well supported and riders are in a position to move up a class in years to come as they improve their riding skills”. He continued: “The Premier, Sportsman and Clubman championship will have six rounds next year, the Support Championships will have eight but only seven of those ridden will count for points, this enables riders to miss a round and not ruin their chances of a podium placement or the desired win”

Moffat added: “My colleagues in the Scottish ACU Trials committee wish to thank all of our affiliated clubs for the effort they have put into the 2009 season, by getting to understand the new course marking system and helping to make it a success that both riders and officials have grown to enjoy very much indeed. We welcome feedback and will continue to listen to riders, clubs and landowners and make further improvements to trials events in Scotland”

Trials Sections Markers
Prior to the first round of the 2009 Scottish Trials Championships, the SACU have announced a colour marker system for all rounds of the Scottish Trials Championships. Many trials now use multiple routes in sections and to make life easier, it was decided at the last committee meeting of last season to have a system in place which was universal to all clubs so that riders would recognise their route. It also makes life easier for observers who may officiate at different club organised events throughout the season. The colour coding is similar to that used in Europe, particularly Spain which uses a Red; Blue; Green and Yellow format, with severity shown as Red being the hardest down to Yellow being the easiest.

The actual format will be as follows:

Red Route = Adult Championship Route;
Blue Route = Youth A;
Green Route = Youth B; Clubman; Over 40; B Route Riders; Twinshock & Pre-65;
Yellow Route = Youth C plus first time or rookie riders sampling the sport.

It is hoped that clubs will be able to use cards of the appropriate colour to indicate where the routes are split and where routes merge by simply using a gate system with a common start where-ever possible. Obviously there could be some initial confusion with clubs who already operate their own colour system, but it was felt that the best way forward for all clubs was to adopt a universal colour scheme across the board. The section colour system takes effect from 1st February for all SACU Trials championship events. The first combined championship event to use the SACU Colour System will be Bon Accord at Craiglash Quarry near Banchory on 29th March.

ROAD RACE NEWS
2009

MOT0SIX - THE SIX NATIONS ROAD RACE CHAMPIONSHIP

The first running of MotoSix, the six nations road race championship will take place on the weekend of 28/29

March 2009 over the full Donington Park GP circuit with teams from Scotland, England, Northern Ireland, Southern Ireland, Wales and the Isle of Man competing for the title of "MotoSix Nations Champions"

The Scottish team announced by team manager Ian Thomson is a mix of well-established Scottish riders who have represented their country before and some who are new to this style of competition.

Each nation will have riders in the Open 1000 class, Open 600 class and Open sidecar classes, six in each of the solo classes and four in the sidecar class. During racing each team member will wear an overshirt in their national colours for easy identification.

Open 1000

Keith Amor, Bruce Birnie, Aidrian Clark, Donald MacFadyen, Torquil Paterson and Jimmy Storrar.

Open 600

Lewis Farrow, Ryan Gibb, Craig MacLelland, David Paton jnr., Michael Robertson and Dave Stanger.

Open Sidecars [F1 and F2 machines]

Bill Davie/Graham Davie, Scott Lawrie/James Connell, Gordon Shand/Lee Barrett,

David Wrinn/Graham Whitehill

Reserves are Tony Czyzweski in the Open 1000 and Bruce Birnie and Jimmy Storrar in the Open 600 classes

Format for the weekend is along MotoGP lines with a 30 minute untimed practice session followed later by a 20 minute timed qualifying session that will determine grid positions for each class on Saturday. Sunday sees a 10 minute warm-up, with two 10 lap races per class.

Grid positions will be determined by aggregating the times of each team rider and the team with the lowest aggregate time will be allocated grids 1, 7, 13, 19, 25 and 31. Second fastest team will be on grids 2, 8, 14, 20, 26 and 32 and so on until all the grids are allocated and teams are spread evenly across the whole grid.

Points scoring will be on a 'penalty' basis. The winner of each race will receive 1 point, second, 2 points and so on down to the last rider finishing. The Team with the lowest total score over the six races will be the championship winner.

Additional to the main championship the following awards will also be presented.

Medals for 1st, 2nd, 3rd placed riders in each race.

A trophy for each Class 1st, 2nd, 3rd placed Nations.

Replicas for each rider in the Championship winning team

Possible television coverage of both days is being pursued at present but at the time of writing has not been confirmed. Grid, rider and team interviews will be a feature of this coverage, just as it is in MotoGP

The event hosted and organised jointly by the ACU and Donington Park Leisure will undoubtedly generate a highly competitive event charged with national pride and the will to do well for their country by all team members.

ENDURO NEWS
2009