February 28th, 2018.
The final leg of the four-event Rock Oil Ecosse XC Winter Series, supported by Drysdale Motorcycles, Wulfsport and Michelin, held last Sunday 25th of February, again attracted a good number of quads with riders from the north of England travelling up to the south east coast of Scotland.
Twenty-seven-year-old Mark Wilson was the one to beat. With a couple of holeshots and three straight wins, he enjoyed the privilege of choosing his own lines all day on the ever-changing, challenging contours of the deep Dunbar sand track.
Wilson’s first race was probably the hardest fought as Nash Singer claimed the holeshot. Then, once he passed him, he had teenager Ayrton Knowles, from Clitheroe, Lancashire, snapping at his heels. Wilson defended solidly and kept Knowles at bay. Knowles held second, a result he went on to repeat in the following two races, though by his own admission, he almost conceded his runner-up spot to Michael Robinson in the third race when he tried to take it easier over the bumps.
Third place in race three was Robinson’s best result of the day. Finishing fifth in race one, he was lining up for a similar finish in the second moto, right up until he and James Murphy found themselves stuck in a deep rut behind Michael Campbell and, as a result, slipped down the leader board.
James Murphy looked to be on good form, with a new suspension set-up making a huge difference to the handling of his machine in the tricky conditions. However, the incident on race two and an electrical gremlin coming into play on race three conspired to dampen his day.
Expectations were high for Lorne Sinclair but, a dramatic tumble coming out of the first corner of the first race left him winded, bruised and running a lap down. Dicing with Nash Singer on the second moto to claim third was as far as he could go prior to opting out early for some rest and recuperation.
Nash Singer continued his successful return to the sport. Netting third overall, his best result of the winter series, the young truck mechanic from Aberdeenshire showed he has lost none of his race talent despite a two-year absence from the sport.
RESULTS
Race 1: Wilson, Knowles, Singer, Murphy, Robinson
Race 2: Wilson, Knowles, Sinclair, Singer, Wood
Race 3: Wilson, Knowles, Robinson, Singer, Wood
Overall on the day:
1. Wilson, 135 points, 2. 3. Knowles, 126, 4. Singer, 116, 5. Robinson, 109, 6. Murphy, 106, 7. John Peters, 104, 8. Richie Cornet, 100, 9. Lorne Sinclair, 71, 10. Craig McCormack 64.