Fast trip round the 'houses
By TMX Archives on 18th Dec 08
PAUL Fast Eddy' Edmondson was aptly named as he made the trip to Lochhouses, near Edinburgh, recently, for the final round of the Metzeler Melville MC three-hour X-Country Championship.Total domination by Edmondson was the order of the day in the Expert class for former multi-world Enduro champion from the start bang on 12pm.
Twelve laps later, when he crossed the finish line, seven minutes ahead of second-placed man, the newly crowned Scottish Motocross Champion, Neil Flockhart and third placed Richard Hay, looking trim and fit, but both were one lap down on Edmondson.
The Melville club org-anisers had set-out a four-mile loop over stubble fields and through dark forest trails and Edmondson took up the lead after exactly 15 minutes to complete the first of his 12 laps before slowing, as he came up to the back-markers in the other classes, for the rest of his time.
"A fantastic circuit, well laid out with interesting sections and definitely hard work in places,” said Eddy after his race, "The club has worked very hard at giving us a good course and I am sure everyone enjoyed the Melville experience.”
Young Englishman, Matt Moffat, had taken to the Lochhouses circuit for some endurance training and looked to have ‘Eddy' in his sights on the opening lap. However, when in second gear, he lost his Honda's gear lever and took six minutes to re-place it in the pits at the end of lap one.
But, fate is cruel sometimes and he lost that shifter too, later on when in third gear, but Matt still circulated as one of the quickest riders – eventually finishing in sixth place.
Hugh O'Neil swept into the lead from the start in the Over 40 class, before succumbing to eventual winner Tommy Drysdale, who also had to survive with his bike stuck in third gear after whacking a
tree stump in the forest. Nevertheless, he completed ten laps. Jim Lauder finished in second spot in class, a lap down, just ahead of third-placed David Hill.
Sportsman rider James Watson led his and the Clubman classes out next for their two-hour race before Stuart Ross scor-ed a hard-earned win in the Sportsman class as the hard-charging Stuart Mowbray looked done in after winning the Club-man category as Richard Bryce eased into the Clubman B honours.
The Motocross A class produced a tough, close battle on a shortened course between early leader Dale McAuley on a buzzing two-stroke KTM and eventual winner Steven Smyth, while in the Motocross B, the former Scottish motocross championship contender, David Lawson, took the top spot.
With a winning margin of seven minutes, Paul ‘Fast Eddy' Edmondson certainly lived up to his name.
METZELER MELVILLE CLUB X-COUNTRY CHAMPS
Final Round – Lochhouses, near Edinburgh (Melville MC Ltd)
Expert: 1 Paul Edmondson (Suzuki) 12 laps, 2 Neil Flockhart (Honda), 3 Richard Hay (KTM), 4 Neil Chatham (Honda), 5 Derek Little (KTM), 6 Matt Moffat (Honda) (all 11 laps unless stated).
Over 40: 1 Tommy Drysdale (KTM) 10, 2 Jim Lauder (Suzuki), 3 David Hill (KTM), 4 Douglas Page (Suzuki), 5 Alex Kirk (KTM), 6 Hugh O'Neil (???) (all 9 laps unless stated).
Clubman: 1 Stuart Mowbray (Honda), 2 Liam Beatty (Yamaha), 3 James Harvey (Honda), 4 Oliver Hart (KTM), 5 Ben Metcalfe (Suzuki), 6 Iain Martin (Honda) (all 10 laps).
Clubman B: 1 Richard Bryce (Yamaha) 9, 2 Paul Benham (Honda) 9, 3 Craig Scotland (KTM) 9, 4 Dale Wilson (KTM) 8, 5 Roger Summer (KTM) 8, 6 William Beatty (Yamaha) 8.
Sportsman: 1 Stuart Ross (KTM), 2 Liam Lamb (KTM), 3 Alister Watson (KTM), 4 Stuart Jenkinson (Suzuki), 5 Grant Gillender (KTM), 6 James Watson (KTM) (all 9 laps).
Motocross A: 1 Steven Smyth (Honda) 22, 2 Dale McAuley (KTM) 22, 3 Jason Martin (TM) 21, 4 Colin McLuckie (Honda) 21, 5 Sean Doherty (Yamaha) 20, 6 Michael Graham (Honda) 20.
Motocross B: 1 David Lawson (Honda) 19, 2 David Watson (Suzuki) 19, 3 Craig Pearson (KTM) 19, 4 Brendan McDonagh (Yamaha) 19, 5 David Fergus (Kawasaki) 18, 6 Alistair Wark (Yamaha) 18.