Scotthopesfor returntoform
Injury hampered his progress last year but east Perthshire supermoto racer Scott Murray is finding form.
The Burrelton-based former Perth Academy pupil is currently plying his trade in the British Championship.
And last weekend the 33-year-old was among those competing at Crail in round four of the series – finishing fourth.
Supermoto is a form of motorcycle racing in which powerful motorbikes are raced over a circuit that is part tarmac and part dirt.
Performances in the previous three rounds have brought differing levels of success.
But Scott explained:“Sadly I didn’t compete in 2016 due to having shoulder surgery caused by a racing incident.
“I spent the year recovering and preparing for a full assault on the British Championship in 2017, and I have set a goal of finishing third overall.
“This season we haven’t had the best of starts, we changed from a 450cc bike that we used in previous years to a 530cc for 2017.
“We are currently in the process of finding the right development path for the bike, which cost us dearly at round one of the championship at 3 Sisters race circuit at Wigan, with two non-race finishes.
“Round two was at Rowrah in Cumbria and we definitely found the right setup on the bike, taking a first, third and a 11th - due to a first lap crash - giving me fifth overall for the day.
“Round three, at the Anglesey race circuit in Wales, again saw us make good progress with a second and two third place finishes, giving me second overall on the day.
Scott, a lift engineer who owns Scotlifts-Scotland,admitted he’s always been gripped by the exciting nature of motorsport but revealed his passion in years gone by was motocross.
He said:“I originally started competing at motocross at 12 years old, and then stopped at 23 due to a shoulder injury in 2007. I then started rallying in 2008, as sitting at home wasn’t a option for me.
“I did rallying up until 2010, but due to a series of non-finishes from mechanical failures and also the massive cost involve in rallying, I was lured back to two wheels by my current sponsor and mechanic Bob Auld of Scotcomp in 2011.
“For me motocross is always my first love with bikes, but with various aging injuries I wasn’t able to stick at it.
“And supermoto for me is the next best thing, it’s a bit of road racing with motocross thrown in. Riding around a dirt section and hitting jumps with race slick tyres on is such a buzz, and it’s a lot less forgiving on the body .”