TONY SCARLETT
After the early success of winning the Youth C Class championship on a Yamaha TY80 as a ten-year-old, Scarlett went on to win the Youth B class and then the A class for John Shirt on a Majesty. He was in the right place at the right time as he took delivery of one of the very first mono-shock machines, and won the Manx Two Day Trial and Northern Experts at the end of 1983.
In 1984 he made his World Trials Championship debut in Spain before taking his first points at the English World round in Wales at Merthyr Tydfil. He finished thirteenth and then followed this up a week later in Ireland with a superb seventh place. It was great year for him as he won the Best Newcomer award at the SSDT and took his first adult British Trials Championship win at the Wainwright and finished in eleventh position in the World Trials Championship.
He agreed terms for 1985 with Yamaha Amsterdam, who would supply two machines, a spares budget and a bonus scheme, and he rewarded them with sixth place in the WTC. In 1986 he continued with the Yamaha but dropped to eleventh, with the highlight of the year being a win in the Scott Trial.
In a shock move he went to French company JCM on a two-year deal for 1987, winning four British Championship rounds, but despite much promise the pairing remained in eleventh place in the WTC.
After a parting of the ways with JCM in the early part of 1988 he returned to Yamaha as a semi-private rider before moving back to the John Shirt stable, who was now importing the new Gas Gas machines for 1989, where he finished third in the BTC. He moved to Aprilia in 1991 before moving away from the sport as he became more involved with the family business.
Shortly after finishing with trials he got married, and had three girls. He did have a very competitive nature and decided to put it to good use in saloon car racing as this was something he’d always wanted to do. Driving for Stock Hatch Saloons he was the champion for two consecutive years and runner-up in the MG Mayflower Factory Championship.
Then he started a new venture in the recycling business, which he is still in to this day. Tony Scarlett can still be found riding in and enjoying local National and Centre trials events.