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Pre-65 Scottish

Following in anyone’s footsteps is always a difficult task, and when it’s your father, you are following your aspirations are even higher. Everyone in any walk of life has a hero, and in Dan Thorpe’s case, it’s his father, Dave. The utmost admiration and respect come from the fact that he has seen him struggle for so many years with a serious back complaint that has just got worse. Ever defiant of his problems Dave has persevered with his constant success on two wheels – he can ride a motorcycle better than he can walk! A world round winner in his day for Bultaco and the most successful rider at the Pre-65 Scottish, Dave won in 1987 to 1990, 1993, and he took his last win in 1997, which was also the first two-day event. Parting with just one mark on the first of the two days Dan knew he would have to be at his very best on day two to emulate his father. When he came back to the finish, he was more than happy to tell anyone he bumped into that he had gone ‘clean’. When the results were confirmed and read out at the evening’s prizegiving there could be no one more proud than Dave Thorpe and his wife Carol when it was announced that Dan had won the 2019 Pre-65 ‘Scottish’; his wife Katy was just as proud to see her husband on the top step of the podium. They are the first father-and-son winners in the history of the event, dating back to 1984.

Dan

Thorpe: “It goes without saying that I’m delighted to win this fantastic event. I might have put on a brave face last year, but to have gone round clean and still only finish third due to the tie-deciders was tough. Don’t get me wrong, I totally understood the rules on the tie decision, but this year more than makes up for last year’s disappointment. It makes it extra special to achieve this at the same time as my 73-year-old father managed to finish the event for possibly his last time.

“This year’s event was made more difficult because once again, I didn’t get a chance to ride the Triumph beforehand. Knowing that I had possibly the more difficult loop including Cnoc-a-Linnhe, Pollock Hill and Caolasnacon at the start of my day, I knew I needed to be switched on straight away. Cnoc-a-Linnhe looked okay as I was fairly early and managed to clean it without much fuss, and then came Pollock Hill. It was the section where I made my ill-fated second gear attempt in the past, so despite wanting to use it again, I selected bottom gear. Despite having a few early cleans, it had just started chewing up, and I went for it without being totally happy with my line. The back wheel spun on a loose rock, and I needed a big dab to keep moving. It is where I thought my challenge had ended, by losing a dab so early on in the trial.

“Rather than sulking too much thought I would knuckle down and managed a good clean on the tricky looking Caolasnacon. Despite being painfully slow on the bottom part, first gear proved to be the right choice on Pipeline as I flew up to the top. Seeing the results overnight gave me hope that if I could clean the next day, I would stand a good chance of finally managing to win.”

Day two

“On day two, I was quite happy with my riding and had started to understand my machine’s strengths and weaknesses. Going fast certainly wasn’t a strength, and so I was pleased to clean some of the long loose climbs off the side of Mamore Road. We soon arrived at Cnoc-a-Linnhe again, which was, without a doubt, the hardest section of the trial. Despite the rocks being fairly solid, the moisture had been carried onto the dry rocks making them incredibly slippery. Every rider I had seen making an attempt was going for speed; I didn’t feel was a good option for me. I knew that, quite simply, I had to clean this to stand a chance of winning. I spotted a different line at the start on some dry rocks and planned my slower attack. Luckily, this proved to be successful and I managed to clean it with any problems. I managed to keep my concentration and cleaned the remaining sections.

I, once again, had to wait for Dad at the final section, but he soon turned up and, despite falling off in the first part of the section, he managed to do the next part for a single dab. It was very moving to hear cheers from spectators and officials who had been waiting for him until the end as he completed the section.

After a nervous wait for the results at the presentation, I was thrilled to bits to win this prestigious event. Even before the results were announced, it had already felt special simply by witnessing everybody who had been looking after my Dad, helping him and picking him up, and cheering him on. It is, without a doubt, one of the proudest moments of my career, winning the event and seeing my Dad finish, and I would like to thank everyone who contributed to that. Whether or not it will be my Dad’s last ride remains to be seen, but the fact that he muttered the words himself is a pretty strong indication that it might be!

“It goes without saying; I would like to thank all of the organisers and officials, all my friends and family, especially my Mum, Dad, and wife Katy. A special thanks also to John Shirt Jnr and Gas Gas UK, Michel Kaufmann (S3), Cesar Carmona (Mots), Sally Hayden and Putoline UK, Henry Rosenthal (Renthal), Duncan and Judy MacDonald, Norman Blakemore, Alan Whitton, David Dench, Staff at BUMPY, Nigel Land, Richard Thorpe and anyone else that helped out in any way – you know who you are!”

A new idea

It was Bob Adamson who approached the Edinburgh & District Club with the idea to run the first Pre-65 Scottish in 1984. It all went ahead on the Wednesday of the main Scottish Six Days, to ease the parking problems at the old Achlain group of sections and give the spectators a diversion from the main event and bring some added interest to the six days of trials action in the Highland area. The first one-day trial was run over private ground, taking in some of the popular section groups such as Pipeline.

As we are all now well aware, it proved a huge success; so much so that it is, year on year, massively over-subscribed which means bringing in the dreaded ballot. For those lucky enough to have a ride, they then have to have a machine which fits the strict criteria of the specifications to make it eligible.

The Highland village of Kinlochleven and its inhabitants are happy to play host to the Pre-65 Scottish, and the opening street parade of riders is a most welcome addition to the event in more recent times.

With such a strong demand for an entry, the number of riders has been increased to 200 from last year, and there was still a 25-strong reserve list of eager riders who wanted to take part. The list of reserve riders was soon accommodated to the point that come Thursday evening after scrutineering and signing on had taken place, if you had a previously accepted machine with you a last-minute ride was available; a rare occurrence indeed.

With all the formalities out of the way, a cool, cloudy day welcomed the 200 riders, headed by the guest of honour, Jock McComisky and his son, Mark, for the popular parade around the town, keeping the welcoming crowd very happy. At exactly 10.00am, Murray Whittaker and John Charlton left the start ramp to go in different directions around the figure-ofeight course; even numbers go one way and odd numbers the other, taking in 30 hazards laid out in 15 groups.

No one clean

The weather in the lead up to the event had been unprecedented, with warm and very dry conditions which had left the many rocky climbs and rivers in a very dry state. The usual opening hazards on day one at Aluminium Works for the even numbers had to be cut out due to the bridge leading to Pipeline being under repair and were replaced by extra two sections in Loch Eilde Burn, as the odd numbers started at Cnoc A Linnhe. It was here at the opening group that the fourth section would prove to cause many problems for the riders. Eventual winner, Dan Thorpe, was one of the clean rides with a superb ride, which as the day progressed proved very rare.

In the second group at Pollock Hill, which was a single subsection, he parted with his only mark of the day, and the trial. The even numbers opened up the action on the iconic Pipeline, which early on in the day rode very well but with every passing rider, the loose rocks made it more difficult. Quite a few clean rides were witnessed and rewarded with a rapturous round of applause from the many spectators who gather every year at this very testing hazard.

As the riders came in from the day’s action, it soon became apparent that four riders had all parted with a single mark each, which was confirmed when the results were released. Dan Thorpe, on his Tiger Cub, had his mark early on as we have stated, and he was joined by Dan Clarke the 2016 winner, on another ‘Cub’; Clarke would retire on the second day with mechanical problems.

Riding his big four-stroke Ariel with his usual mixture of aggression and finesse, Lancashire’s Ben Butterworth kept his dream of his first win on track with a single-mark loss. The only two-stroke at the head of the field was the BSA Bantam of Ireland’s Stephen Murphy, who was more than happy with his single-mark score. For the local favourite and winner of the last two years, Gary MacDonald, his wheels came off his attack for his third consecutive win in the single hazard at Caolasnacoan. His Triumph Tiger Cub simply ran out of power as he chose to attempt the steep loose rocks in second gear instead of first, would rider error deny him the win? There were many excellent rides further down the order, as a mere 11 marks covered the top 50 positions.

All to play for

Talk about all to play for; four seasons in one day also covered the mountainous area around Kinlochleven as the riders encountered sunshine, the odd light rain shower and a flurry of snow blown off the snow that had landed on the higher hills during the Friday night.

The second day witnessed an even larger gathering of spectators in the Highlands to see some more ‘Classic’ action with the 30 hazards again in the two loops for odd and even numbers. The two separate loops for the riders would see hazards found once more alongside the loch, with the ‘hill’ loop being along the old military Mamore Road. The men on a mission were Macdonald, who was visibly very annoyed with what he termed ‘Pilot’ error on day one, Butterworth chasing his first win, and of course Thorpe, who was focussed on emulating his father with his first win. As it turned out Dan and Gary both went clean all day parting with no marks, some incredible feat on its own merits as Butterworth parted with another mark to make a total of two for the event. It did have its consolation though as Ben’s score gave him second position in front of MacDonald on the tie break decider.

With only 18 retirements, due mainly to mechanical problems, the riders came into the village school to sign off their two days of action. As the stories came out in the vein of ‘I nearly cleaned it’ and ‘I was in the wrong gear’ it was apparent that the event had once again enjoyed a vote of success from the finishers.

Maybe the event had been a little on the easier side; reflected by the low scores. Thorpe won on one mark lost with the last official finisher Kieran Abraham on 183 marks lost, but for the many people who put on this event one thing they cannot control is the weather. When the sun shines on this event, you’d better enjoy it!