Team JST GAS GAS UK have just won the Manufacturers Team Award at the Scottish Six Days Trial.

The three riders who clinched the award were James Dabill in 4th place, Sam Haslam 5th and Dan Thorpe 8th.

The event was as always superb but with horrendous wet conditions and the wettest i can remember for many years. The club did a superb job after the Wednesday and postponed Thursday's start by 3 hours. The new hastily re-designed, shorter route on the Thursday was welcomed by all concerned and gave everyone including the paddock staff a deserved rest...So a massive congrats to the Club and Clerk of the course etc.

The best GG Rider was JAMES DABILL in 4th place. This was dissappointing for Dibs and myself because i really wanted a GG winner this year. James took a while to get into the relaxed style of riding which is needed for the Scottish sections but neverthless his first day score of 3 marks was ok accept that we soon learned that he was VERY harshly given a 5 for a stop at the Geardh group which there was no way this was a five. Now for the observers to stand out in that rain for hours i do thank, but for bad decisions i cannot accept and i cant see why an observers decision cannot be protested against. Anyway enough of my 'windging' and on with my report!
Dibs' Day 2 went ok until another 5 on the last section 'witches burn' when he stopped again but this time dibs did agree it was dodgy, but still harsh. So after two days and two '5s' the win was not looking good. However James did not give up and tried his best to get me a GG on the podium. He rode alot better towards the end of the week but the damage had already been done.
For me actually seeing James ride every section and not just looking at the results i was happy with his efforts because at the Scottish you have to have some luck and it just wasnt meant to be this year.

SAM HASLAM had another steady week and finished 5th. Sam's riding style really suits the Scottish and i was pleased with his focus all week.
Sam rode around with Dibs, Jack Lee and myself all week and we all enjoyed the 'Team spirit' between us all...

DAN THORPE was Top 10 again and finished 8th which was secured by a good last day. The pressure was on Dan because i was just infront of him before the last day so i guess this made him try just that little bit harder eh?
I never saw Dan ride one section this year because we were all split up but i know he would have been trying 100% as normal.

JOHN SHIRT jnr was 12th and im very happy with this result. I was a little fitter than last year and whereas the bad weather affects some riders you just have to 'deal with it' and dig deep. I was very determined this year (im not sure why!) and tried my hardest all week. I tried to ride relaxed and because i tend to ride quite quickly this definatley helps when the streams are quite high. A few duff rides spolit a Top 10 ride. Still not bad for a 38 year old office boy that never rides ! I told you i'd suprise you Dibs....Good job it wasn't a two day trial eh!

JONNY WALKER on his Ace GG had a fantastic result finishing 17th for his first time. I knew Jonny would go well at the Scottish especially because he rode a 250cc giving his 125 a rest for this coming weekend.

CRAIG ROBINSON was 24th which was good. I saw Craig ride quite alot and he maybe was riding a little too slow which meant he found a few holes. Still a good ride though and he enjoyed his week riding with his Bro Liam and Robbo..

LIAM WALKER was 27th which was a long way off his mega 7th place last year.

JACK LEE was 50th and scooped the last Special First Class Award! Well done slow child!

EMMA BRISTOW was the best GG Girl in 115th place who rode the whole week with a permanent smile.....good on ya !
Her GG Team mates Donna Fox (ACEGG) and Katy Sunter (JSTGG) were 127th and 154th respectively.

I must give a MASSIVE thankyou to the GG support crew who worked 12 hour days in the paddock. Kev, Luke and Andy were superb all week and Kev also preparred ALL the Teams engines and complete bikes for Dibs, Sam and myself. They all performed perfect all week and this is thanks to Kev.
I was very impressed with the ZERO MAJOR mechanial issues we didnt have especially with the tough conditions. I was very happy with the way the GG Pros performed and sounded sweet all week.

I must say on behalf of all the UK Importers that the time and expense that goes into preparing for the Scottish and supporting all the riders with parts and service is massive. This service to the riders is free whereas is costs the factories and UK Importers a huge amount so i not only thank my crew but also Team Beta, Sherco, Scorpa and Montesa for their support for their riders.

Congratulations to Dougie for the win and to Beta for a 1,2,3 ;-(

Cheers
Shirty