Bell’s Hill gets ready for Billy Hutton Memorial day

Bell’s Hill gets ready for Billy Hutton Memorial day

7 August 2013

THE sixth round of the Irish Motocross Championship was held at Desertmartin last Saturday and with two rounds to go there are County Down men leading the way.

Moira’s Jordan Blakely was the star of the show in the Clubman’s MX1 class winning all three races, while Boardmills rider Chris Eccles grabbed the holeshot in all three races in the Clubman’s MX2, but had to settle for three second placed finishes.

Eccles was outclassed on the day by Crossgar’s Alexander Ellison who moved into the lead early in every race to take three wins, despite a fall in race two which saw him make his way to the front twice in one race.

The Semi Expert MX1/MX2 class had two winners, with Ryan Glover winning races one and three, as Dylan Coffey won race two, as Saintfield’s Mark Patterson took a sixth and two fifth placed finishes.

In the Expert’s MX1/MX2 class Ballygowan’s Gary Gibson won race one, before taking fifth and second placed finishes in the next two races.

Races two and three were won by Lisburn’s Richard Bird after he took third in race one, Comber’s Wayne Garrett took two second places and a third and Loughbrickland rider John Meara came home in fourth, third and seventh positions.

The Knock Motorcycle and Car Club will host the eighth Billy Hutton Memorial Scramble at Bell’s Hill this weekend on land they have been using for 61 years, making it the oldest running motocross venue in Ireland.

The annual Crossgar race was held as the Tommy Stewart Scramble since 1952, before becoming the Billy Hutton Memorial in 2006, in memory of landowner Billy Hutton, who passed away in 2005.

This year the Knock Club will host the event on Friday and Saturday along with a celebration of the 40th anniversary of youth motocross racing in Northern Ireland, with continued support from Magee’s Bar, Crossgar, as Alan and Roger Magee were founding members of the NIJ Youth Motocross in 1973.

The event will start with classic motorbike racing at 5pm on Friday, before a chat and picture show in a marquee beside the track once the racing finishes, with guests including people who helped to set up youth racing in 1973.

Former Motocross GP stars David Watson, Laurence Spence, Stephen Russell and, hopefully, Alan Morrison, will be in attendance.

On the day, practice will begin at 9.30am before the riders are split into three groups of fastest 40 riders.

Racing will begin at 11am, along with an evo class. During the lunch interval riders from the Seventies will do a parade lap.