Category Archives: Suzuki Edition

2023 Winners get their awards

Back in the 1950s and 1960s, class winners at the Highland Two Day Trial received pint tankards made of pewter to commemorate their win.

This year we replicate the awards, but this time, made of glass, being a pint tankard, fully engraved with the Classic Two Day Trial logo and on the other side, the class and the winner’s name, for posterity.

These awards will soon be shipped to each class winner for them to keep as a momento of their victory at the Highland Classic Suzuki Edition.

2023 Over and Out

Well, that’s the Highland Classic over for another year and it just goes to show that you don’t need to travel to Costa Brava or Andorra to get sunshine, you can drive to Aviemore and get a nice trial and good weather too!

A few comments were raised as to why we don’t have the cheese/wine/beer stop nowadays. Quite simple, there are licensing issues dispensing alcohol and the risk that if anyone had too much and was involved in a subsequent RTA, the club could be under scrutiny, so sorry about that. I’m sure you all enjoyed the catering laid on by our friends at Ness Highland Catering, headed by Samantha.

Next year we are planning some improvements to help increase competitor enjoyment, so watch this space. AND… we will host the BSA/Triumph Edition with guests who rode for these factories! I can’t thank enough those who were involved, the Trial Partners, suppliers, the observers and anyone who helped make our event a success.

Thanks go to NIGEL BIRKETT who was a terrific Guest of Honour for the Suzuki Edition and won his class too!

Last but not least, Laird Jamie Williamson of Alvie & Dalraddy Estates Ltd and his team for allowing us to carry on even after they suffered a major fire just 4 days beforehand. We also hope to use the Trial HQ again next year as it ticked all the boxes.

Finally! We will be sending out a questionaire to all participants by e-mail, be sure and reply with any constructive comments please.

Yours in Sport, John Moffat Entries Secretary HC2DT and IDMCC Ltd, General Secretary.

(Photo Credit: Scottish Enduros/Charlie MacKenzie)

The Suzuki Edition Provisional Results

Here are the Provisional Results of the 2023 Highland Classic – Suzuki Edition…

Results of the Observer’s Prize Draws 2023:

Saturday:

1st – £100 – Martyn Pratt

2nd – £50 – Kyle Neill

3rd – £25 – Jamie McLean.

Sunday:

1st – £100 – Lynda Macdonald

2nd – £50 – Neil Macdonald

3rd – £25 – Ross MacDonald

The winners will be contacted and the prize sent to their bank account or by cheque from Inverness & District MCC Ltd. Well done to all who won and special thanks to all our observers.

2023 Observer’s Prize Draw sponsored by HIGHLAND LEISURE SPORT, Invergordon,

2023 Entry List

Entry List for the 2023 Highland Classic as at 05/06/2023

Classes:

1 – Pre65 Four-Stroke

2 – Pre65 Two-Stroke

3 – Pre’72 Twinshock

4 – Pre’77 Twinshock

5 – Post’77 Twinshock

6 – Britshock

7 – U35 Pre65

8 – U35 Twinshock

Riding NoName 1Name 2Route A/BClass No.
1NigelBirkettA4
2Bernie SchreiberA5
3Steve SaundersA5
4NickJefferiesA2
5AlanGordonB2
6GrantCowardA8
7BrianMackayB5
8JamesWilsonB5
9FraserRossA4
10StuartCraykA8
11DavidEdesB5
12JohnMoffatB5
13RhuaraidhMackayA8
14DavidCraigB8
15AlanCraykA5
16DanielLamontA8
17AlexanderCarmichaelB2
18RobbieAllanA2
19AlickMurrayB2
20GavinMilneB4
21StevenMoffatA8
22PaulRayB5
23IanThompsonB1
24RonaldSimpsonB5
25AndyCopeB1
26GaryBakerA6
27James W.ReidB5
28HarryMckayA5
29IainDuffusB6
30JamieReidA5
31DonnieMcLeodB5
32DerrickEdmondsonB5
33JamesSaundersA8
34AshleighDavisonB8
35Andrew GBrownA5
36AllisterStewartB1
37GaryMacdonaldA1
38JamieMcFarlaneB8
39KeithGardnerB2
40DavidMurphyA8
41RichiePowerA5
42GerardReddenB5
43ChrisHampshireB2
44Frank  BlackbyrneB2
45PaulWareingA6
46GavinJohnstonA
47CliveBailieB4
48OliverBolandB5
49TerenceMckeeA5
50JamesChambersB4
51DavidLemonB5
52MichaelAdamsB5
53RyanFarquharB5
54KevinChapmanA1
55GavinCairnsA5
56GaryMaclennanA5
57KiaranHankinA2
58JoelGowanA7
59SeanRadcliffA6
60GaryFleckneyB4
61IanPeberdyA5
62LiamSwidenbankA8
63CameronEdgarB8
64StuartEdgarA1
65RossEdgarB3
66CalumMurphyA7
67JamesBrownA8
68AlanBrownB5
69TylerMurphyA7
70MartinMurphyB5
71BradSteinB5
72StewartWhiteB5
73ColinFrayB2
74TimBellB5
75JonathanHendersonA6
76RobGoodwinB2
77GrahamLawB5
78PaulSalvadoriB5
79BenjaminAllison-HughesA1
80ColinWard JnrB8
81ChristopherGascoigneB3
82GrantAdamsonA5
83NeilDawsonA5
84JimMcFarlaneB5
85AlanWhittonB6
86ConnorAllanB7
87NickRoyleA1
88JackVartyB1
89GarryShawB2
90JohnDismoreA5
91WillWeatherheadB1
92BrianYoungB5
93JonnyClarkA8
94RichardNicolsonA5
95JeremySaffinB5
96TimJohnsonA5
97AlanStrachanB5
98DaveHullB8
99MarcMazengarbA5
100DavidSherlockA6
101JohnMacfarlaneB6
102JonathonHughesA1
103DavidBellA1
104JamesTennantB5
105ColinWardA5
106IanSheddenA5
107NickShieldA5
108PhilipBaxterA8
109ChrisMonkmanB5
110AndyTownsonB5
111NathanBrittonA8
112RichardNormanA5
113MelvinParkinB5
114GeorgeHoustonB5
115MartinJonesB5
116NigelRoeB5
117AllanAdamsonA1
118MarkScottB5
119AndrewHulmeB5
120EricMcMeekinB2
121MarkGregoryA5
122RichardBaxterB8
123WilliamBirkinB8
124JeremyClarkB5
125GlynMosesA2
126MarkNewmanB2
127GaryYounghusbandA5
128StephenHowardA5
129IanMyersB6
130ScottTurpinA8
131RossThomsonB5
132JerryHawkerB5
133MargaretCarterB5
134OwenHardistyB1
135RaymondCummingsB5
136CarlBattyA2
137IanTraceyB4
138PhilHaygarthB5
139JamieChambersB8
140MichaelRatcliffeB5
141AdamBlackerB5
142MarkHardyB5
143StuartClinkB5
144MurdoMacPhailB5
145StuartHanlonA8
146MylesEllisB8
147RayPerkinsA5
148MarkWatmoreA4
149SteveGossopB2
150RalphPettsB5
151MartinPrattA5
152AndrewChandlerB5
153Kurt-PatrikBeckmannB2
154JimHoughA1
155DavidMacleanA5
156BarrySiddleB5
157WillieEvansB5
158CraigEatonA5
159ReneStubbsB3
160KennyDrummondB  5
161RichardPoolB5
162RogerSummersA5
163NickAthaB2
164JohnGarriochA5
165BrettSteinA7
166PeteClibburnB5
167AnthonyRewA5
168MichelleHanlonB8
169GrantSmithA1
170VicAllanB2
171John NeilHebdonB6
172AndrewBrownB5
173ChrisBrooksB5
174JonGambleB5
175MichaelBattyA4
176GaryFreemanA5
177PaulJacksonA5
178GeorgeNobleA5
179TonyDavisonB2
180GordonMuirB8
181RobertPoultonA5
182PeterCarsonB2
183DavyMorewoodA5
184StevenCorryB5
185JohnLongB5
186AlastairCrocketB5
187LeoSalvadoriA1
188EirianDaviesB5
189JamesReidB5
190TonySwidenbankA2
191FindlayWhiteA5
192ScottMulliganB5
193IainMcleanB5
194NeilBowkerA5
195PeterMcCannaB5
196PaulHowellsB2
197MartinMatthewsA6
198GrahamWignallA5
199OssyByersB2
200OliverCooperA6

Useful info for the Suzuki Edition

Competitors, here are some useful reminders before you travel:

Location: Alvie Estate Biomass Shed – Trial HQ.

What Three Words: ///complies.trails.tilts

OS Grid Ref: NH8609

Postcode: PH21 1NE

From South: Leave A9 signposted ‘IDMCC Trial’ – Kingussie (A86) Kincraig (B9152).Follow signs for Kingussie (B9152) and beyond Kincraig, take left onto Alvie Estate.

From North: follow orange flags off A9 just south of Aviemore.

Start Times: Saturday: 10th June – Signing on from 08:30am – assemble at 10:45 (Rider’s Briefing and introduction to Guest of Honour) – Start: 11.00am (First Man leaves the start area 11.00am)

Sunday: 11th June – signing on from 09:00am – Start – 10.00am. All riders MUST sign on and off each day.

Signing ON: All riders must sign on and off each day, please have your national competition licence or registration card to hand when signing on the Saturday, all start permissions for overseas riders should be e-mailed to: highlandclassic@outlook.com – prior to the event. There will be a list of rider’s numbers on display, please check this carefully and give your riding number when signing on and collecting your ‘welcome pack’. At signing on, you will receive a ‘welcome pack’ which will include your front number board, two zip ties and a helmet sticker showing your riding number for the event. Please fix the small numbered sticker to the rear of your helmet. Your number board has a colour code of Red (A route) or Blue (B Route).

Marking: TSR22B – No Stop – Observers will use score sheets, no results will be available until the evening of 11th June and there will be no presentation ceremony after the Sunday (This allows riders and observers who have a considerable distance to travel the opportunity to leave right after the trial finishes). Awards will be posted to winners after the event and suitably engraved.

Results: These will be available on the event website post event: www.idmcc.net

Catering: Ness Highland Catering will be providing all riders and observers with food and drink each day. Riders and observers/officials will receive a meal ‘ticket’ each day when signing off. You may purchase additional items from the catering unit if you wish. The catering unit will be open from 09:00am both days.

Toilet Facilities: Located beside the Biomass Shed Trial HQ. Heilan Loos supplied ‘Superloo’ for Male/Female use with wash-hand basins will be available all weekend. These will be regularly cleaned during the event. There will also be 3 portaloos on site.

Fuel: No petrol at start, the nearest fuel station is Aviemore BP – 62 Grampian Rd, Aviemore PH22 1PD.

Withdrawal from the event: As we are getting close to the event, it may not be possible to refund entry fees in full if we cannot organise a replacement, we will refund part of the entry fee, retaining an administration charge of £20 to cover our costs.

Get Ready For Alvie 2023

We are getting closer to the 2023 Highland Classic Two Day Trial and plans are moving swiftly to bring you the ‘Friendliest Classic Trial in Scotland’, The Suzuki Edition.

In preparation for a smooth rider matriculation, we will be accepting riders for signing on at 08:30 on Saturday 10th June until 10:30, that’s 200 competitors in 120 minutes!

Riders will also receive their ‘Welcome Pack’ which will include their machine racing number and a numbered sticker for the rear of the safety helmet so that the number is visible from the front and rear. There will also be some products from our ‘Trial Partners‘.

Our official piper, Donald Morrison will play some Highland tunes from 10:30 until 10:45, just prior to the start where we will introduce our 2023 Guest of Honour, Nigel Birkett plus some other noteable riders.

The IDMCC committee and directors are looking forward to welcoming you to Alvie Estate!

Marker board Refresh

For the 2023 Suzuki Edition, we have refreshed our section marker boards, which are bespoke to the Highland Classic and promote our major Trial Partner, Alvie & Dalraddy Estates who are the landowners.

The boards were specially commissioned from Racing Service, Sport & Design in Madrid, Spain and they arrived this week.

RACING SERVICE

The boards give clear detail of the section begins and ends for riders and officials.

We are sure that you think they look smart!

2023 TAKES OFF

The entry form for the 2023 Highland Classic – Suzuki Edition opened at 8pm on Wednesday 1st February and again the event proved popular enough to attract 264 entries for 200 places!

This means that 64 entrants are initially disappointed, however history tells us that quite a number of entrants withdraw prior to the event, some many weeks prior, due to injury, family and work committments and so on.

This means that a high proportion of unsuccessful entrants eventually gain a place, so if you are on the reserves, don’t despair!

A surprise entry was received from our previous Guest of Honour, the 1979 World Trials Champion and 1982 SSDT winner, Bernie Schreiber!

Bernie posted on his global facebook page immediately after receiving his entry confirmation:

Apparently the 2023 entry is full and oversubscribed again, but I’m thrilled to receive a Highland Classic entry and return to the friendliest Classic Trial in Scotland organized by the Inverness & District Motor Cycle Club Ltd. The Highland Classic Trial history can be traced back to 1950. The 2023 Suzuki Edition will take place at Alvie Estate on June 10th &11th with Nigel Birkett as guest of honour over the two-day weekend. Huge thank you to Sir John Moffat for the opportunity to ride one of his unique machines, but he said it will be a surprise and announced only in May. – Whit’s fur ye’ll no go by ye!

Bernie Schreiber will be flying into his base near Zurich in Switzerland after having joined the members of the NEOTT (North Eastern Oklahoma Trials Team) for a long weekend at Tulsa Mountain Trials, Oklahoma on 13/14 May, a short break, then out again to Inverness for the Highland Classic in June! Looks like he will be having a busy summer in 2023.

Bernie Schreiber will be promoting trials in the USA this year at Tulsa Mountain Trials

The Highland Classic 2023 Reserve List is displayed on this website – HERE

2023 SPECIAL FEATURES

Photo Credits: Gavin Shaw & David Lewis

There will be a very special feature at this year’s Highland Classic Two Day Trial, apart from being the Suzuki Edition where we pay homage to the Japanese marque in trials!

On display for trials enthusiasts will be the 1946 ex-factory AJS 16MC of Hugh Viney who won the 1947-49 Scottish Six Days Trial on this very motorcycle.

1947 was the first year that Hugh Viney had entered the SSDT and he won it on his first attempt!

The machine will be seen in the Trial HQ at Alvie Estate for all to see and appreciate what works riders were issued to compete on in the late forties and early fifties. This is a unique piece of trials history, it is amazing that this 77 year old machine has survived intact after being sold by the factory when later models were developed.

Hugh Viney apart from being a works rider, became the AMC Competitions manager when his trials riding career came to an end after a serious car accident. Viney had also represented his country in the annual International Six Days Trial on numerous occasions post war.

The AJS HXF641 came up for sale at Bonhams in April 2019:

First registered to AMC in October 1946, this 350 AJS was ridden in period by one of the biggest trials stars of the day, Hugh Viney, who had left his job as a local government surveyor to join the London-based manufacturer. During the war, Sergeant Viney had been a riding instructor in the Royal Corps of Signals, honing his off-road skills in the Yorkshire Pennines and moors. By all accounts he was somewhat reserved, preferring to let his results do the talking. And what a sensation he would turn out to be, winning the arduous Scottish Six Says Trial (SSDT) on his debut in 1947 and going on to repeat that victory in 1948 and 1949, securing the first hat-trick in SSDT history. As well as his SSDT successes, Viney won Gold Medals at every International Six Days Trials between 1949 and 1954, cementing his status as one of the greatest riders the sport has ever seen.

Hugh Viney in the 1947 SSDT on his way to victory in HXF641 (Photo: Bonhams)

It is certain that Viney rode ‘HXF 641’ to win the 1947 SSDT – it was pictured in Motor Cycling magazine (22nd May 1947 edition) as part of an article by Bob Holliday entitled ‘Gentlemen – The Winners’ – and it is believed that he used this same mount in 1948 and ’49. The original logbook (issued 10th October 1946) records Associated Motor Cycles Ltd of Plumstead as first owner and is signed by one of the Matchless founders, Charlie Collier. The first change of ownership is dated April 1950 when the machine passed to one Rodney Bainbridge of Shrewsbury. Many years later, in 1990, Hugh’s son Michael was able to purchase his father’s old SSDT winner, which he sold to Bob Gardiner in 1992 (see correspondence and V5 copies on file). A few years later the ex-Viney AJS was featured in The Classic Motor Cycle (December 2001 edition) in an article written by Roy Poynting.