Scott dies at TT

Freelance motorcycle journalist and racer Ian ‘Gus’ Scott died on lap two of Friday’s senior TT race at the exit of Kirk Michael village when he collided with a marshal.

The marshal, April Bolster, was crossing the track after assisting a rider who had stopped to make adjustments to his machine. Both rider and marshal were killed instantly.

Gus Scott’s racing career started in 1984 at Flookburgh on the Cumbrian coast, a decrepit airfield circuit optimistically named ‘The Ponderosa’. Like any other self respecting hooligan Gus started racing on a two-stroke – a Barcol tuned RD400 before progressing to the ubiquitous 250LC.

Over the next twenty three years Gus’s racing career took him all over the World riding Superbikes, 125s, 600s and even support races in MotoGP. Racing was everything to him. Initially he sacrificed every penny of his trainee plumber’s wage to learn and perfect his craft and over the past ten years, with the offer of top-flight machinery, that investment was beginning to reap dividends.

But what made Gus really stand out was not just his obvious talents on track or at the lap-top. He had an uncanny knack of getting on with people. Gus clicked with kids, captains of industry, riders, team managers, colleagues and even little old ladies.

His happy-go-lucky, charming and disarming knack with people endeared him to anyone and everyone who met him. Gus never really ‘did’ serious – there was always a funnier side of everything to dwell on. This is why he and his late, great mate Ronnie Smith made such an unrivalled comedy pairing.

Forty year-old Gus is survived by his parents, Brian and Valerie, his sister Bridget, brother Stephen and ten year-old daughter Yasmin.

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