By Rory McKee
A CLOUGHEY man at the sharp end of a world championship winning motorcycle race team has spoken of his pride after helping steer them to recent international glory.
Scott Thompson (37), whose motorsport career began in the humble surroundings of Kirkistown Race Track, is now crew chief for Retro Traffic Team 109 which last month, with Basque teenage sensation Beñat Fernández on board the Kove bike, clinched the 2025 FIM Supersport 300 World Championship crown in a dramatic season finale at the Jerez circuit in Andalusia.
With only three points separating three riders ahead of the title-deciding race, it all came down to the last corner as rookie Fernández performed a timely overtake to snatch the win on the line by 0.404s and finish ahead of Championship rivals Carter Thompson and David Salvador for the overall crown.
For Ards peninsula native Scott, the sport has given him many memorable experiences, but he admitted October’s WorldSSP300 win with Team 109 sits right up there with the best.
“It was pretty special,” said Scott, explaining that the Cork-based team switched from a Kawasaki bike to the Chinese manufactured Kove machine at the start of this season.
“We aren’t as big or as well off as some of the other teams, so given that and the change of bike, we were probably underdogs as such.
“[The team] did four years with Kawasaki with some race wins along the way, so it was a big hill to climb this year, learning a new bike for the team and a new rider.
“With lots of hard work behind the scenes we arrived at the first round of the Championship in Portugal and won the second race. The ball kept rolling all year after that with many fastest laps and more wins and podiums along the way.
“To finish like it did after 16 races was thrilling but a fantastic way to win a championship.”
Away from the high-octane environment of the track, Scott’s full- time day job is working for Francis Watsons farm shop in Cloughey, who he has thanked for their support.
“I’m very grateful to Gavin and his family for the support they have given me even when I was racing. It involves quite a bit of time away from work and it’s nice to have a boss that allows me to follow my passion.”
Scott’s own racing career finished in 2011, a year in which he won the Irish Pre-Injection 600 class. Since then, he has enjoyed various chapters both at home and abroad.
“I went to Australia in 2011 before returning home and starting my non- riding career as a mechanic for Mar- Train Racing, doing Irish and international road racing,” he continued.
“That is where I met Dan Kneen, who sadly passed away in 2018 at the Isle of Man TT. In 2017 we built a BMW 1000 Superstock which finished third in the Superstock TT at the Isle of Man.
“It was hard at the start to transition from riding into a technical role but I have found lots of enjoyment in crew chiefing as I set the bike up for each race and work with the rider to try and get any advantage out of the package I can,” said Scott.
He went on to work for the Northern Ireland based TAS Racing team and was crew chief for British Superbikes rider Alex Olsen alongside that. “But my heart wasn’t really in it and stepped away from the racing paddock for a while,” Scott added.
It was a phone call from Team 109 Principal Paul Tobin in the winter of 2018 that offered Scott the chance to reignite his passion and the move into the World Supersport 300 Championship set him on the path that would eventually lead to this year’s world title.
“Paul rang me to see if I would be interested in going to the World Superbikes to run in the SSP300 class. At first I said no, but after giving it some thought it would be a new big challenge and it got my passion for racing fired up again.
“Next year I am with Team 109 again as we move to the World Sportbike Championship with Kove and Beñat.”
