Round two: delayed start heightens enthusiasm
7th Jul 2025
Round two of the 2025 BTPA championship series, sponsored by Mitas, took place recently at BA Stores, Aberdeenshire, under the scrutiny of the Scottish Tractor Pullers Club.
Friday evening’s start was delayed due to wet weather, but with the track sheeted over, an enthusiastic crowd sat-it-out in anticipation of a cracking evening’s competition. And when the event got underway, the action didn’t disappoint.
Due to the delay, the evening saw just two of its seven classes go down the track – Super Farm and Limited Pro Stock. And both were operated on a single-pull basis with a floating finish, encouraging every competitor to go as far as they could pull, and to ensure both points classes were completed.
David Todd opened proceedings as test puller in the Super Farm class with Redemption. Having spun-out at around 90m, and the sledge declared set, Toddy declined this distance. Was it a stroke of genius or just madness?
With Chasing Dreams extending the location of the chequered flag by around 3m more, few could get close. That was, until Redemption returned to the track. Despite improving on the test-pull distance, Toddy could only steer Redemption close to Chasing Dreams’ distance, but it meant he collected second place points. The final podium place went to local team Green Envy, driven for the first time at a British Championship event by 17-year old Ritchie Pirie.
The close competition from the ever-popular Limited Pro Stock class created an all blue podium, with Moody Blue taking 3rd place just behind Midnight Mistress, with first place going to Blue Wicked with a pull that stretched 7m further than anyone else, spinning out at 104m.
Saturday’s weather was a complete contrast to Friday’s, with glorious sunshine throughout the day, and a full complement of classes – including the Pro Stock tractors - take to the track.
The Super Farm class started the show on day two, and saw all but one tractor reach the pull off. Looking to repeat the previous night’s success Chasing Dreams was struck by mechanical failure.
Redemption took the top spot but had to work hard as the Evil Donkey inches ever closer to the top of the class. Third place was rounded off by Marie Cameron, on Smokey 2.
Next up, the Limited Pro Stock class yet again delivered excitement with a different winner and different teams on the podium. With the NBF Mean n Green Deutz as test puller stopped at 99.98m, and the sledge deemed set, driver Benjy Cradock declined the test pull, confident that the air-cooled Deutz could return to grab those extra two centimetres needed to reach a pull off.
Midnight Mistress had a wild run that resulted in disqualification for out of bounds, leaving four tractors in a pull off. Moody Blue claimed the winning distance, while Lancashire Bomber took second place, with third place grabbed by NBF Mean n Green, who made the right call declining that test pull.
The Super Sport class saw a dominant performance from Xtreme Force, taking the top spot ahead of V Power, in a two-way pull off. Orange Factory didn’t quite sound on-song and missed out, as did Brutus, as fuel pump problems on the start line conspired to cut the pull short.
In Pro Stock class, two of the three made full pulls, as Ivan Thomas, during his first drive on the Evil Dragon, steered the fiery Welsh IH 1066 into the pull off alongside the Carnegie family’s Xtreme Green.
Unfortunately for the Jones team’s Diesel Dragon, a melted piston dashed all hope of reaching the pull-off. The top-spot was taken by Xtreme Green, beating the Evil Dragon by around 4m.
In the Light Modified class, Jim Whitecross’s quad-turbine Gator Lynx Edition took the win, with the event rounded-off for the Scottish crowd by a demonstration run from David Jones on Just Smoky.
Thanks to Rab Lawrence for images from BA Stores.
Results from the event along with the latest points standing after round two, can be found here:
Round three of the 2025 BTPA championship series, sponsored by Mitas, heads to the Great Eccleston Showground on July 12 and 13. Hosted by the North West Tractor Pullers Club and held in conjunction with the Great Eccleston Show at PR3 0XA.
