Ex-soldier gets major payout after Scottish Six Days Trial crash

After a crash at the 2022 Scottish Six Days Trial, former soldier Mark Lamplough has been awarded £380,000 in damages.

Lamplough, now 62, filed an action at the Court of Session in Edinburgh against Edinburgh and District Motor Club, the organisers of the Scottish Six Days Trial, following his crash four years ago.

58-years-old at the time, Lamplough collided with a race marshal who was riding in the opposite direction, and his action was based on the claim that the crash was the result of negligence, allegations the club denied, saying it had taken appropriate measures, as reported by the BBC.

The court has now ruled in Lamplough’s favour, awarding him £380,000 after finding the organisers had failed to correctly assess the risk of collision between competitors and marshals which were allowed to travel in the opposite direction to that of the course. The judge also made note of Lamplough’s experience in the army as a chief motorcycle instructor.

“After joining the Army at 16 he was a dispatch rider and competed extensively in motorcycle events,” said judge Lady Drummond, the BBC has reported.

“He served as chief motorcycle instructor before leaving the Army at 23.”

Lady Drummond added: “The cause of the accident was the decision to operate travelling marshals against the competitors' direction of travel in circumstances where opposing motorcycle traffic on forestry tracks posed an obvious risk of collision.”

“The defenders failed to identify and assess that risk properly and failed to implement appropriate control measures to reduce it.”