Whilst Shaun may have gained widespread recognition thanks to his results during the last nine months or so, his path to near the top has been anything other than an overnight success.

Shaun grew up on a healthy diet of motocross, with his father Willie having enjoyed a long career at the top level of the sport. In fact it wasn’t until 2002 that Willie stopped competing, after his eldest son took over the family mantle at the national meetings following his debut season at this level just twelve months earlier.

Throughout his own career Willie enjoyed the full support of his loyal wife Vanda, who through her own brother’s scrambling exploits north of the border had been introduced to the eventual triple Scottish motocross champion.

Despite her current work commitments now not allowing her as much free time as she once enjoyed, Vanda still manages to travel to the majority of Grand Prix meetings and all rounds of the British championship.

As during Willie’s riding days, Vanda remains an important and integral part of the Simpson team, where the family strength is at the core of the success that has been achieved to date.

Completing the circle, Shaun’s younger brother Stefan has also occupied a key role, with the soon to be eighteen year old having firmly established himself as a great young mechanic, in whom Shaun has 100% trust.

“My brother Stef has been my mechanic for the past two seasons, and is a big part of what I do out on the track. We seem to have grown out of fighting with each other (most of the time anyway) and have developed a real strong bond that has definitely reflected in my results.

"As for dad, well he is the one who is responsible for bringing me into the sport, so I kind of owe him big time for that. Despite him being a real quiet guy, he’s been a massive influence, never pushing me into anything I didn’t want to do, but he has always been there looking out for what is best for me.

"My mum has played an equally important part in my racing, and has always been there to do those crappy jobs that no one else wants to do, and always make sure everything is just so, so I don’t have to worry. In short, without these three people, I wouldn’t be where I am today, so I am eternally grateful to them for what they have done and continue to do.”

Raised in the paddock during an era when Thorpe, Malherbe and co were the Kings of motocross, and his father was one of the best privateers in this factory dominated period, Shaun had to wait until he was nine years old to compete in his first race.

That initial outing on the beach at Orkney Island was the beginning of a new generation of Simpson racing, that would net its first win in the small wheel 85cc class at Leuchars later the same season.

Whilst Shaun enjoyed a reasonably successful time during the youth ranks, his racing was mostly limited to Scotland, with the youngster not really venturing South until the new millennium.

With Shaun beginning to show some real potential, Willie decided to get a gauge of his eldest son’s speed by taking him to the final three rounds of the 2003 adult British championship.

Whilst the fast and flowing circuit on the Isle of Wight left Shaun outside the top fifteen on his 125 Honda, his debut at this level prepared him well for his trip to Ireland for the next round.

The sandy track at Desertmartin suited the young Scot better and gave him his first national points and some thing to build on for a full assault on the series the following year.

Mounted on a Chambers KTM Shaun displayed great maturity during his full debut season, with the then sixteen year old being the only rider to score points in every race of the 2004 championship.

The teenager was rewarded with eleventh position in the final standings for his consistency, and took another step up the ladder in a career that was making steady progress year on year. Just when things were looking like they were taking shape, Shaun found out on the 3rd January 2005 that the now Honda backed Chambers team, was no longer, and that he was left looking for a ride with the new season just around the corner.

A desperate call to Roger Harvey at Honda would prove a pivotal point in Shaun’s career, as the Simpson’s were introduced to Roger Magee in Ireland who was looking to start his own team using the famous red machinery.

A frantic three months followed in which Willie and Roger worked day and night to ensure everything was in place for the opening meeting of the year. Despite all the hard work, 2005 was not to be the best of seasons for Shaun with injuries at both ends of the year limiting his progress in the British rankings to seventh place come the close of play.

His pre-season broken collarbone and busted lower leg during Saturday’s qualifying at the Dutch GP at Lierop, would mark the start of three injury hit years to follow, which Shaun has over come incredibly to maintain his pursuit of glory both at British and World levels.

The Magee team welcomed seasoned campaigner Gordon Crockard to its ranks in 2006 to join Shaun in a set up that was fast gaining solid recognition as being a serious squad despite its relative infancy.

Whilst Simpson moved up a further two places in the British championship, his year was once again interrupted by another two injuries. These included a crash on home soil, with Shaun looking to record his first ever podium finish in the domestic series, the young Scot went down heavy on the last lap at Desertmartin and dislocated his shoulder in the process.

The other came at Shaun’s bogey circuit, with him crashing out at Lierop once again, this time a broken collarbone bringing a premature halt to Saturday for Simpson.

More tomorrow............................