Just four weeks to go as I write this on Saturday evening – four weeks to what you may ask. The Scott Trial of course, an event that is highlighted in my calendar from the beginning of the year, an event that I simply do not miss under any circumstances.
It’s easy to say that this year’s event, with Fujigas riding, is very special, but every Scott is very special and even though it’s an event that I have attended every year since 1978, it’s still the one trial that is very difficult to follow in its entirety.
Each year I vow to see as much as possible – which is quite difficult when I also observe a section somewhere around the middle of the trial, and inevitably, as the day progresses, so the trial gets further ahead, and the riders get spread out more, and in the end, back at the start it’s always a case of asking where has the day gone and why haven’t I seen as much as I want to!
Rumours abounded last year that Fujigas wanted to ride the trial and his attendance spectating last year has obviously given him an appetite for taking part. It’s fantastic news for British trials, for with him, Dougie, Graham Jarvis, and Michael Brown all taking part (amongst many others of course), there will be a real buzz all around the event to see how he performs against the legendary Yorkshire moors.
However, spectating one year and riding the next cannot give him any indication of what awaits. All the frightening messages in advance won’t prepare him for what lies ahead. But even so, riders of that calibre and that level of fitness are more than prepared for the rigours of the Scott, and though a win is almosyt out of the question, there’s no doubt Fujigas will give it everything he’s got and simply because of that, I expect to see a huge number of spectators at the trial.
News on the trials front seems pretty quiet at the moment – everybody is waiting for the announcement of the latest offerings from the factories, but perhaps the best news of all and one that we have been waiting in trepidation for is Mark Whitham’s brief posting to say that the refuelling problems regarding the Scottish Six Days Trial have now been resolved.
I’ve no idea exactly how the Edinburgh Club committee have managed to overcome the problems, but the fact that Mark sees fit to post the information on this website is good enough for me. Obviously the final details have yet to be detailed, but if the club have sorted the refuelling problem, then that’s fantastic news. I simply can’t imagine not being in Fort William during the first week of May and whilst that was at one time a real possibility for next year, I’m glad for my sanity that we’ll be in Scotland next year.
Just for one moment consider what would have happened if next year’s Scottish did not go ahead. Lose a trial of that status for one year for “avoidable” reasons and there would be a very good chance of losing the trial for ever. So many events have been lost in the past, the Hoad, Perce Simon, East Anglian National, Mitchell, to name just a few, and once gone, they seem to be lost forever.
So, it is really good news that the Scottish is safe, and we know from Mark’s previous postings, they had to get a long term solution, not one that was good for just a year.