The persistent rain that the entire country has been subjected to recently made it a close call as to whether the trial could go ahead, but thankfully there was enough of a respite to enable it to run. With the ground getting ever saturated, several revisions to planned section routes were necessary during the week leading up to the event, and after constant rain throughout Christmas night, further alterations were still being made right up to the start of the trial. Thankfully the rain held off during the event itself and the riders got to test their skills in searching for grip in some fairly slick conditions.
On the hard route, section 1, newly cut out and used for the first time was the biggest mark taker. Not having been ridden before it was difficult to assess how the section would evolve during the trial, get better or get worse. Worse was the answer. Although still possible to achieve a clean, it was very slick and needed a very good ride to do so with only three cleans recorded all day, from Sam Yeomans, Ed Dain and Paul Bennett. Section 3 featured a cambered uphill turn followed by a short run on slick but firm ground with a short climb and a left kink into a rut at the top towards the ends. Maximum revs and 3rd gear saw some spectacular attempts here to keep observer Roger Morris entertained with a few cleans and lots of 1 dab efforts being recorded. The next big mark taker was section 7, also featuring a newly cut back area which was used for the exit. The intial cambered climb around the back of a tree followed by crossing back across the same camber only higher up would give trouble if lines and speed weren't perfect. More trouble was waiting at the exit which cut up badly and many a fine ride on the cambers came off the rails here where a flat in 3rd approach was required to surmount the double stepped and very slippery bank out of the stream. Sam Yeomans was some way ahead of his rivals on this section, losing just 4 marks with the next best score being 11. The remaining sections, although very slippery in places, gave the expert riders little problem and balanced out nicely the more strenuous efforts required on the harder sections.
In the 50/50 class, they too had to ride section 1 and unfortunately this resulted in mainly fives, a few threes and one clean ride by Ian Margetts. They also had the difficult exit of section 3 to contend with but some good rides were seen here witha decent number of 1 and 2 dab rides and only two fives overall. The hard route was also tackled on sections 5 and 6. Section 6 saw plenty of good rides but section 5 proved a real test to keep feet up with its initial cambered turn out of the stream and the difficult final U-turn over a small root on the stream bank which was extremely slick. Quite a few single dab rides were recorded here, a three being the most common, but the only clean was recorded by Ian Pederby with an excellent ride on his BSA Bantam on his last lap. The final hard route section for the 50/50 riders was section 8 and once again, a slippery camber proved the hardest part of this section taking many dabs from riders. Only three cleans were recorded here, two for Ian Margetts and one for Steve Burgess.
On the medium route it was again section 1 that caused most problems and although a different line from the expert route, the cambered crossing still proved difficult and got harder as the trial progressed. A few cleans were recorded along with some single dab rides but the most common return was a three as a few prods were needed to steady the bikes across the camber. Sections 2, 3 and 4 caused few problems but section 5 incorporated the same final U-turn as the expert route and this saw many marks taken as either front wheel washed out or rear spun up as riders tried to find the ideal line around the turn and over the root. Cleans were few and hard fought for on this section. The remaining sections caused few problems and added few marks to the rider's scores although section 6 provided a good test with a line out of the stream and then over a mixture of rocks and slabs incorporating a tightish left turn and then a quick squirt up a short grass bank to the exit. The knack here required inch perfect positioning of the bike coming out of the stream as the front wheel needed to be carried high to clear the bank but then not be dropped into the face of one of the rocks or slabs which could stop the bike and unsettle the rider into a dab or more. Get the line right and the section flowed with cleans recorded, get it wrong and away went the marks. A notable ride was had here by Danny Littlehales on his 200 Fantic with four cleans.
On the easier white route it was section 2 that took a surprising number of marks from riders. A tight turn out of the stream was intended to take the odd mark or two, with the stream bottom being loose gravel it was easy for the front to wash out during the turn, but the exit also took marks where riders struggled to maintain grip and balance out of the grooved exit. Few marks were lost on the follwing sections until section 7. Once again, the newly cut back area used for the exit cut up badly on the easier line and the U-turn out onto wet grass caused problems as momentum was lost, feet went down and marks went up. The remaining sections caused little problem and gave the riders a bit of breathing space before arriving back at the difficult section 2.
Sam Yeomans took the win in the expert class with a comfortable margin over second place Ed Dain, although the marks for 2nd to 5th places were very close, seperated by only 9 marks. The 50/50 route was won by Ian Margetts with second going to an excellent ride from Ian Pederby taking it to the modern bikes on his BSA Bantam. On the medium route it was Sherco mounted old hand Harry Hall giving his new bike a winning run out, once again showing the way to the 'youngsters' in slick conditions with some very steady old school riding, although it was strange seeing him riding a bike without a Yamaha motor for the first time in many years. And finally, on the easier route it was another old timer, Bruce Bolton once again taking the win although it was a close fought affair this time with twinshock Suzuki (Alta?) mounted Rene Stubbs only 4 marks behind in a fine second place.
Thanks to Matt Spink, Elliot Petrek, Anthony and Dan Charles for your help in section prep and marking out. Also to all who supported the trial, all who observed and all who helped take the markers down at the end. Our next trial will be in April next year as there will be sheep on the farm until late March.