Yorks Classic Two Day Championship Trial

yorkshire classic mccThe annual two day gathering took place at the old lead mines at Greenhow last weekend. The double header Championship event has a full 40 points were up for grabs in each class and 48 riders on Saturday and 62 riders on Sunday were chasing the points at the Club's popular two day event.

 

Tim Pawson and Andy Scott headed the team picking the sections and a great job they did too. Ten sections were ridden four times on Saturday extended to three laps of fifteen on day two.

 

The venue is known for the quality of its stream sections and the heavy overnight rain raised the water levels in Gill Beck for Saturday's adventure. Both days turned out fine and ideal for both riders and observers with sufficient wind to keep the midges down.

 

Tony Calvert did the double double by topping the premier class on both days for the last two years on his trusty Cub. His main rival for Cub class honours John Maxfield is currently sidelined with a torn achilles and won't be back for a couple of months but to his credit he came along on Sunday and observed the section by the car park.

 

It was close in the Clubman class with Paul Preston taking the two day honours on his James one point ahead of 15 year old Harry Lyons on his Bantam.

 

Sections 1 and 2 in Gill Beck were gentle introductions on both days causing little trouble.

 

The drop into the beck at Section 3 raised a few eyebrows on the premier route but it was the grass bank final exit that took marks.

 

Muddy Rock Outcrop

 

Saturday's section 6, an old favourite nicknamed Blackhills was the biggest mark taker of the weekend. It began with a tricky rock strewn climb followed by left turn up a slimy narrow steep peaty path mastered only by Calvert on every lap. Top two-stroke rider Chris Gascoigne (James) was next best on 4. The earlier exit made the clubman route slightly less difficult and Paul Preston showed his class by losing only three here with good showing from Mick Whitlow (Cub) only one point behind.

 

The experts Section 7 was the next hardest test with its rocky approach to a turn on flat slabs and climb to the 90 deg right turn finish was where no one went clean and Calvert dropped all three of his Saturday marks. Norman Shepherd (Bantam) and Robin Luscombe (Cub) were best dropping a mark each.

 

Camp Fire's Burning

 

After the first days trialling, the bbq was lit where the hardy campers so loved by the native midges relaxed. This was followed by the singing of rugby songs around a roaring wood fire as the temperature dropped under clear skies. A good night was had by all but for some the indulgences paid a heavy price in Sunday's battle.

 

As is usual, five extra sections were added for Sunday including the lower part of Gill Beck. Many of the first 10 sections remained more or less the same although the dreaded section 6 was removed to avoid trouble for the clubmen. Saturday's premier route only section 7 became Sunday's section 4 and the improving Will Harrison (Triumph Twin) starred along with Calvert being the only riders with clears on every lap. The large grey rocks high on the hill at section 10 were the next to cause trouble with Mick Clarke (Ariel) showing it can be done on a pre-unit along with Calvert, Lusky and Mick Grant (Bantam) going clean on the taxing premier line.

 

Unlucky for most

 

The added sections 11 to 15 caused more bother on the slippery rocks in the beck. The first caught out Calvert and Lusky amongst others and the second caused the clubmen some problems with Saturday's winner Paul Preston dropping five of his six and top pre-unit rider Gordon Imrie losing five.

 

The excellent new section 13 was the same for all and caused some head scratching. The over the boots part rode easier than it looked although Rick Jackson (C15) took an early bath when he found a submerged rock. Course plotter Andy Scott (Cub) lost a big two on the over the tricky big rock exit. The top four clubmen lost all their marks here with the only clubman to remain clean being Phil Holey on his steel tanked Cub.

The final two sections are the sting in the tail for the top riders with big rocks needing to be ridden with care. Section 14 is the old favourite wriggle between slippery boulders to a tricky exit and only the top riders went clear. The final section was the hardest of the day on the premier line that saw only Andy Scott go penalty free but Gascoigne lost six of his 9.

 

So the overall best performance over the two days went to Tony Calvert losing five marks with Chris Gascoigne second on 16, three ahead of Robin Luscombe.

 

Paul Preston topped the Clubmen on 14 beating Harry Lyons by a single mark with Barry Micklethwaite on his Francis Barnett a further 4 marks behind. Harry Stanistreet gets no younger but showed real form to finish fourth on his Ariel Arrow engined machine for an excellent ride despite the hangover from the overnight onsite party.

 

It had been a first class event at a top class venue and the club was thanked by many for putting on such a good show not only with the sections but also with the BBQ and the evening's entertainment.

Roll on next year!

 

Results

Saturday

Premier route

Class A- Pre-Unit Springers

1st Chris Haigh (Velo) 9

Class D-Cubs

1st Tony Calvert 3 2nd Andy Scott 16 3rd Ian Myers 27

Class E- unit over 250

1st Darren Walker (C15) 19 2nd Rick Jackson (C15) 36 3rd John Feather (C15) 77

Class F- 2 strokes

1st Chris Gascoigne (James) 7 2nd Norman Shepherd (Bantam) 10 3rd Nigel Greenwood (Bantam) 20

Class G - Twins

1st Will Harrison (Triumph) 41

Class S – Specials

1st Robin Luscombe (Cub) 9 2nd Duncan MacDonald (Ariel) 15 3rd Michael Dorricott ( Mc Cub) 63

Clubman Route

Class H- Vintage 2 strokes

1st Eric Atkinson (James) 65

Class K – open Clubman

1st Paul Preston (James) 8 2nd Barry Micklethwaite (F Barnett) 9 3rd Mick Whitlow (Cub) 11 4th Harry Stanistreet (Ariel Arrow) 11

Class T – Pre-Unit Clubmen

1st Gordon Imrie (Ariel) 14 2nd Peter Baldwin (Ariel) 22 3rd Andy Tomlinson (R.Enfield) 54

Sunday

Premier route

Class A- Pre-Unit Springers

1st Chris Haigh (Velo) 14 2nd Mick Clarke (Ariel) 25

Class D-Cubs

1st Tony Calvert 2 2nd Andy Scott 14

Class E- unit over 250

1st Darren Walker (C15) 20 2nd Rick Jackson (C15) 29

Class F- 2 strokes

1st Chris Gascoigne (James) 9 2nd Mick Grant (Bantam) 13 3rd Chris Greenbank (Bantam) 38

Class G-Twins

1st Will Harrison 15 2nd John Patefield 65 (All Triumphs)

Class S – Specials

1st Robin Luscombe (Cub) 10 2nd Duncan MacDonald (Ariel) 13

Clubman Route

Class B – Pre-Unit Rigid

1st John Feather (Ariel) 19

Class H- Vintage 2 strokes

1st Eric Atkinson (James) 41

Class J – Small Pre-Units

1st Chris Bacon (BSA C10) 23

Class K – open Clubman

1st Bob Baker (Cub) 1 (Oldest rider) 2nd Steve Cordon (Bantam) 1 3rd Steve Gossop (Bantam) 1 4th Harry Lyons (Bantam) 2

Class K/S

1st Paul Jackson (Jacks Cub) 18

Class T – Pre-Unit Clubmen

1st Gordon Imrie (Ariel) 9 2nd Colin Benson (Ariel) 11 3rd Rob Lowther (Triumph Twin) 52

Overall

Premier route

Class A- Pre-Unit Springers

1st Chris Haigh (Velo) 9+14=23

Class D-Cubs

1st Tony Calvert 3+2=5 2nd Andy Scott 16+14=30

Class E- unit over 250

1st Darren Walker (C15) 19+20=39 2nd Rick Jackson (C15) 36+29=65

Class F- 2 strokes

1st Chris Gascoigne (James) 7+9=16 2nd Mick Grant (Bantam) 21+13=34 3rd Chris Greenbank (Bantam) 29+38=67

Class G - Twins

1st Will Harrison 41+15=56

Class S – Specials

1st Robin Luscombe (Cub) 9+10=19 2nd Duncan MacDonald (Ariel) 15+13=28

Clubman Route

Class H- Vintage 2 strokes

1st Eric Atkinson (James) 65+41=106

Class K – open Clubman

1st Paul Preston (James) 8+6=14 2nd Harry Lyons (Bantam) 13+2=15 3rd Barry Micklethwaite (F Barnett) 9+10=19

4th Harry Stanistreet (Ariel Arrow)11+12=23

Class T – Pre-Unit Clubmen

1st Gordon Imrie 14+9=23