Report Ken O'Brien
A cold but sunny morning greeted a class entry of riders for the 78th running of this prestigious Open to Centre Trophy the ' Harold Avery Cup ' where in the past such great riders as John Avery Sammy Miller Don Smith Bill Faulkner Pat Lamper John Cowley Tony Cowley Chris Koch Steve Reece Nick Draper and John Reynolds to name a few have all been triumphant.
Folly Farm Beckley was the venue where Ten sections were plotted to be ridden four times with long sandy climbs wooded gullies and rooted cambers.
Heavy afternoon rain was forecast so time was of the essence and most pressed on to get an early finish before the heavens opened.
The Phillip Howkins cup is awarded for the best adult performance on the Yellow standard route and also the Spring Cup for the best 50/50 ( middle Hard route ) Adult performance.
Section one a steep sandy double climb with fallen trees and awkwardly growing branches to negotiate was a mere formality for eventual premiere winner James Carter with four great cleans.
James will have his name engraved on the Harold Avery Cup for his great all round performance.
Ian Watts 300 Vertigo took the Spring Cup with a fine performance 46 marks lost outgunning traveling companion Phil Ducker 250 Vertigo by a twelve mark margin.
Both putting good rides in on section nine a tame looking drop then a really slick cambered rise before dropping into a snotty gully then a fast ride over three fallen trees before lining up for the last blast over a raft of timber to the ends.
On the Yellow Middle route Edward Gardner 260 Mont aced the pack with a superb ride to take the Phillip Howkins Cup losing 38 marks with section three taking eight of these.
An innocuous looking start things soon changed as the first stream crossing got slick with water being dragged up the bank by the whole entry, after this a boggy turn led to the second crossing but this time power was required to blast over a fallen tree on the opposite bank, once this was achieved there was more in the form of a grip-less ten yard blast to the end cards.
Mark George took runner-up spot with some inch perfect rides on section four down the woods where his immense clutch and throttle control shone through on this very tricky downhill affair.
Youth B best performance went to young Jack Pettit guiding the 125 Beta around in style.
The White eased Sportsman route caters for many different classes with Paul Toplis topping the class with a miserly loss of 4 on the brand new Mont 4RT.
Usually riding the old Twinshock Armstrong CCM Paul soon adapted to the requirements of this modern machine.
Gordon Pusey out on the 348 Mont for the first time in 35 years rolled back the years to take the win in the Twinshock class showing a clean pair of boots to all on section five, a sixty yard twisting uphill blast where most two-strokes were detonating trying to find grip but not Gordon just a simple third gear plonk.
In the Pre65 class Chris Aylott 250 DOT wasted no time racing to the win with four laps complete in record time Chris Page 250 Banville following him into second spot.
Section eight was problematic for most but the Pre65 boys seemed to have it weighed up this undulating series of cambers and rocky climbs.
Ian Marris over from the Stratford club was have a great time on the 410 Matchless but machine gremlins were hampering his overall performance so a bit of fettling and he will be back on song and in the mix.
Many thanks to all who helped on the day.
Next Trial is Good Friday April 18th.