THE final round of the Northern British Bike Championship, hosted by Red Rose MCC, was a classic in every sense of the word. Over 80 riders turned up for 30 sections spread across ten miles and seven Lancashire moorland venues, with unseasonally warm October sunshine providing almost perfect conditions for trialling. The field was split into eight classes, split 50-50 on eased and normal routes, with a mixture of streams, grassy bankings and hillocks ready to test all the competitors.
When all the scores were added up, it was former Pre-65 Scottish winner Paul Heys who topped the results sheet, with just four dabs all day on his 250cc Cub. Heys also won class six (Unit Expert), well clear of runner-up Andrew Scott, who dropped 15 marks on his Cub, and third-placed Darren Walker (BSA C15) on 21.
John Gornall and his beautiful Norton 500T won class five (Pre Unit Expert) by the slenderest of margins, pipping Ben Butterworth by one mark 15-16. Butterworth, on his Ariel 500, admitted to being ‘not match-fit’ after drastically reducing his trials commitments this year. Special mention should go to Ben’s uncle Sean Isherwood who finished a highly-creditable fifth in the class, despite having to use an Ariel 500 with a thumb throttle.
An injury several years ago has left him with no movement in the wrist, so Ben’s grandfather Harold Isherwood adapted the machine to allow Sean to continue riding.
Chris Gascoigne kept his penalties in single figures, which was enough to claim the class 7 (Two Stroke Expert) honours on his Francis Barnett. His nine marks were well ahead of runner up John Hamblin (20) and Terry Raw (23), both on James 250s.
Ian Hopley (Cub 250) rounded off the normal route winners, taking class 8 (Specials) from Ian Brown (Cub 230) and Michael Dorricott, also on a Cub 230.
In the Eased Route classes, there were wins for Andrew Webbe (Pre-Unit Rigid), Carl Winstanley (Pre-Unit Clubman), Shaun Brown (Vintage Two-Stroke) and Andrew Cooke (Clubman).
The format and the sections, plotted by Red Rose MCC members, drew widespread praise from the competitors. Former Speedway champion and Red Rose regular Eric Boocock summed it up: “It was really enjoyable. There was lots of variety in the sections, and they were all well-laid out. A proper trial!”