After the cancellation of the scheduled event the previous weekend due to ice and snow, the Yorkshire Classic Club quickly reorganised the event a week later and 34 riders turned up on a breezy but dry day.
Lancashire’s Carl Winstanley took his Ariel to the pre-unit win losing a lucky 13 marks, eight ahead of engineer and wheel builder Paul Jackson on his home brewed Velocette.
In the lightweight ‘Just for Fun’ section Nick Jefferies turned out for the first time on his newly acquired and tidy looking Bantam to check out the bike (and himself) losing just 9 before taking on more challenging events later in the year. Steve Thomas and Andy Hesketh tied for second on 11 with Thomas taking the tie being the older of the two riders.
Without the presence of ice it was the soft mud on the surface that caused problems especially on the first three sections. The climbs and turns soon lost their grass cover and became tricky as a result. Only Steve Thomas and Andy Hesketh on their Bantams cleaned section 1 on every visit but no one was able to stay clean on the final two foot deep narrow rut climbing out of section two with Thomas being best on 5.
The slippery climb across 4x4 tracks at section thee took marks from all but Winstanley, Jefferies and evergreen Maurice Brayford on a James for a change.
The popular section at number four with its drop into shallow water followed by a wriggle across random rocks took a few marks but remaining sections old and new did little to alter the scores of the better riders.
At the end of the day, the majority went home happy and most thought it just about right for a Yorkshire Classic pre-unit event. The post-trial gathering at the nearby Roggerham Gate Inn proved popular, with the spirit of the late Tiger Payne remembered and welcoming pie and peas for all, compliments of the Payne family.