The Isle of Wight Motorcycle Club held the Mercury Cup trial at Shorwell Chalk Pit on Sunday 27th January courtesy of Mr Ralph Cook. We would like to thank Ralph very much for welcoming us back at such short notice.
The sections were set by Colin Brodie and Dan Flux, assisted by Rob Howard, on section six. This was their first attempt at setting out a trial which resulted in eight excellent sections – a top trial by anyone’s standards. Thanks are also due to the Observers who gave up their time to help ensure a smooth running event. Very many thanks to Gill Locke who turned out with her camera to get some excellent shots. Gill was standing in for Viki Taylor who was recovering from her 50th Birthday celebrations on Saturday night! On behalf of everyone at the Club – I would like to wish Viki all the best as she steps into her 51st year.
The Club would like to welcome two new members, Alex Conrad and Liz Wild. Alex, an ex Enduro rider, was taking part in his first ever trial. Liz will be partnering Martin Moore in his outfit – its been a while since we’ve seen a sidecar at a Club trial, but it will make for some great spectating, brave lady! It was great to see returning rider; Paul West back on a trials bike following a prolonged absence. We hope to see all of them back again very soon.
The rain during Saturday did its best to dampen the ground but Sunday brought dry and bright conditions, with at times, a brisk and bitterly cold wind which meant the riders could find plenty of grip. James Stay proved to be the lone Expert rider in action today and he completed the trial for a total of fifty - an unusually high score for him, sections two, five and seven were most costly. Meanwhile the Intermediate class winner faired much better, Ben Brodie took the win with a determined effort to finish on just twenty-six. Rob Baker claimed the second spot by just two marks from Scout Gregory with Dan Flux not many more behind in fourth. Both Scout and Dan have moved up two classes in just two trials – Experts next time out then lads!
Simon Newnham (Over 50 class) recorded the best performance on the ‘B’ route dropping just nineteen marks, section seven accounted for almost half of those. The Clubman class proved to be a much closer affair, it was Scott Milton who won the battle by seven marks from, in second, Colin Brodie with Phil Chase just three more behind in third – top effort by all three riders. Joe Taylor should be very happy with his total this afternoon, completing the four laps of eight sections for a miserly six marks to make it two wins from two trials in the Novice class, jointly recording the lowest score of the day. Returning rider Paul West finished on twenty-two for the second place, despite a break of several years – excellent effort by both competitors. Lone Twin shock rider; Nick Symes equalled Joe’s score on the ‘C’ route, Nick was on course to finish on one - until an uncharacteristic mistake on section eight (last lap) where he missed a flag to incur a maximum five point penalty! John Townsend seemed to enjoy his trial chalking up maximum points in the British Bike class. Likewise Joe Moore (Adult Beginner) has to be pleased with his total of just fourteen.
Just two Youth finishers today headed up by Alfie Haydon in the Youth Intermediate’s. The Youth Inter riders have to tackle a 50/50 mix of the ‘C’ and ‘B’ routes. Alfie’s task became even more difficult after he managed to snap his rear brake lever clean off, leaving him with only the front brake working – despite that setback he ended the trial with a very respectable total of forty. Dan Locke had a brilliant ride (Youth Novice) cleaning four out of the eight sections dropping just eleven on the other four – superb effort by both young riders. Geoff Taylor was the pick of the bunch in the Sportsman class (C route) to finish with a fine total of just nine dropped marks. The full results can be found on the Club website.
The Club next meet on Sunday 10th February. Please keep an eye on the website where all the details will be published once finalised.
Entries for the forthcoming 2019 Wight Two Day Trial (April 27th & 28th) are progressing. There is a strict limit on entries so if you are planning to come over please get your paperwork sent in sooner rather than later in order to avoid disappointment. All the details (Reg’s, Entry Form and Confirmed rider list) are available from the Club website, in the FORMS section, just to the right of the Club logo.
Isle of Wight MCC
Isle of Wight MCC