Monday January 4, 2016 at 1:00pm
The ninth running of the Laurie Bird Memorial Trial was staged at Butley, Suffolk, and was the final round of the 2015 Eastern Centre Pre-70 Championship on Sunday 27th December. A heavy rain shower just prior to the start meant that what would have been a relatively easy trial would turn out to be a much tougher challenge for the 92 starters. Four laps of 12 sections were to be ridden, with three routes available to challenge riders of all abilities and experience.
The first group of four sections were set out on shallow banks and ditches, without the rain these would have been an easy start to the day, but the clay based soil quickly lost its grip and would turn out to be by far the highest scoring group of the day. The rain had little effect on the second group of sections, six had been set out along a steep and high sandy bank, although there was plenty of grip here, there were some big climbs and drops to be tackled. The last two sections were laid out over a tangle of fallen tree trunks and in a muddy depression with a twisty climb to the ends card.
Local rider James Williams (350 Royal Enfield) made light work of his first lap on the hard route in the Pre-Unit class, he recorded one of the only two clean laps of the day. His closest rival after the first lap was Mark Fletcher (500 Royal Enfield), the winner of this event for the last two years, who with four dabs and a two was not out of the running. By the time they started their second lap most of the grip was gone from the first group, Williams got through for 3,2,0 and 3, while Fletcher appeared to be coping better in going 0, 3, and 1 before taking a maximum in the tight cambered turns of section 4. With Williams taking a three on the big climb at section 9 as his only other loss for lap 2, Fletcher had still narrowed the gap by two. By the end of lap 3 their scores were tied, Fletcher having gained a big advantage in the slippery first group, losing eight marks to Williams's 14. On the final lap it was Williams who fared best in the mud, gaining a four mark advantage and looking odds on for the win. However, all was not done, Williams dropped only his second five of the day on the big twisting climb of section 8, a section he had previously cleaned three times. Fletcher had also cleaned this section on his first three attempts, but unexpectedly had a dab this time, leaving their scores tied again with only four sections left to ride. The very next section was to settle the result, the top section of the big climb in section 9 had dug out during the day and had previously took marks off both riders, a dab here by Williams was to cost him dear, as Fletcher went clean he took a single mark advantage. With both men cleaning the remaining sections, Fletcher took the day by the narrowest of margins, making it his third consecutive victory. Despite being beaten into third place Daniel Carter (400 Matchless) had done enough to win the Laurie Bird Cup, awarded to the best performance by a Woodbridge and District MCC member, for the fourth year in a row.
On the Pre-Unit intermediate route Andrew Stevens (350 Royal Enfield) dropped 11 marks on his first lap, however his rivals Robert Clarke (290 BSA) lost 20 and Nick Dyble (340 BSA) had dropped 25. Dyble's second lap for 13 was his best of the day, lifting him to second place and narrowing the gap on Stevens to just 7. However, Dyble's come back was to be short lived, Stevens taking a 9 mark advantage on their third lap, giving him an 18 mark lead overall. Clarke, by this time had slipped out of the reckoning and was destined for third place, a dozen marks behind Dyble, who despite a better final lap was also a dozen marks adrift of Stevens at the close.
Only two riders contested the easy route in the Pre-Unit class, Kevin Goldsmith (350 Royal Enfield) opened up with a good first lap, dropping just two dabs and a three. Joe Stollery (500 Indian) had ten cleans on his first lap, but fived in the muddy pond edge traverse of section 6 and on the tree trunks of section 11, leaving him five marks adrift. Stollery repeated his score of 10 on his second lap while Goldsmith had a bit of a disaster, losing 17 and dropping him into second place by a margin of two. Goldsmith went on to have the better of the third lap, with Stollery taking the honours on the last. At the end of the day their scores were tied, Stollery edging a tie-break win by way of achieving the most cleans.
On the hard route in the Unit class Chris Collins (270 BSA) was in a class of his own, giving somewhat of a masterclass in finding traction where all others failed or struggled. On his way to an emphatic win he dropped just 3 twos and seven dabs all day, his total of 13 marks lost being the best of the day in any class and on any route. Father and son, Gary and Nick Baker, both mounted on immaculately prepared and presented Tiger Cub 200's, finished second and third respectively, having held those positions throughout the day.
Last years intermediate route runner-up Kevin Bishop (199 Triumph) opened his account with a first lap score of 3, taking dabs on sections 1,7 and 10. Trevor Hill (Triumph 199) was hot on his heels on 5 at the end of his first lap, he then went one better on his second to take the lead at the halfway stage, Bishop having lost 8 marks on lap 2. Bishop found his form again on his third lap, repeating the three dab loss from his first, this together with a final lap for 7 saw him take the win as Hill dropped off a little with second half scores of 11 and 8.
On the Unit class easy route Brian Fletcher (250 Royal Enfield) and Richard Challis (249 BSA) ran close all day, both dropped fives on the fallen trees of section 11 on their first laps, ending it with scores of 8 and 7 respectively. A tied second lap for thee apiece kept things close, Challis went on to take the third lap by 2 and by another 1 on the last, giving him the win by a margin of four.
In the Two-Stroke class veteran rider Allen Collier (250 Francis Barnett) took the early lead with just a couple of dabs on his first lap on the hard route, it was a slender lead though, as Kevin Hood (250 Sprite) was only a single mark behind. As the early sections got slippery both had their worst laps on their second, Collier took fives on both sections 2 and 4 while Hood took threes. However Hood went on to drop fives on the twisting climb at section 8 and on the trees at 11, dropping him a further couple of marks off the lead. Collier recovered from his costly second lap to post scores of 7 for his third and fourth. Hood on the other hand could not recover his early form and steadily dropped out of contention, finishing 16 marks behind Collier at the end of the day. o
On the intermediate route Greg Radley (250 Greeves) and John Chapman (250 James) both started well, dropping 4 and 5 marks respectively on their first laps. Chapman held a 3 mark advantage at the end of lap 2 after Radley dropped his only five of the day on his second attempt at section 6, on his way to a lap total of 9.
By the end of lap 3 the margin was still 3 marks, but now in Radley's favour, he had pretty well mastered the muddy stuff and had his best lap, while Chapman suffered the loss of 9 on lap 3, a score he went on to repeat on his final lap. Radley did post his worst score of the day on his final lap, but held on to take the win by just two marks.
The slippery bank of section 4 was about all that separated the top two riders on the hard route in the Twin-Shock class, winner Andrew Arden (250 Yamaha) dropped a total of 7 here while runner-up Mark Banham (212 Fantic) suffered a five on his final attempt to register a total of 10. Banham also lost out by 3 marks to Arden on the big climb in section 9, eventually finishing the day 4 marks off the lead.
On the intermediate route Trevor Harvey ( 200 Yamaha ) lost only a single mark on the loose climb and sharp drop of section 8 to hold the lead at the end of the first lap. There was a threeway tie behind him, with Kevin Plummer (200 Fantic), Neil Kemp (200 Fantic) and Geoff Rank (310 CCM) all on 4. Plummer posted a second lap score of 3, dropping only a single mark in the first group and a couple elsewhere, the other three fared less well, with Kemp holding second spot and the other two tied a mark further behind. Rank put in the best third lap, with a total of 8. This moved him up in to second place and narrowed Plummer's lead, Harvey and Kemp were tied in third, again only a single mark behind. Plummer and Kemp tied scores on their final lap, Kemp regaining second place but still 5 marks behind winner Plummer. Harvey came home third and Rank fourth.
On the easy route in the Twin-Shock class, winner John Ruth (156 Fantic) was the second of the only two riders who recorded a clean lap on the day, this was his opening lap. With only a single two dropped on section 2, eventual runner-up Gary Smith (200 Honda) was still very much in contention at this early stage. As the day went on Ruth steadily increased his advantage and was never in anything other than top spot, eventually winning by a margin of 6 marks.
Pre-Unit
Hard Route
Mark Fletcher 500 Royal Enfield 36
James Williams 350 Royal Enfield 37
Intermediate Route
Andrew Stevens 350 Royal Enfield 71
Nick Dyble 340 BSA 83
Easy Route
Joe Stollery 500 Indian 37
Kevin Goldsmith 350 Royal Enfield 37
Unit
Hard Route
Chris Collins 270 BSA 13
Gary Baker 200 Triumph 32
Intermediate Route
Kevin Bishop 230 Triumph 21
Trevor Hill 199 Triumph 28
Easy Route
Richard Challis 249 BSA 23
Brian Fletcher 250 Royal Enfield 27
Two-Stroke
Hard Route
Allen Collier 250 Francis Barnett 31
Kevin Hood 250 Sprite 47
Intermediate Route
Greg Radley 250 Greeves 26
John Chapman 250 James 28
Twin-Shock
Hard Route
Andrew Arden 250 Yamaha 17
Mark Banham 212 Fantic 21
Intermediate Route
Kevin Plummer 200 Fantic 23
Neil Kemp 200 Fantic 28
Easy Route
John Ruth 156 Fantic 18
Gary Smith 200 Honda 24
Photos by Dick Law