Report and Pictures by Colin Bullock
The ACU Events sponsored British Trials Championship reached its conclusion last Sunday with the final round down in Kent organised by the Kent Youth and Wickham Clubs. The venue once again was Sandfields Farm near to Cowden on a course that can be likened to Hawkstone with its rocky outcrops linked by very loose sandy soil.
The series which has attracted sponsorship from TRW and Michelin started six months ago at Scarborough and had seen seven wins out of seven rides for James Dabill in the Championship and the question was could he make it a clean sweep. In the Experts A class Gary Macdonald went into the day just needing a top five finish as did Darren Brice in the well supported Experts B.
It was the B Group who got things underway and spectators were able to follow the first six subs with ease as they were all on the banking around the car park area. Championship leader Darren Brice was an early number and he immediately went clean though all of these first subs which must have settled any nerves quickly. Second placed rider John Crinson did likewise but Richard Timperley was caught for a dab at the second where the uphill sandy climb could easily cause loss of traction.
Another rider who started well was Guy Kendrew who is having a superb series. He remained feet up until the big section 10 which took two points from him. Timps had a similar score but it was conquered by Brice and Crinson. Darren then suffered a maximum on section 11 and as the punch cards were handed in at the end of lap one it was Kendrew from Timperley and then Crinson.
Guy Kendrew was to carry on dominating, losing just one mark on lap two on the loose climbs and descents at section four. Richard Timperley was not far behind with a lap for two and the pair started their final circuit well ahead of the field. Guy was after a second series win and with a fantastic clean third lap that was a just reward for a superb year. Bricey lost just one for his last lap and would finish third on the day behind Sherco mounted Richard Timperley but overall the Championship was the Cumbrian’s .
A very good crowd had assembled at Section one by the time the Experts A started and they saw both Gary Macdonald and Jack Sheppard take single dabs to get them through although disaster for Ricky Wiggins with a five. Andy Chilton and Jack Spencer both cleaned which the crowd appreciated.
There was another dab for Gary on section two but he then had a run of five cleans to settle things down. Potential disaster struck Jack Sheppard on Section two when another competitor’s bike looped and crashed down on his minder James’ leg. Fortunately nothing was broken although he could not carry on and Jack’s father was enrolled for minding duties for the rest of the event.
Section 10 at the far side of the farm was the bogey for the A group with only Sheppard and Spencer cleaning it on lap one. Spectator interest at the end of the lap focused on the man-made hazard with its mixture of big stone slabs and tree stumps. It was not really a stopper on this route but only Ben Wibberley and Robert Harries got through unpenalised on the first visit. As the scores went up it was Macdonald on six from Sheppard on seven followed by Chilton and Wibberley on eight.
Lap two saw Jack Sheppard have a circuit that reminds you why he looks such a great prospect. He lost two on section two and a dab on the tight turns and climbs of section six; a fantastic effort especially on a 125. Gary Mac did not do anything wrong and he used his experience to sit tight and with another very steady lap that Championship was inching closer.
Jack went off and cleaned the last lap in its entirety which would give him the win on the day with Gary second and then Ricky Wiggins finishing strongly for third. Ricky in his first year in the group
would finish fourth overall behind Jack Spencer. It may have been second on the day but for Gary it was the A Class Championship and Arthur and Sandra were there to see it having made a last minute decision to travel down.
Last away were the Championship class and although the final top three positions were pretty well established there was still plenty to ride for. James Dabill would want that clean sweep, Michael Brown would want to put one across his mate and Alexz Wigg who won in Devon last season would also fancy a top podium end to the year.
Dibs started at the front of the field and promptly rode clean on all of the first six hazards, a feat matched by Michael. Alexz started with dabs on the second and third hazards while Ross Danby kept his feet on the rests until sub six. Ross has stepped up his game this year and was aiming for fourth overall as long as he could get the better of team mate Sam Haslam. Disaster struck Sam however as a first lap crash saw him injure his right hand which put him out of contention, cruel luck for him.
Sections nine and 10 were causing problems for the Championship entry, taking marks from everyone with the latter getting tougher as the day wore on. As the riders came around to section 12 Dabill showed everyone his World Class with a magnificent ride as it was tackled in the opposite direction to last year. For everyone else it was a 5. So with one lap completed it was Dabill from Ross Danby and then Michael Brown.
Lap two and shock horror James had fived a section over at number 10. Only Brownie escaped here with a single dab on the punch card a superb effort. Alexz was on a charge and he had only lost six on lap two before the arena section where he lost a five after running out of time by literally two seconds. A similar fate befell Michael Brown, again the whistle went just as he was about to launch the bike towards the end card.
With just one lap of the series remaining James continued riding right at the front; if the expected rain came he wanted to be finished. A last lap for 10 marks was fine. Michael beat it with a fine clean at 12 but it was not enough to stop JD finishing the year as he stared it with a fine win. Alexz came through for third despite being last man home when the weather had turned rather foul. Ross Danby got fourth place and then it was Ben Morphett posting his best ride of the year despite an early mega crash.
The award of a set of Michelin tyres went to Emma Bristow who managed to get in the points in the Championship B Group.
Congrats to the Kent Club for putting on another go day and bringing down the end to a fine Championship year.