The eighth round of the Luscombe SAAB Leeds sponsored British Sidecar Championship took place on Sunday at a sandy Hungry Hill venue near Aldershot. An entry of twenty one sidecars crews battling for points in the closing stages of the 2014 championship series.
In the Expert Championship Jon Tuck and Matt Sparkes have a comfortable thirty nine point lead over Daryl Dale and Hannah Etherington. Despite finishing second to Rochester’s Rupert and Chris Kimber the Bristol crew have a safe buffer and forty one points over the Kimbers. The crucial point is that the Kimbers did not score at the Tuck Cross in May so their drop score is sorted. Not so Tuck and Dale.
In the Intermediate Class things are closer with David Tuck and Steven Chandler retiring after eighteen sections. Robbie Head won with Andy Scrivens and German passenger Jana Grobmiann in second place. The scoreline now is Head on a hundred and twenty seven points with Jarvis just three points in arrears.
In the Clubman class the Yorkshire pairing of Chris and Robert Pickard are only three points in front of Southampton based Simon Evans and Nick Harding. The later halted the winning streak of Skipton brothers. Paul Fishlock and Debbie Merrell got their four stroke Beta in fourth place behind Mark Kemp and Ian Allaway. The new Fishlock outfit may be lighter than the trusty Ariel but is it as responsive?
Thomas McDowell has the Newcomers Championship in hand but with passenger Jon Stanley recovering from a Heart operation so it gave Adam Allaway and Jake Pope to take their second victory of the season. One team that dropped out were returnees Sean and Paul Cuckoo who retired their Sherco after eighteen sections.
The South Birmingham Motor Club stage penultimate trial in the series, the Clee Hill Trial, on October 18 which is also the Centenary Day for the Scott Trial. One thing is definite –the latter is not short of entries.
Pictures courtesy of Joel and Terry Crabtree.