The Scott Trial on Saturday in Swaledale was a battle royal between 2012 winner Michael Brown and 2010 victor James Dabill. It was the latter who won the trial by a margin of just four penalties.
Brown lost the trial on time penalties created by Healaugh’s John Sunter who set a searing pace riding his Montesa Honda, which was very fuel efficient, along with Skeeby’s Jonathan Richardson.
The local riders penalised the entire field of finishers. Richardson was right on Sunter in the closing stages and lost a minute on time penalties as did winner Dabill.
As the survivors of the moorland battle climbed Reels Head, the sixty eighth section out of seventy six, the spectators cheered on every rider. At this crucial stage thirty eight year old Dougie Lampkin was on course for a third victory. He was riding the sections better than his rivals and his observation scores were better than either Dabill or Brown. Fate though was going to intervene at the eleventh hour.
After the final petrol halt the multi-world trials champion hit a deep pool and drowned the engine of his machine. The delay and damage to the engine slowed the Silsden rider down in the last crucial miles. The time penalties mounted to fifteen so any hopes of victory vanished leaving Dabill to almost cruise home, albeit with Brown and Jonathan Richardson circulating at exactly the same pace.
Ian Austermuhle, Guy Kendrew and Richard Sadler were battling for a top six finish but it was the West Witton MRS Sherco teamster who lost out on a tie-breaker with Kendrew.
All three ladies made the finish. World and national Champion Emma Bristow was thirty third while Katy Sunter and Chloe Richardson over came eighty miles and seventy six sections to gain a coveted Scott Finishers certificate.
From two hundred and two starters only ninety four were classed as official finishers.
The entire print run of programmes, fifteen hundred, were sold by 9.30 am on Saturday morning. The proceeds from the trial will be donated the various local and national charities. Unofficial estimates put the spectator numbers up by 20% or more.