The Alton & District Motor Cycle Club ran rounds 6 & 7 of the ACU Youth Trials Championship sponsored by Oset Bikes at the famous Moto Cross track at Manor Farm, Langrish, Petersfield, Hants.
Glen Keet and his team from the Alton Club did a huge amount of work prior to the event, clearing a large amount of shrub on the very steep hillsides, associated with this famous venue. The surrounding hillsides also featured the 1988 World Trials Championship Trial where just two riders finished under 100 marks lost, one of them the master of wet big hills. Steve Saunders.
Day one there were a few showers that made conditions a little bit tricky for the 61 competitors. A class riders Thomas Le Breton Sherco and Harry Cripps Gas Gas all started with nice clean rides over the slippery big fallen tree of section three. Le Bretton Hookwood Trials Club finished his first lap on 37 marks the same as Cripps, and
Zain Pugh Hutchinson on 89. The wind now thankfully started drying out the sections and Le Bretton recorded just 9 on his final lap to take his first win on 61 lost. Cripps finished on 74 with Zain Pugh Hutchinson on 89.
There was a lovely very popular story in the Youth B class. Max Golla Berko Club, early in the year sustained a very nasty injury in a mountain bike accident. This resulted in Max being in the intensive care unit for some while, its been a long road back into his first National of the year. What a dream return, laps of 24 -8 -5 was enough to take a very amazing win.
Ollie Grundy Yeo Vale MCC took runner up followed by Hookwoods Kai Fisher.
Sam Le Fevre TRS continued winning ways in the C Class on just 1 mark lost with Mason Tidd on 3 and Tomos Rees on 5.
Medium wheel D class went to Joseph Larkin and the small wheel Alisdair Pollock Oset all the way from Scotland.
Day two: As the first competitors left the start, the heavens opened, and it chucked it down for a couple of hours. You can only imagine how much harder the steep hillsides became, all riders struggled to maintain any grip on lap one.
It was only the quick thinking of the Clerk of the Course Glen Keet and assistants Kevin Knolan, Mick Morris, Mick Treagus and team that saved the day. By there quick thinking and skills on their riding, they raced around the course, making the necessary alterations to make the remainder of the event more enjoyable and possible.
Harry Cripps now took the A class win. Yeo Vales Ollie Gundry had a scintillating ride to win the B Class with another West Country rider Harvey Saunders taking the C class with a super ride on 41 lost, recoding an amazing clean of his final lap.
Joseph Larkin took the D medium and Alisdair Pollock continued his winning ways riding his Oset in the D small wheel.
Next round of the ACU Youth Trials Championship Sponsored by Oset Bikes will be on 10th/11th August organised by Non Stop Trials (Wales).
The final round ten will be Earl Shilton Trials on the 28th September.