Wednesday May 26, 2010 at 5:04pm
MAY has been a hectic month on the Trials Calendar with The SSDT followed by the British Championship round in Devon and now it is back for Round 4 this weekend, with The Mitchell in Merthyr Tydfill.
James Dabill has got off to a dream start in the ACU Events sponsored series winning all three rounds to date and he is riding with a Champion’s confidence. Michael Brown has taken second at Scarborough, Lochaber and the Anthony Rew down at Kelly farm two-weeks ago. Brownie now need to takes some first places quickly to ensure James does not get too far out of reach. He managed a win at this venue last year after Dibs had suffered a first lap crash that meant a major bike rebuild.
Shaun Morris has been very consistent this season and currently holds third position in the Championship. He is always capable of grabbing a win, especially if the rocks are big and dry - or could Alexz Wigg or one of the others upset the apple cart and get on the podium?
Gary Macdonald and Ian Austermuhle have been setting the pace in Experts A. Both were superb in the recent SSDT and with Gary recently getting the Devon win he currently leads the Class, but by one-point only. Jack Sheppard came close to a second place in Devon but he had to settle for the last place on the podium after a second lap put paid to his chances of challenging for the win. He has youth on his side and he already has looked very much at home in this group. After starting the season well Jonny Walker has been off the pace over the past couple of rounds and the PJ1 supported rider will also be looking to get his season back into shape as he currently stands in fifth place behind Jack Spencer.
In the Expert B Class Darren Brice tops the list with three first places to date .John Crinson and Guy Kendrew are his main challengers at the moment and are both looking in good form but Brice has already opened up an 18 point lead so he is already going to take some catching. The B Group has been the best supported rider group in 2010 and there should be a full entry once again.
The venue for the event is Morlais Quarry which was successfully re-used for the last couple of years and the organisers will have been hard at work finding new sections and fine tuning some interesting hazards. Expect some rocks and then some more with climbs! If those are not to your fancy then there is the wooded section which offers some very alternative hazards.
Morlais Quarry will be signed off the A465 Heads of the Valley road.
Spectator viewing is good with plenty of subs within easy reach.
There will be 12 sections on offer with 3 laps to be completed in the 5 hours 30 minutes time limit.
Signing on will be available on Saturday with the practice session taking place between 3-5pm.
The Trial is due to start with the Expert B class at 9.30am on Sunday and there will be a riders meeting 30 minutes before the first rider is away.