Whilst it must be considered that the Trial GB class will drop one round score at the end of the season, his two wins and possibly more importantly, two best lap bonus points, puts Jack Peace (Sherco) at the top of the current point standings after the St David's Trial, which featured round two on Sunday.
In complete contrast the round one two weeks ago when the Trial 2 World contender gained just one clean, he suffered just one maximum on Sunday which ultimately was the key to his success. Eighteen marks behind, but having recorded five failures, Harry Hemingway (Beta) acknowledged the winners prowess at the end of the event, whilst being happy with second place which he now shares with Billy Green (Scorpa) in the standings, who had to settle for third on the day.
The two and a half hour opening lap time limit was always going to be a problem after the group of five let themselves fall twenty minutes behind the Trial 2 class two thirds of the way round the twelve section course. Jack Dance (GasGas) was the first of the group to "make the move" and press on from section eight and this resulted in him being the only rider in the class not to suffer any time penalties, confidently cleaning the final rocky stream right on his minute.
In contrast, Harry Turner (Scorpa) whose formal request to upgrade to the Trial GB class for the rest of the season was sanctioned, fell behind after being the first to start but clocked off ten minutes late at the end of his first lap.
With the top three from the first round absent for varying reasons, the Trial 2 class was left wide open for changes at the top and equally as important for some other riders to drift into the seeded places for the next round.
Posting the lowest score on the Trial 2 route, George Hemingway (Beta) was officially the Youth125 winner, but as he was the only rider on a 125cc machine and being officially eligible for championship points, "G" found himself on the top step of the Trial 2 podium and walking away with the leaders red plate for round three.
After a technical issue which forced him to retire from round one, Chris Stay (TRRS) admitted to being a little competition rusty, but was delighted with his second place where he matched young Hemingway on the opening lap with twenty marks lost.
Again making a welcome visit to the podium, James Fry (Sherco) was just two marks further adrift in third, nearly matching the winner for cleans over the thirty six sections, but seven failures making the difference.
Once again, the riders in this class suffered with the loose moving rocks at both section six (the Hill Climb) and the traditional rocky gulley at number eleven which were the major mark takers.
Choosing to move right into the Trial 2 class from the Trial 125 category last year, Jamie Galloway (TRRS) put three very consistent laps together for fourth, just ahead of his Scottish compatriot Duncan MacColl (Beta) whose fifth place hoisted him up the standings.
Irish regular Josh Hanlon (Beta) was right in the mix. A poor start to his second lap put him just off the pace, but a well managed ride put him in sixth place at the end of the day.
Hugo Jervis (Beta) came back from three maximums at the start, but improved his lap scores throughout the remaining two tours to slot into seventh at effectively his home round. Alfie Lampkin (Vertigo) and Thomas Hawthorne (Sherco) rounded out the point scoring positions.
With an outstanding display of control and skill, Dan Thorpe (GasGas) convincingly took the top spot in the Expert Class . Excelling in the traditional, but varied sections high above Swansea, the reigning Champion posted lap scores 4-3-6 to more than half the tally of his nearest rival and current title contender Brad Bullock (Beta). The numbers speak for themselves and although Bullock admitted that his first lap was "poor", the joint red plate holder lost one more mark on his first tour around the twelve sections than Thorpe for the whole three laps.
Sam Beecroft Penny (TRRS) matched Thorpe's zero approach to maximum penalties throughout the thirty six sections for a well deserved third place, which also promoted him to fourth in the standings.
Joseph Collins (Beta) missed out on a podium position with too many footing sessions on the final lap after a brilliant second tour with nine marks put him in contention.
Our Ladies World Champion, Emma Bristow (Sherco) suffered at the dreaded Hill Climb as did most in the class. A loose, rock strewn water course which required a fast third gear approach changed from rider to rider and only the winner and sixth place finisher George Gosden (Beta) had cleans recorded on their wristbands. It was the previous section (five) which cost Gosden dearly. Used for many years, the straight, but steep in places, stream section stopped the Isle of Wight rider on all three visits where his main rivals kept their losses to a minimum.
New to the series, Kurt Brain (Beta) recorded fourteen cleans on his way to a well deserved seventh place, whilst Oliver Sharp (GasGas) in his first year to the complete series, recorded three laps of seventeen each to take a bag of points in eighth. Too many fiascos cost Charlie Smith (GasGas) who is always a podium contender and he had to be content with ninth, just two marks ahead of Tom Swindlehurst (Sherco) in tenth.
Harison Skelton (Scorpa) took the Trial 125 honours in a complete turnaround from round one with a twelve mark margin from Harry Blackwell (Beta) whose second was enough to retain the series leaders red place with Daniel Da Breo (GasGas) staying in touch in third.
Skelton (Beta) completed the three laps, twelve section course with a loss of seventy five marks, leading from lap one and slowly increasing his advantage over the second and third tour of the three mile course. Whilst the steep climbs of sections five and six, the former in a traditional Welsh water course, caused most problems for the smaller machines and avoiding maximums here was key. Skelton recorded eight cleans compared to his rivals seven during the day, but the winner suffered just four maximums compared to Blackwell's seven and Da Breo's eight.
The next round of the series takes place at Millom in Cumbria on Sunday April 9
th. Further details can be found on
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