With just one bout of footing, one failure and seven single dabs throughout the thirty six sections, Jack Peace (Sherco) continued his run of wins to set himself up for his first Trial GB title with just three rounds remaining. Posting lap scores of 4-9-2 Peace fought back from an initial charge from Billy Green (Scorpa) who dropped singles in sections three and four, but remained feet up for the rest of the first lap. An unusual crash over the handlebars in the tight turn between trees and a steep decent at section four on lap one put Harry Hemingway (Beta) playing catch up for the rest of the three laps, but he had to settle for third at the end of the day. Greens lap scores were 2-15-4 compared to Hemingway of 7-13-4.
Intentionally an easier round than the previous four, a short, sharp shower midway round the second lap made the final four sections on the boulder strewn hillside very difficult, but the sunshine returned for their final visit which allowed all five of Britain's World class riders demonstrate their skills to the maximum in front of appreciative fans.
Following his two recent Trial GP wins, Jack Dance (GasGas) edged closer to a podium position, posting two single figure laps and returning the second best scorecard when the sections were at their most difficult, but the eighteen year old suffered three failures on the final section which cost him dearly.
Harry Turner (Scorpa) continues to get closer to challenging Britain's elite and cleaned half of the thirty six sections over the three laps course.
Both the Series Manager and the organising Club were very pleased to be able to facilitate the large crowd of spectators to witness Britain's best demonstrate their talent with the top five riders sharing one hundred and fifteen clean rides between them.
Once again, taking the little 125 Beta to the top of the category, George Hemingway extended his lead in the Trial 2 class at round five on the Western fringes of Dartmoor on Sunday. Finishing second in the event and extending his second in the series after five rounds, James Fry (Sherco) edged out Oliver Smith (TRRS) who nearly missed out at the podium presentation after failing to get his lap three score recorded until very late at the end of the event. Initially, a surprised Jamie Galloway (TRRS) was credited with third, but was demoted to fourth when the error was recognised.
In an event of two parts, the Trial 2 class suffered the most when a short sharp shower midway through their second lap made the final five sections on the boulders at the "tor" like glass. The winners laps of 13-23-6 shows this which was also reflected by the top finishers in the class.
Acknowledged by the winner in the podium interviews, Hugo Jervis (Beta) was outstanding on the first two laps of twelve sections, sharing the lead with Hemingway with 13 and 23 marks lost. However, as his main rivals upped their game on the final tour in drier conditions, Jervis suffered two maximums which dropped him down to fifth which was still good enough to put him into the seeded riders for the next round at Brimham Rocks.
Too many maximums put Sam Connor (Beta) down in an unusual sixth place, three marks ahead of Duncan MacColl whose consistency paid dividends. After missing the first three rounds, Sam Yeomans (Vertigo) continued to score good points in eighth after Chris Stay (TRRS) lost five marks on time at the end of lap one which dropped him one place.
Young Alfie Lampkin (Vertigo) was unable to repeat his recent run of good form in the Trial GP series and had to settle for tenth, losing out to Stay on another tie break.
Aided by two fellow Yorkshiremen who finished second and third, winner Dan Thorpe (GasGas) now enjoys a nine mark series lead after his arch rival Brad Bullock (Beta) slipped to fifth in the Torridge Clubs promotion. Tying for ninth place at the end of the first twelve section lap which Bullock and Emma Bristow MBE (Sherco) completed for five marks each, Thorpe improved as the day progressed and his three laps of 10-6-5 was just enough at the end of the event to secure the win - and the sole red plate holder going into the next round in his native Yorkshire in two weeks time.
Effectively his rivals let him off the hook as eventual third place finisher, Sam Beecroft-Penny (TRRS) followed up his first lap loss of seven with a single mark deficit on the second tour to lead by four from Charlie Smith (Vertigo) , but both could not return single figure scores on their final lap which handed Thorpe the win.
So with Smith visiting the podium for the first time in 2023 in second place, Beecroft - Penny in third, newly honoured Bristow was just one mark away from a podium visit in fourth with laps of 5-11-10.
Corey Dubik (Vertigo) was right up at the sharp end after two laps but a final tour of fourteen put him down to sixth, losing out on the tie break with Bullock by a single clean.
Tipped by many local fans as a podium contender, Joe Baker (Beta) made a one off return to the series to finish seventh, being unable to point the four stroke Beta to the exact lines on the unforgiving rocks in the later stages of the event, but recorded more cleans than the rest of the Expert field.
Being drawn as the first starter in the ballot did not deter Jonny Starmer (Beta) from a strong result in eighth with another front runner, Oliver Sharp (GasGas) in ninth and Malcolm Summers (GasGas) completing the top ten. All of these three made the most of the best conditions on lap one, but their scores increased over the subsequent two laps.
With a win and also gaining the best lap bonus point, Harison Skelton (Scorpa) has drawn level with his arch rival, Harry Blackwell (Beta) in the Trial 125 class. Skelton took control of the three lap twelve section event from the start, cleaning the first two sections where his rivals faultered and going on to post the best lap of seventeen. Blackwell fought back on the second tour of the four kilometer course, reducing the deficit to three marks to set up a tense final lap. Both riders arrived at the final rocky section level on points and after Blackwell was forced into a light bout of footing, Skelton secured the win with a single mark loss.
Having to settle for third place on the day, Daniel De Breo suffered badly when a short shower made the final sections on the tor extremely slippery on the second lap and he suffered four maximums in a row which put him off the pace of the two leaders ahead of him.
The battle continues with round six at Brimham Rocks, near Harrogate on the 9th July.