West of England Motor Club Anthony Rew Trial... round 3 of the 2010 British Solo Trials Championship....
...a few thoughts.
| .. 90 minutes down the M5 and A38 found me in Bovey Tracey, Devon, for the first of our local rounds of this years Championship. It didn't look great on the journey down, from the moment I went past Bridgewater until i got to Exeter it pissed it down!! But luckily from then on it died out to a drizzle and finaly about 2 miles from the venue it was dry. They had a little rain over night, but not enough to get past the leaf cover in the woods and cause too much hassle to the sections. The big rocks are not actually the problem in this area, it is the small rocks and roots just under the surface that cause most issues, making getting grip to drive onto the big rocks hard work at times. As ha always been the case when I have visited this trial it is all well organised and the sections seemed to be on the right side of tough but technical rather than silly and dangerous... although not having ridden it I may be wrong! One thing I will say though, this is maybe the 3rd or 4th time I have been to this event and looking back at my photos over those years it seems that the same sections are used over and over again. You only have to walk around in that wood and you could see loads of new sections. Maybe ask someone like Joe Baker, who is a bloody good rider and until recently rode in the Championship, to have a look for new sections.... just a thought. |
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... what was nice to see was that there were several options in most sections as far as the best way to tackle it. Nothing worse than a one line trial were rider after rider takes exactly the same path... a criticism leveled at present day biketrial sections I am afraid. I think, as a spectator, all three of the routes marked out seemed spot on. Dabill's win on just over 20 marks was enough to test him but all of the riders down the field could still get through the sections. Time was tight on a couple but not silly. The 1.5 minute allowence seems about spot on as you don't end up with a glorified feet up enduro like the world rounds seem to be heading for! I must mention Craig Robinson.. I was standing next to the step that he came back down off and saw the bike crush his hand on the way back down and it hurt me let alone him! I have seen Craig have some big crashes in the past but this was the first time I haven't seen him bounce straight back up. He spent a good few minutes curled up just outside the section ropes holding his wrist. For the next few sections he was in agony and I saw him drop off a 6 foot rock towards the end of one section and he yelled in pain but somehow namaged to stay on the bike and get out the ends cards before doubling up again... it was a good move taking 5's on most of the other sections and leaving to get it sorted as Hear he has broken a bone in his hand at the very least. |
| ... I bumped into a few people for a chat along the way but one of the nicest to meet again was the afore mentioned Joe Baker. Sad not to see him riding but always a top bloke to talk to. He is still riding in his local centre and I believe if he wins the championship this year it will be for the 11th time. It goes without saying that he had a mega ride at the SSDT this year and he reports his Scorpa never had any trouble at all, but the 19 marks he lost on time on the first day could well have been done without! At the end of the day I grabbed a quick chat with Jack Sheppard, what a nice lad!! (I know, i sound like my grandad now!) He spent some time talking about the bike, the trial and also the TopTrialTeam to me and even modeled his new TTT Airoh Crash hat and TTT team clothing for me to take pictures of!! Watching him ride the 125 Beta on the big rocks was great to watch, but made me realise what a shite rider I am!! Anyway, thanks to all at the WOE club for a great day out... there is a 76 image photo gallery available to browse through HERE. Bit dark in the woods with the cloudy sky but a few came out ok. |
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