What a fantastic opening British Championship round at the weekend. I went to watch the practise on Saturday and the amount of work gone into making this event happen was so good to see.
The Dirtbike–Action team led by John Kerwin and Graham Jarvis with support from Tim Reynolds and his team must have spent weeks never minds days putting the whole show together. Who else can approach the likes of Renault Trucks and organise the massive hospitality unit for a British Championship event? Yes they still have much more work to do to make this location better but with buckets, diggers and man power I am sure they can achieve this.
Many of the sections are man made but the trial was a credit to the Clerk of the Course and Graham Jarvis who used his years of riding experience to test the riders to the limits of their ability giving his advice where needed. ACU steward John Collins was not to sure about this type of man made hazard at the start as he prefers to see more natural type sections but in the end he did say how impressed he was with the whole show.
With the build up to the event promising a good fight between the top UK riders they did not disappoint on the day. Many of the viewing public commented on how bizarre it was to see the top three riders on different machines and in new riding kit. For me I think this is very healthy for the sport, it’s also good to see the respective importers having their own riding kit produced in such bright and vibrant colours to add to the profile of the sport.
On “Race Day” Sunday the venue was blessed with a nice bright but cool day and boy did this bring out the crowds in there hundreds, at one point I think on section four MRS Sherco importer Malcolm Rathmell and myself had a quick head count and we reckoned on around three hundred spectators, yes at just one section. I personally believe this happened due to the central location of the event and the easy access from the M1 Motorway, literally two minutes away.
The battle between the riders in each of the respective classes was very good to see and the Championship boys on the hardest of routes certainly gave it 100%. James Dabill took the win which was good to see as many have questioned his form in the Indoor World Series but on Sunday’s performance he opened the defence of his British Championship crown in style. Micheal Browns riding well and I can see a fantastic year of constant battle between these two for supremacy. As for “Wiggy” once he finds some consistency in his riding I am sure he can take the challenge to these two.
Just before I close I must comment on the new Ossa making its championship debut at the event. The Expert B class is possibly the most competitive based on the amount of entries and credit must be given where it’s due. Guy Kendrew mounted on the new Spanish machine gave a fantastic display taking a very convincing win. After taking some criticism in certain areas of the press the machine with Kendrew at the controls looks to be very competitive with bodes well for the future. Ossa have never won a British Championship title, is this the beginning of a fantastic journey?
“I know only one world – Trials” John Hulme
REPORT JOHN HULME TRIAL MAG