The fifth round of the IOWMCC’s 2020 Winter Series Trials Championship took place on Sunday 15th March at Shorwell Chalk Pit in Shorwell.
8 flowing sections were set out by brothers Steve Chase and Phil Chase, with the help of Stuart Gummer. The chalk pit is a brilliant trials venue and has everything from steep woodland to chalk bowls littered with rocks and is made available with kind permission of Mr Ralph Cook.
Despite the incredibly wet winter so far, the ground was surprisingly dry and grippy which was a pleasant surprise for the 27 riders that completed the trial.
It was excellent to see the island’s very own 2019 ACU Expert British Trials Champion Chris Stay out riding in the Elite class. Chris made extremely light work of the sections, dropping just 1 mark throughout the whole trial and it’s easy to see why the younger riders look up to him so much.
Chris’ older brother, James, a superb rider himself, made a return to the series having missed the previous round and with bike issues seemingly now a thing of the past, finished front of the pack on the A route in the Expert class, on 28. Jack Ayres was 7 marks behind in second place on 35. Jack put in a good performance, despite a nasty looking over the bars crash on section 7. Tom Richards continues to impress on board his Beta machine, finishing in third place on 45.
Chris and James’ dad, Alan, stayed on top again, winning the Intermediate class with a fantastic ride, dropping just 4 marks on the B route, some 21 clear of second place Sonny Gaskin, who had an excellent ride himself! Scout Gregory finished in third place on 41.
Just 2 riders competed in the O/50 class on the B route; Simon Newnham and Simon Watmough. Simon Newnham put in an impressive performance on his GasGas to finish in first place on just 15, 20 clear of Simon Watmough on 35 in second place.
There was a good battle in the Clubman class, with 4 riders taking on a 50/50 split of both B and C route sections. Geoff Taylor made the least dabs out of all 4 riders, steering his Montesa to victory for a total of 29. John Coombes was not far behind in second place on 36, with Colin Brodie in third on 40.
In the Novice class, following the C route, Brian Brockwell was the clear winner, losing only 14 marks. Course setter Steve Chase finished in second place on 34, ahead of S. Parfitt in third on 92.
3 T/Shock class riders took on the C route. Nick Symes made light work of the trial on his trusty Honda TLR machine, losing just 4 marks to finish in first place. Jason Elford finished in second on 32, and Calvin Wright in third on 44.
Tristan Osborne was the solo rider in the Ad/Beg class riding the D route. Tristan cleaned 4 of the sections 4 times losing only 8 marks all trial.
In the Sportsman class, on the D route, Mike Taylor managed to go clean for the entire trial, not making one single dab – a seriously impressive feat and one that is rarely achieved! Gary Jones is still getting used to his shiny new Honda, and finished in second place on 22.
2 riders competed in the Yth/Expert class which follows the B route. Dan Locke continues to impress, taking the win and losing just 15 marks in the process, ahead of Alfie Haydon in second place on 28.
Alfie Gaskin was the lone Yth/Inter rider, taking on a 50/50 split of both B and C route sections. Alfie had some excellent rides, particularly on section 4 where he lost only 1 mark. Alfie finished the trial on a total of 63.
Freddie Death was the only rider in the Yth/Beg class; his first outing on his new TRS 125cc machine. Freddie looked more and more confident throughout the afternoon and his score of 32 reflects this.
