BMCA trial at Clifton on Teme, 21st October 2018: A beautiful Autumn day, misty as the morning broke, bright and clear skies burned the mist away and revealed the stunning surroundings. Heavy dew, a touch of frost and golden leaves underfoot, soon cleared too, revealing remarkably dry and grippy conditions. Organised and laid out by Pete Reed, Kevin Taylor and Dave ‘the cap’ Thomas, ten sections tested riders’ skills.
The view from this weeks venue
The clubman class rostrum places went to Jerry Munslow, Bob Davis and Steve Leyshon. Fresh from jet-setting around the world for three weeks, Munslow rode consistently well across all the sections to secure the win. It was a close call between the top three, only three points behind the leader was second place Davis and third place Leyshon another three points adrift – an admirable performance by all riders. Proof, if need be, that its all to play for in the class!
The intermediate group enjoyed a buoyant entry, making for several groups of close competition. Top places went to Gary Hawkins, Dave Jones and Mark Strong. Hats off to Hawkins for competing in his first trial since knee surgery only a matter of weeks ago. Some talk of ‘bionic’ and ‘6 million dollar’ was heard between riders, no doubt jealous of his great performance. We’re pleased to see him back, titanium joints and all!
A library pic of Gary Hawkins on the B40 before his recent “tune up”
A five on section 8 cost Jones dearly and more than doubled his score, leaving him to settle for second place– bad luck! Continuing his run of robust performances, Strong performed solidly to finish third – one to watch perhaps?
Very tight competition in the expert class to say the least! A tie on cleans meant that Steve Hay and Simon Thornley shared first place. Making a strong return to competition, Laurence Alden took second spot with a tidy score of just two points – he’s still got it! Trial organiser Kevin Taylor was on form, but unfortunately lost the dog fight for second by a whisker.
The early sections, a group of six, were set out along a bank, at the edge of the venue, which gradually became taller and steeper from one section to the next. The mighty oaks that run along the bank were put to great use and served as perfect obstacles to negotiate. Mid way through the group, number four was perhaps an easier section, but still took a fair few points, some silly fives and even tree hugging as reported by observer Harry Brittain.
Pete Reed grapples with the twin as observer Neil Robberton looks on in amusement. (library pic)
The second group was set within woodland and included perhaps several of the most troublesome sections. Observer on section 7, Graham Archer, dispensed advice that turned out to be true: “Confidence, that’s all you need”. It sounds obvious really, but sometimes you need somebody to talk some sense! Number 8 was manned by Amanda Fellows, fresh from holiday in Fuerteventura and feeling the twenty odd degree temperature difference, a steep climb with tightly linked turns demanded supreme agility. Chris Taylor on section 10 will surely have seen all manner of fives and threes across all three classes.
In a strange and unfortunate accident, clubman contender John Cope somehow got his foot trapped between the rear wheel and shock absorber during a tumble on section 3. Thanks to the quick thinking and assistance of fellow riders, his foot was extracted without too much pain involved and no pinkies lost. Perhaps this kind of entanglement is not entirely uncommon, as clubman regular Tony Hill suffered the same at the Red Marley trial at the close of last season!
A mention must be made to the supremely well turned out Bantam of Simon Thornley. Sporting a tribute to Jim Pickering on his number board, the bike is well put together and a bit of engineering eye candy!
Simon Thornley’s Bantam
It would be fair to say that the standard of riding and the quality of the sections being run in the BMCA are both high. Each class has a number of contenders each week, so much so, it is hard to predict who will come out on top and intriguing at the same time. Here’s to more of the same throughout the season!
This week saw the funeral of Jim Pickering take place. Jim was a long term BMCA rider and friend to all who met him. Proof of this was the turn-out: with circa three hundred in attendance from literally all corners of the country: Wales, Scotland, north and south England (nearly Ireland too, but they had to pull out at the last minute). Those who knew Jim would agree that ‘one off’ was appropriate when summing him up. Jim requested to be brought to the service in his trusty van, accompanied by Drayton riders. Jim’s own Triumph twin was part of the motorcade and made its own unique contribution to the day by backfiring and then dumping oil as it was parked up! A sad loss to all, not only a friend but also one of the most influential people in classic trials – gone but not forgotten. R.I.P Jim.
Report: Spanner
Results: Experts up to 350cc: Steve Hay (Ban) 0, Simon Thornley (Ban) 0, Laurence Alden (Ban) 2, Kevin Taylor (C15) 3, Paul Munslow (Ban) 3, Nathan Jones (BSA) 6, Chris Denney (Ban) 13, Les Richardson (Saracen) 34. Expert over 350cc: Pete Reed (Tri Twin) 36. Inters: Gary Hawkins (Bsa) 4, Dave Jones (BSA) 9, Mark Strong (Ban) 21, Ian Brittain (Royal Enfield) 22, Mike Butler (Ban) 23, Luke Stratton (Ban) 39, Charles Millington (Villiers) 41, Bob Greenhough (Ban) 44, Ernie Johnson (Cub) 50, Dave Harrison (Drayton C15) 55. Clubman: Jerry Munslow (Ban) 16, Bob Davis (Drayton Ban) 19, Stephen Leyshon (Drayton Ban) 22, John Nyons (Ban) 23, Colin Billington (Ban) 29, Tony Hill (Ban) 33, Dave Thomas (Sprite) 59, Graham Bradley (DMW) 62.