BMCA trial at Buildwas 15.12.19
Report and media by Spanner.
A rather nippy start to the day, many attendees arrived well in advance of the start time and did their best to keep warm; woolly hats, plenty of toe wriggling and sitting in the van with the heater on were the order of the day. Some of the chaps hailing from deeper into the Shropshire countryside reported icy roads and even a dusting of snow in their neck of the woods, fortunately the conditions were a little milder at Buildwas leisure!
In the paddock pre-trial, many a rider contemplated what lay ahead and remembering how muddy the place could be. Any fears were short lived and ill-founded, due to the sterling work by the ever-ardent trio of Kev Walker, Steve Leyshon and Dave Beddoes. A good deal of effort and thought gave us ten great sections that utilised the ground to great effect; keeping things tricky but, the majority of sections were still cleanable even on lap four. A nice little scramble up a lumpy bank kicked things off nicely before heading to a slippery hill-climb, sections utilising the pools and then the banks at the base of the hill. Sections two and three were slippery from the off, some easing off of three was required after the first lap, but even so, it was still no mean feat to actually get in or out of the section – does anyone know if Neil made it out alive?
A decent turnout of twenty-nine riders this week, ten in clubman and intermediate and nine in expert class, on a variety of machinery; James, Francis Barnett, BSA, Triumph, Greeves and a brace of Royal Enfields. Scores ran from single figures (or near to) at the top of each class through to fifty or sixty, a nice distribution of scores highlighting the quality and suitability of the setting out.
Highlight video above, the full length clip is on our YouTube channel for you to enjoy whilst polishing off some Quality Street over the festive period.
Clubman class top riders were Steve Leyshon, Steve Haines and Martin Mackenzie. Exemplary riding by Leyshon saw him win convincingly on seven points, only picking up points on three occasions. Second place went to Cub rider Haines on fourteen points, the only rider in the class not to take a five – well done! Third, on sixteen points, was Mackenzie – more cleans than Haines but, a pesky five on the last lap did for him. It was a great joy to see a very original Greeves entered by John Davies and a very creditable performance too! Credit to Harry Barfield too, his riding has really come on this season, we all watch his progress with great interest and it is a pleasure to see him working his way up the table week on week – keep it up!
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- John Davies on his Greeves – completely unmodified
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- Martin Mackenzie (Bantam)
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- Steve Haines (Cub) on good form
Intermediate class podium places went to Dave Beddoes, Tony Hill and Kev Walker. It was pretty close competition for the class win between Beddoes and Hill, both only picking up points on four occasions, with just three points between them and a good way ahead of the rest of the class. However, one five too many for Hill handed the win to Beddoes. Third place on nineteen points was Walker – thankfully none the worse for the battering he took last week! A nod must go to James Beddoes, good riding after a long lay-off and it’d be great to see him ride more often – we’re informed that negotiations for a works deal are in progress with sponsor/team manger Dave!
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- James Beddoes – is a works ride on the cards?
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- Kev Walker (Cub)
It was an all Bantam battle for the top three riders in expert class; Paul Munslow, Steve Hay and Paul Howells. Section two proved to be the most significant challenge and also pivotal in deciding position in the class. First place on seven points, Munslow had a cracking ride, a particular highlight being the only man in the class to clean the particularly slippery section two. Hay took second place on twelve points lost, a tidy core of seven on section two payed dividends. Third place Howells just missed out: only one point behind on thirteen.
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- Expert class winner Paul Munslow (Bantam)
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- Paul Howells (Bantam)
Expert over 350cc class was back this week, with Kevin Ellis on his BSA. The bigger machine proved to be a bit of a handful on occasion but credit to Ellis for finishing on such a low score; beating other experts on smaller machines to take sixth place!
Abbreviated results:
Expert class; 1 PAUL MUNSLOW (BAN) 7, 2 STEVEN HAY (BAN) 12, 3 PAUL HOWELLS (BAN) 13.
Expert over 350cc class; 6 KEVIN ELLIS (BSA) 50.
Intermediate class; 1 DAVID BEDDOES (FB) 10, 2 TONY HILL (BAN) 13, 3 KEVIN WALKER (CUB) 19.
Clubman class; 1 STEPHEN LEYSHON (BAN) 7, 2 STEVE HAINES (CUB) 14, 3 MARTIN MACKENZIE (BAN) 16
NEXT BMCA TRIAL SUNDAY 5th JANUARY 2020. Steve Jones. CONEY GREEN FARM. RIBBESFORD. STOURPORT ON SEVERN. DY13 0TE. Signposted off A451
Full results HERE.
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