Knighton 26.01.2020

BMCA Trial at Knighton 26.01.2020

Report and media by Spanner.

At last the guys and gals got the chance to enjoy a much-anticipated trip to Knighton this week; the disastrous weather conditions of this winter meant the original date had to be cancelled due to waterlogged ground.

Although things were still on the wet side, we were in the safe hands of John Jackson – what he doesn’t know about Knighton isn’t worth knowing! With many season’s worth of experience with the ground under his belt, John set the sections out superbly. Although some of the sections might have looked innocuous at first, all elements were judged and balanced well – the end result being a trial that held a good level of challenge throughout.

There was a decent turnout in each class and with the scores spread well through the tables; the makings of a great trial. Nobody had an easy ride though, as illustrated by the results. At the top of each group we have riders on scores a good margin ahead, followed by a gradual spread across the other competitors.

Highlights of this weeks trial above.

It was a battle of the Bantams for the podium in the clubman class; Mike Butler, Stephen Leyshon and George Houghton. Riding with confidence and skill, Butler finished in first place on thirteen points lost – the only rider to clean the challenging section five throughout. In second place on seventeen points lost, Leyshon continued his run of strong performances. Houghton just edged into third with three points between him and Mackenzie, good riding on section four – he was the only rider to clean it all four laps.

A little more variety of machine in the top spots in intermediate class: Joe Owen (Ban), Mark Lucas (C15), Dave Thomas (Ariel). A spot-on performance by Owen gave him the lead by five points, finishing on twenty-one points lost – class leader on no less than three sections. Lucas and Thomas both finished on impressive scores, Lucas just edging ahead by one point less; Lucas twenty-six points, Thomas twenty-seven points.

Expert class leaders this week were Paul Howells, Steve Hay and Mick Parkes. Howells and Hay both finished on just four points lost and tied on cleans too, leaving it to longest clean run to settle the scores – close or what! A return to form for Parkes, he seems to be making a strong recovery from a shoulder injury early in the season, third place on eighteen points lost.

Sections five and ten proved to be real sticking points, where big scores could be had. Certainly section five took a lot of points after the second lap, the steep bank proving very hard to mount without loosing the front of the bike. Section ten was tricky all the way through – but clean-able even on the last lap (for the skilled few!).

Extended footage of this weeks trial above.

Thanks to all the observers and organisers – as ever, we would be lost without you!

Abbreviated results:

Expert class;

1 PAUL HOWELLS (BAN) 4, 2 STEVEN HAY (TRI) 4, 3 MICK PARKES (BAN) 18.

 

Intermediate class;

1 JOE OWEN (BAN) 21, 2 MARK LUCAS (C15) 26, 3 DAVE THOMAS (ARI) 7.

 

Clubman class; 1 MIKE BUTLER (BAN) 13, 2 STEPHEN LEYSHON (BAN)17, 3 GEORGE HOUGHTON (BAN) 27.

Full results HERE.

NEXT BMCA TRIAL SUNDAY 2nd February 2020. Luke Stratton. Birchwood Farm, Shatterford. DY12 1TR. Approx. 5 miles from Kidderminster A442 Bridgnorth Road at Shatterford.

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