Moto Britannica Trial - 7 Oct 2012
Other Years (In various forms!): 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003.
Photos by Jackie Jones.
A SELECT entry of 10 riders enjoyed a tough test against some classic Wye Valley trials territory in England and Wales.
West Glos and Dean Forest MCC's conducted Moto Britannica long distance trial focused on four groups of sections familiar to riders of the event's big brother, the Wyegate trial.
Section plotters Ian Wixon and Stan Howitt rightly ratcheted up the difficulty of some of the sections a little, which meant no rider managed to lose under 40 marks over 25 hazards.
Moto Britannica Trial 2012 from Colin Jones on Vimeo.
The key group was Wixon's Rocks, where yet more sections mainly in some nadgery gullies had been found. The rocks' owner came to grief here, and did not have a happy time on familiar ground, dropping 33.
Likewise Ben Falconer, who more than doubled his score over the eight sections in this group with 22 marks lost.
The best performance over Wixon's Rocks came from Goff Hannam who managed to get his 500 Ariel through for 19.
Every hazard at Wixon's Rocks was cleanable but opting for a clean raised the risk of losing a five.
Martin Worgan wisely settled for threes in several sections, and it paid off, because he only dropped one five in losing 25 over the eight rocky hazards.
The first group in Forge Wood on the English side of the River Wye posed few problems apart from the last section. A zig zag across a steep climb looked straight forward enough but a combination of hard wet ground saw most lose fives, apart from Nigel Townsend and Dave Arkell, who bullied their way through for threes. The accompanying travelling observers enjoyed the blast straight up the middle of the hill, none more so than Anthony Moore aboard the bored out 156cc Gas Gas Randonee.
Crossing over the border in to Wales, Lord's Grove featured the hillclimb familiar to Wyegate riders but it was turned in to a graded hill which finished higher than normal. Ian Wixon shot up at valve bouncing pace to make the top, and with a good turn of speed and the good sense to fit a decent back tyre to his Pampera, Martin Worgan romped to the summit too. He showed his brother Nick the way here on a section where his KTM 300 surprisingly failed to shine.
A great day out finished at Tony's Wood, before retiring to the start/finish at the Miners Arms at Sling.
The club wishes to thank all officials and landowners for making the event possible, but particularly Carole Wixon for providing a superb lunch halfway around.