Wyegate Trial 2017
Final Results
Supplementary Regulations.Want to see what happened in previous Years? (there are videos and photos.) Then go to the Past Winners List and click on the year number.
Also have a look at our Wyegates Remembered Page
Words: Colin
Wyegate Index: Clerk of Course Says, Ben's Press Report, Rider's Say, Video NEW!, Snippets, Team results, Section Statistics. Bike Statistics.
Final Results are now up. They remain as v3 but have Awards now added.
This was the 1st round of the ACU's Trail Bike Championship.
Clerk of Course Says
So there it was, another Wyegate over and from the riders I talked to and the comments received, all seemed to go well. OK so the first few sections at Pingry were a bit tougher than usual, blame Glenn for putting an enduro through our sections a short while before the Wyegate. Having ridden many Long Distance Trials where the day starts with five miles of road work in the cold and rain before the first section, giving everyone frozen fingers, I like to get you all into sections as soon as possible to warm you all up. But: it wasn't cold or wet, so there was some overheating, of riders and bikes (personally I don't see this liquid cooled fad catching on). We hope to again be a round of the ACU Trail Bike Championship next year and having the additional "hard" route does give us room to make sections for all abilities and, looking at the results, we have to cater for very Expert to very Novice. Some of the sections I thought would be easy turned out to be hard and some of what I thought would be hard were easy – so what do I know? I didn't expect anyone to get up the first Hill Climb which is why I made it a Hill Climb not a section, and nearly everyone got to the top no trouble. I did say there would be a prize for the best "Flip" caught on camera: And the winner is....
Michael Mant, and the prize is a FREE ENTRY to next year's Wyegate (non-transferable, no cash alternative.)
Well done Michael.
Roy and Rob Breakwell complained that last year's special test was too short: so, ok, it's your land, you mark it out. Which is what Rob did. Only to make it fair we ran it in the reverse direction to what he intended. Didn't slow him down though. Some of you had trouble with the Road Book (got lost) so we will look at a different format for next year. We are also looking to bring Limekiln back into the course, after many requests. This may mean running the course in the opposite direction and Colin says he looks forward to seeing you all going DOWN Pant-Glas steps!
If you have any comments or suggestions for the Wyegate, let us know. See you all at the Fred Rist. Ian Wixon
Ben Falconer's Press Report
Chris Koch made a near-perfect start to attempting to regain the ACU Trailbike Trials Championship with a third win in a row of the event which was the first round of the championship, set in the Wye Valley.
The 2015 champion lost just four marks over 33 observed sections set out by clerk of the course Ian Wixon in the West Glos and Dean Forest MCC event.
It has been running since 1983 and is one of the oldest long distance trials of its type in existence but it was the first time it has been a round of the championship.
Reigning champion Paul Sargant was down in eighth championship points scoring place thanks largely to a five mark maximum at Village Farm 3 where observer and past Wyegate winner David Eeles presided over a steep camber which required a committed effort.
Only a handful of marks covered the front runners and the varied nature of the events in the championship mean there is still much to play for.
Second placed Joe Bendall, a former winner of the event, lost all of his seven marks on different sections to Koch. And Mike Hughes in third dropped three at Penallt 1, where Joe dropped two and fourth placed Henry Bendall had a five.
Observer Darren Thomas saw only three cleans on this section which demanded a tight turn straight after a bike-length bowl. Koch hopped it round while on the move, the ever-precise Martin Gilbert guided his bike through on the line and so too Dave Cottle.
Event first timer Kevin Miller thoroughly enjoyed his day out on the 80 mile course which took most riders eight hours to cover. The top end of the field was dominated by the new Sherco X Rides and ageing Gas Gas Pamperas which were last made more than 10 years ago.
There were 13 retirements and seven non starters of the 108 entrants, and new ACU chairman John Collins was one of the many who finished the event.
The first group of sections was observed by members of the ACU Western Youth Development Squad and the club wishes to thank all observers and landowners for their support – many observers officiated twice during the event.
Next round: Neath MC Fred Rist Trial, August 13.
Riders Say
Chris Koch says: I'm so chuffed to have won it for the third time on the bounce, what a great day out, road book was perfect, sections to suit everybody, fantastic special test and two graded hills for good measure.....I'll be back next year.....also glad you made it a championship round....
Graham Airey says: Thanks for a great event, first time we have done this, travelled up from deepest Cornwall and pleased to say didn't disgrace ourselves in the results (annoyed at stalling on the rocky climb – doh). Enjoyed the event, challenging sections, great lanes in between, fantastically run (33 sections with time to view proved how efficient it was).
John presland says: Cracking event once again...thanks to all involved.
Kevin Greening says: Many thanks for a great day out.
Richard Beale says: Great event! Many thanks.
Peter Collins says: Many thanks and a great event again, my thanks to the organisers and helpers. We had a 400 mile round trip from East Sussex to take part and God willing will be back next year.
Josh and Richard Cook say: Cheers for a fantastic days riding yesterday, one of the best I have had for a long time. Some brilliant riding on all different types of terrain and sections marked out really well, challenging enough but with a few easier sections for us mere mortals to clean! Was gutted to have my clutch cable snap 10 sections from the finish forcing me and my Dad to retire. We will be back next year for sure.
Ian Thompson Says: Thanks to the team for yet another memorable Wyegate. It's been 10 years since my first one - it doesn't get any easier but it does seem to get more enjoyable. Roll on the next one. By the way the Greeves was fine for the trial - whilst it's always going to be a trail bike trial, it's just as good on a pre65.
Mike Hughes says: Brilliant Wyegate trial yesterday! We have had a very long but enjoyable day!
Snippets
I've just had a look through the video footage we have. We didn't get to many places to film because you lot didn't bring enough observers and we had to fill in. In fact far too many of our superstars of the event (I mean the observers not you riders!) ended up doing 2 sections and even some other jobs. While I'm thinking about it, it was great to see our regular local one-day trials riders all out doing their bit for the sport. OK, rant over. We (Jackie and Colin) only stayed for a short while at the Special test but ended up filming Chris Koch. Always worth hanging around for. I've put a title on his clip and I think you'll agree, 'Efficient'. Now available!. The only other person anywhere near Chris was a genuine superstar, as he put effort in before riding the event by constructing the test (And by the lack of tyre marks when we opened up, definitely not practicing it.) That was Robbie Breakwell who was just 0.16 seconds slower. Both Robbie and Chris have been known to win Enduros, so not too much of a surprise there.
The first group of sections (yes, you're not going to forget them in a hurry!) were manned by the ACU Western's Youth Development Squad. These young riders are not only getting trained in how to ride but how to observe and organise events. We are stuck with the rules so the electric bike riders weren't old enough to take the scores, I think the youngest actual observer was 15. The West Glos club give as much support as we can to this endeavour. We have extremely cheap youth membership and help provide venues for the Training sessions they run. We also run the Trial at the end of the summer school training camp. (Adults are also able to book at this event in limited numbers. I did it last year and over 60's can learn! It's just not showing in my results ... yet.) Our club's Ben Bishop, who coaches with the YDS, had a great grounding, he can claim to be the first sidecar passenger winner back in 1983. After observing the squad got on with some more serious training with Simon, James and Matt Welch and Ben on, what I'm betting were, probably harder sections than we rode.
It was a shame that the RAW-Sports team had to drop out leaving just Ian Thompson to grab the Pre65 win with no opposition. 34 year's ago a similar Greeves won the Trial in the capable hands of Jim Delahay. This year a pre 65 was still eligible to win the Wyegate Cup if they were riding the Championship route!
The Wyegate Cup has normally been won by a Trail Bike entry but can still go to a Pre-65. It has only been won by 4 other Pre-65 bikes over the years; Jim Delahay 1983, Adrian Moss 1986, Tony Davis 1989 and Steve Grindle in 2004.
The previous mutterings about the Wyegate becoming a round of the ACU Trail Bike Championship obviously came true. For ages, various reasons prevented us moving up, such as having section inspections cause queues. For it to happen we had to persuade one of our Clerk of the Courses to upgrade to a National licence and the Trials and Enduro Committee to agree plus all the West Glos grafters to want it. If you want to ride this trial in the future then please do your bit and persuade a friend to help out with observing. Or, we could all pull out our pipe and slippers and settle into a nice comfy chair... The championship is 4 rounds this year and was 3 last year. Will the Wyegate help or hinder it?
This year's Championship rounds:
March 12- West Glos & Dean Forest
Wyegate Trial
Aug 13 - Neath MC Fred Rist Trial
Sept 24 - Cheltenham HG MCC Sphinx Trial
Oct 8 - West of Eng Vic Ashford Trial
Videos
To view in HD you may need to click the HD or Vimeo link to open on the Vimeo hosting site.
The Wyegate Trial 12th March 2017 from Colin Jones on Vimeo.
Gallery
If any riders/parents would like shots emailed to them then please ask (Jackie/Colin took loads more than shown). admin@wgdfmcc.org.uk
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Ben clearly misunderstood when I said 'Smoke em'.
Richard Beale fights to get the spindle through before planting that dab 
Neath's Peter Joseph
John Collins doesn't sit in a chair all the time.
Adrian Cairns bosses the bigger Freeride around
Geoff Walker kept it together for most of the day ending on 30
Taunton's Steve Grinter used the non-championship eligible twinshock to head up the Standard Route.
Harvey Bennion on his first Wyegate ride on the superb CRM (What, me biased? ed.)
Top points scorer for the Neath team Glyn Moses sets up for a slippery exit
Martin Gilbert earns his 10 championship points but regrets 2 unexpected 5's taking him out of a top spot.
Ross Mason uses every inch of gully to keep momentum for the exit
John Edmonds
Chris Harvey has deserted his Pamp for the X-Trainer's very different world.
Steve Grindle rolls off another clean before suffering a DNF with the rest of the Posse.Team Results
TEAMS
| No. | Teams |
|---|---|
| Once Weres | |
| 39 Henry BENDALL | 11 |
| 40 Joe BENDALL | 7 |
| 42 Mike HUGHES | 9 |
| 27 | |
| Wye Bother | |
| 83 Daniel BENDALL | 28 |
| 84 Jason BENDALL | 12 |
| 85 Brendon KEDWARD | 33 |
| 73 | |
| Sons of Calamity | |
| 57 Mick THURMAN | 14 |
| 58 Jez BRAY | 14 |
| 59 Sam MANN | 49 |
| 77 | |
| Chelt Home Guard A | |
| 5 Steve VENN | 35 |
| 6 Andrew LEAHY | 37 |
| 8 Kevin MILLER | 11 |
| 83 | |
| Neath MC | |
| 13 John COLLINS | 79 |
| 14 Glyn MOSES | 14 |
| 21 Peter JOSEPH | 29 |
| 122 | |
| Wilfred Anchor Brothers | |
| 28 Harvey BENNION | 46 |
| 51 Glyn SMITH | 52 |
| 52 Max HAWKINS | 27 |
| 125 | |
| Eastbourne & DMCC | |
| 31 Tony ERREY | 20 |
| 32 Alan PATON | 29 |
| 33 Steve LUX | 94 |
| 143 | |
| Devon Boys | |
| 76 John LUCKETT | 62 |
| 77 Michael WHITEHOUSE | 74 |
| 78 Jon HUSTWAYTE | 67 |
| 203 | |
| Team Tragic | |
| 23 Kevan CORNWALL | 71 |
| 24 Peter COLLINS | 81 |
| 25 Steve MASTERS | 59 |
| 211 | |
| One Van | |
| 97 Andrew WHITE | 116 |
| 98 Chris PARR | 75 |
| 99 Nigel COX | 55 |
| 246 | |
| MotoWard Yamaha | |
| 46 Richard GARNER | 160 |
| 47 Martin WARD | 116 |
| 48 Neil VARNEY | 85 |
| 361 | |
| The RAW Posse | |
| 1 Ben BOWKETT | DNF |
| 2 Sam KING | DNF |
| 3 Steve GRINDLE | DNF |
| DNF | |
| Pikes Plonkers | |
| 70 Robert PIKE | 35 |
| 71 Tom PIKE | DNF |
| 72 Dave COTTLE | 19 |
| DNF | |
| Kev's Krashers | |
| 73 Andrea COTTLE | 87 |
| 74 Kevin LENNOX | 36 |
| 75 Gary SCRIVENS | DNF |
| DNF | |
Section Statistics
Note: the bolded sections were the ones with alternative Championship Routes.
Section Statistics
| Section | Score Incidence | Tot | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | Marks | Sec. Name | Avg |
| Champ' Rte | |||||||||
| 1 | 33 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 24 | Pingry 1 | 0.51 |
| 2 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 80 | Pingry 2 | 1.7 |
| 3 | 25 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 49 | Pingry 3 | 1.04 |
| 4 | 31 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 35 | Pingry 4 | 0.74 |
| 5 | 32 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 46 | Pingry 5 | 0.98 |
| 6 | 18 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 13 | 0 | 99 | Pingry 6 | 2.11 |
| 7 | 41 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | Forge Wood 1 | 0.24 |
| 8 | 6 | 14 | 2 | 9 | 15 | 0 | 120 | Forge Wood 2 | 2.61 |
| 9 | 27 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 55 | Lords Grove 1 | 1.2 |
| 10 | 34 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 29 | Lords Grove 2 | 0.64 |
| 11 | 18 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 61 | Hayes Coppice 1 | 1.33 |
| 12 | 31 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 43 | Hayes Coppice 2 | 0.93 |
| 13 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 71 | Roy's | 1.61 |
| 14 | 33 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 23 | Roy's 2 | 0.52 |
| 15 | 43 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Hendre 1 | 0.02 |
| 16 | 43 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Hendre 2 Hillclimb | 0.02 |
| 17 | 34 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 34 | Hendre 3 | 0.56 |
| 18 | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Village Farm 2 | 0 |
| 19 | 41 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Village Farm 2 | 0.09 |
| 20 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 23 | 0 | 145 | Village Farm 3 | 3.37 |
| 21 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 19 | 5 | 0 | 107 | Newhouse | 2.49 |
| 22 | 38 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | Craig | 0.24 |
| 23 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 5 | 2 | 122 | Penallt 1 | 2.76 |
| 24 | 21 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 50 | Penallt 2 | 1.05 |
| 25 | 6 | 19 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 86 | Tregagle | 1.51 |
| 26 | 20 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 50 | Sunnyside | 1.28 |
| 27 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 | Llwyna | 0.16 |
| 28 | 20 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 61 | Pant-glas 1 | 1.34 |
| 29 | 25 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 37 | Pant-glas 2 | 0.71 |
| 30 | 38 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Mork | 0.03 |
| 31 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | Forge Wood 3 | 0 |
| 32 | 27 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 34 | Forge Wood 4 | 0.63 |
| 33 | 35 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | Forge Wood 5 | 0.26 |
| Rte Tot: | 886 | 167 | 62 | 178 | 116 | 12 | 1525 | 1 | |
| Std Rte | |||||||||
| 1 | 26 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 75 | Pingry 1 | 1.42 |
| 2 | 6 | 11 | 4 | 25 | 7 | 0 | 129 | Pingry 2 | 2.43 |
| 3 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 23 | 10 | 0 | 143 | Pingry 3 | 2.7 |
| 4 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 20 | 10 | 0 | 124 | Pingry 4 | 2.34 |
| 5 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 20 | 9 | 0 | 118 | Pingry 5 | 2.23 |
| 6 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 17 | 13 | 1 | 134 | Pingry 6 | 2.38 |
| 7 | 29 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 66 | Forge Wood 1 | 1.27 |
| 8 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 32 | 0 | 204 | Forge Wood 2 | 4 |
| 9 | 27 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 95 | Lords Grove 1 | 1.86 |
| 10 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 15 | 3 | 148 | Lords Grove 2 | 2.51 |
| 11 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 29 | 12 | 0 | 159 | Hayes Coppice 1 | 3.12 |
| 12 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 23 | 6 | 0 | 108 | Hayes Coppice 2 | 2.12 |
| 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 25 | 12 | 0 | 147 | Roy's | 2.94 |
| 14 | 18 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 0 | 109 | Roy's 2 | 2.18 |
| 15 | 30 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 65 | Hendre 1 | 0.74 |
| 16 | 37 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 45 | Hendre 2 Hillclimb | 0.32 |
| 17 | 38 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 54 | Hendre 3 | 0.3 |
| 18 | 38 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 19 | Village Farm 2 | 0.38 |
| 19 | 29 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 64 | Village Farm 2 | 1.28 |
| 20 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 119 | Village Farm 3 | 2.22 |
| 21 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 26 | 0 | 200 | Newhouse | 4 |
| 22 | 35 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 39 | Craig | 0.76 |
| 23 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 18 | 9 | 1 | 122 | Penallt 1 | 2.38 |
| 24 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 22 | 0 | 152 | Penallt 2 | 3.17 |
| 25 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 18 | 15 | 7 | 211 | Tregagle | 3.44 |
| 26 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 14 | 1 | 136 | Sunnyside | 2.68 |
| 27 | 26 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 79 | Llwyna | 0.89 |
| 28 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 18 | 4 | 169 | Pant-glas 1 | 2.93 |
| 29 | 17 | 4 | 10 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 107 | Pant-glas 2 | 1.52 |
| 30 | 39 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 77 | Mork | 0.17 |
| 31 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 133 | Forge Wood 3 | 0.87 |
| 32 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 16 | 7 | 10 | 192 | Forge Wood 4 | 2.42 |
| 33 | 31 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 86 | Forge Wood 5 | 1.05 |
| Rte Tot: | 605 | 148 | 113 | 408 | 312 | 67 | 3828 | 1.99 | |
Bike Statistics
Because the data is in the results, a quick query might show us trends. We all know Pampera's dominate but let's see the numbers. We have clearly ignored Capacity variations.
So that is 24 KTMs to 26 Pamp's. What surprises does next year hold? Beta's X-Trainer has even convinced our Clerk of the Course that it can do everything - He even rode the Corinium Enduro on his!
| Make. | Model | Qty |
|---|---|---|
| AJP | Ultrapassar | 1 |
| AJP | Ultrapassar PR3 | 2 |
| Beta | Alp | 8 |
| Beta | RR | 1 |
| Beta | X-Trainer | 3 |
| BSA | B40 | 2 |
| Gas Gas | Pampera | 26 |
| Gas Gas | TX Randonne | 2 |
| Greeves | TFS | 1 |
| Honda | CRF | 8 |
| Honda | CRM | 1 |
| Honda | TL's | 3 |
| Honda | XR | 2 |
| Husqvarna | TE | 1 |
| KTM | EXC | 9 |
| KTM | EXC-F | 1 |
| KTM | Freeride | 14 |
| Montesa | 4Ride | 4 |
| Montesa | 4RT Longride | 1 |
| Ossa | Explorer | 1 |
| Scorpa | Longride | 1 |
| Sherco | X-Ride | 8 |
| Triumph | Tiger Cub | 1 |
| Yamaha | DT | 1 |
| Yamaha | DTWR | 4 |
| Yamaha | WRF | 1 |