Ben's Bracken blast
By TMX Archives on 7th May 08
WITH the National C and D round tucked away on Saturday, East Midland Racing Association took charge of the fourth round of the British Youth A and B Championship on Sunday at a slightly damper, and more testing, Bracken Rocks.
Like the C and D round, the event was no walk in the park for either class and coincidentally Youth A winner, Ben Morphett, still young enough to be contesting Youth B, stuck his marker on the class on lap one.
A five on the muddy slabs, ten yards from the start, stopped the Herne Bay rider, plus a dab on the double stepped rocks at the sixth, where Thomas Maddrell lost his drive when the rock clipped his chain guide and lifted the chain off the sprocket. The Isle of Man rider was feet-up and heading for a clean on lap two. Morphett wrapped up the lap with a dab on the penultimate rock jumping section near the finish.
That single dab put Ben on seven, exactly the same as Iwan Robert's brilliant Youth C opener on Saturday. It was an iffy section with slight rain dampening the launch pad but Joanne Coles did give it a good go and succeeded on lap two.
The 20-point tally hoisted Morphett to a total of 69, one less than double-winner Jack Sheppard who has put Ipswich back on the trials map 40 years after Dave Bickers swept out of Coddenham on his Greeves.
First round winner, John Richardson was right on the case, with Keswick rider Jonny Walker. Only the top four remained under 40
marks and Morphett rode alone at the back, keeping an eye on the clock to hand in his punch card well after the rest were watching the last three sections to see if Ben would fall at the final hurdle. No chance. He was line perfect. On the first two he took a safety dab on the rock climb at number 11 and two dabs in the final section.
The top guys stormed the wet waterfall at section two where a three-foot rock step had a few sumped out. The two Oliver's Sharp and Ingham found the step a stopper.
Without question, the flight up the huge rock at six, then into a pathless maze of angled rocks would be a stopper but Sheppard, Jack Thompson and Jonny Walker got the knife edged rock dead right to go clean, on lap one.
Sheppard then succeeded again on lap two when Josh Sprintall, Richardson and Josh Maude got out with a dab. Josh was out of contact with ground control, his dad John, because his hearing aid, had packed in. I could not hear the Beta engine, and I was lip-reading my dad's instructions! said the Scarborough youngster.
Section nine featured a pathless maze, which stop-ped many. If that didn't, the roots at the end did.
By this time, the rain was falling. Jordy Hayes was loaded after a knee clattering crash and Richmond's hope, Jack Stones, was spectating after crunching his clutch cover.
And the Class B runners?
Well, Richard Sadler de-stroyed the lot. The Bracken Rocks parlance is that he did a Roberts'. His final tally of 24 was 47 less than a battling Jake Luter-Evans and Chris Short and one more under Class B debutee Luke Walker, the latter in his first year in the class. Hard to believe that Sadler was the third rider to clock in an opening circuit of just seven marks. Lucky seven for Richard Sadler, Ben Morphett and Iwan Roberts.
BRITISH YOUTH A&B TRIALS CHAMPS
Rd 4 Bracken Rocks, nr Matlock (East Midland RA)
Youth A: Ben Morphett (JST Gas Gas) 18 marks lost, Jack Sheppard (Beta-UK) 27, Jonathan Richardson (MRS Sherco) 31, Jonny Walker (MRS Sherco) 37, Jack Thompson (MRS Sherco) 43, Jack Spencer (Beta) 67, Andy Chilton (FeetUp Sherco) 70, Josh Sprintall (Beta-UK) 75, Josh Maude (MRS Sherco) 86, Josh Brain (Azzy Paints Sherco) 96, Thomas Maddrell (Road & Track Sherco) 100, Allan MacMaster (HLS Sherco) 103, Joanne Coles (MRS Sherco) 105, William Reynolds (Gas Gas) 106, Jake Young (OAS Beta) 116.
SERIES STANDINGS after 4 (of 8) rounds: 1 Sheppard 70 points, 2 Morphett 69, 3 Walker 60, 4 Richardson 59, 5 Spencer 39, 6 Chilton 36, 7 Thompson 30, 8 Wiggins 29, 9 Maude 28, 10 Brain 27,...
Youth B: Richard Sadler (MRS Sherco) 24 marks lost, Jake Evans-Luter (Beta-UK) 71 (9x0,8x1), Chris Short (Stevens Gas Gas) 71 (9x0,7x1), Luke Walker (MRS Sherco) 72, Jack Howell (Beta-UK) 78 (8x0), Tom Dexter (B&B Sherco) 78 (4x0), George Gosden (JST Gas Gas) 85, Joel Edwards (AB Gas Gas) 99, Corey Dubik (Gas Gas) 101, Daniel Knaggs (Sherco) 109, Chris Stay (JST Gas Gas) 114, John Chilton (Beta) 117, Ben Heane (BVM Beta) 119, Jamie Bingley (Gas Gas) 124, Rob Waite (MRS Sherco) 125.
SERIES STANDINGS after 4 (of 8) rounds: 1 Sadler 80 points, 2 Howell 56, 3 Short 54, 4 Evans-Luter 54, 5 Hancock 41, 6 Walker 39, 7 Gosden 31, 8 Bedford 27, 9 Stay 26, 10 Dexter 23,...
NEXT ROUND: May 18 Shorwell area, Isle of Wight (Isle of Wight MCC).
For full report and pictures see T+MX NEWS, Friday, May 9, 2008