BATTLE OF BRITTAIN!

The 9am start was a tad on the early side for those for had been at Sheffield the night before for the Indoor Trial, but the weather conditions were arguably the warmest in the event's history. The 20-mile ride around the Shropshire countryside was not unpleasant.

 

The Route B riders were flagged away by Johny Brittain and there was a five-and-a-half-hour time allowance, which in the past has proved tight for those who hang about.

 

Easthope Wood was the first group with three loose and cambered climbs. These took marks from some of the early runners but were not real stoppers. When the Group A runner arrived at section one, however, they did not like the look of the climb and no one wanted to be first up.

 

Guy Kendrew parted with five marks as his Ossa spun out and Ross Danby, who had won the trial back in 2010, parted with a dab.

 

Things did settle down as expected and Alexz Wigg was an early clean, although he had to work for it. The last sub at Easthope looked tricky and provided good viewing but did not cause any real problems.

 

Three hazards at a rocky outcrop awaited at Wenlock Edge and the second hazard here was a real stopper for those on Route B. It defeated everyone in the class. 

 

On the Hard route Ricky Wiggins was showing his form with some superb rides.

 

Most spectators headed for Newhouse Farm which had four hazards with he last three based in a stream. Section 11 was causing a problem. It looked fairly innocuous but it was tricky and added a five on Wigg's card as he was adjudged to have stopped forward motion. Sam Haslam cleaned all the subs here as did Ross Danby as they were able to take a slightly different line through.

 

There was a nice contest developing on Route B with Katy Sunter, Richard Evans and Mick Flanagan leading the way. Katy had missed the sub at Wenlock Edge and had an unwanted return trip, but she remained unfazed and looked in very steady form as riders headed out to the main group of the day at Upper Tugford.

 

This featured a total of seven subs with a stream, mud and rock steps. After this group riders handed in their first punch cards. Ricky Wiggins led the way on Route A with just one a single mark loss from Haslam on two and Ross Danby three. On Route B both Sunter and Evans were tied on 12 apiece.

 

Riders were able to claw back some of their time allowance in the middle of the trial at Lower Tugford, Abdon and Earnstrey and in fact no one incurred any penalties for being late.

 

Alexz Wigg made a great effort on his second card, loosing only two marks with Sam Haslam on four and local ace Buster Regan on nine. For Gas Gas it turned out to be a 1-2-3 finish with Sam the victor, Alexz second and Ross making the final podium position.

 

Katy Sunter dominated her class and finished no less than nine marks ahead of Richard Evans with Lee Wiggins third.

 

It was a good start to the outdoor season and the organisers were happy with the post event feedback.

 

Wenlock Edge Inn, nr Much Wenlock, Telford (Bewdley MCC)

Class A: Sam Haslam (300 JST Gas Gas) 2 (lap1) + 4 (lap2) = 6 marks lost, Alex Wigg (290 JST Gas Gas) 6 + 2 = 8, Ross Danby (300 JST Gas Gas) 3 + 13 = 16, Ricky Wiggins (RCM Gas Ga) 1 + 18 = 19, Buster Regan (Beta UK) 11 + 9 = 20, Guy Kendrew (Ossa Moto UK) 9 + 17 = 26, Shaun Fox (300 BVM Gas Gas) 11 + 28 = 39, Dan Thorpe (300 JST Gas Gas) 17 + 28 = 45 (24x0), Ben Wibberley (300 Inta Gas Gas) 14 + 31 = 45 (23x0), Joel Edwards (250 AB Beta) 27 + 58 = 85.

Class B: Katy Sunter (250 JST Gas Gas) 12 + 5 = 17, Richard Evans (250 Gas Gas) 12 + 14 = 26, Lee Wiggins (RCM Gas Gas) 16 + 14 = 30, Mick Flanagan (280 Gas Gas) 13 + 20 = 33, Nick Gundry (Gas RCM Gas) 18 + 25 = 43, Peter Archer (290 Sherco) 16 + 29 = 45, Paul Waring (300 Gas Gas) 18 + 34 = 52, Phil Hulme (300 Feetup Beta) 25 + 31 = 56, Kevin Miller (250 Gas Gas) 30 + 27 = 57, Phil Ducker (250 Beta) 16 + 48 = 64.