Kings of the Hill: Talmag Trophy Trial - report
By Andy Withers on 29th Jan 20
The roar of four-stroke trials iron came to Hungry Hill near Aldershot in Hampshire for the iconic annual Talmag Trophy Trial last weekend.
Over 200 competitors and hundreds of classic trials enthusiasts braved the threat of heavy rain to enjoy two laps of 15 sections with the lunchtime special test being used as the tie-breaker.
There was a special buzz of anticipation as there were significant changes to the trial format as an experiment as we enter the new decade.
Holger Schonknecht from Germany on the Indian Scout
For 2020, at the request of riders, a third route was added to the traditional Hard and Easy, the Blue elite route introduced to provide more challenge for the top riders, and open to any size machine.
This was also intended to reduce the number of results coming down to the speed on the special test. Thirty riders took on the new route but surprisingly multiple champion Roger Higgs chose to stay on the hard White route explaining that he saw the new route as a challenge for the riders on the more modified machinery whereas his fathers Ariel HT was more standard and therefore would struggle to compete.
The new Blue route was open to any rider on any class of machine and despite the increased difficulty, nine riders were clean at the end of the trial.
Ivan Haskell topped the Girder Fork class 1939 Ariel Red Hunter
Ben Butterworth riding one of his grandads 500cc Ariel HT machines followed up last years maiden victory with a clean trial and the fastest time on the lunchtime special test, proving the classic motocross practice had paid off.
Butterworth took every section in his stride, showboating for the crowd and the photographers with wheelies and jumps aplenty.
Margins were small on the special test with former Pre-65 Scottish winner Dan Clark only 38 hundredths of a second behind and Tom McCabe just 59 hundredths behind the winner.
Former British Classic motocross champion Chris Chell was fourth in class riding a 250cc BSA C15 which couldnt quite match the speed of the bigger machines on the test.
Best lady rider - Karen Clarke
Another classic motocrosser Chris Collins was on for a clean trial and a top-five finish until his chain came off when making a climb on section 13.
Although Butterworth may attract the headlines as the winning rider on the hardest route, the club say each class winner is the trial winner because the classes are mainly machinery based.
The new class interestingly attracted top riders from a range of the classes.
On the Class C for over 300cc sprung machines, Roger Higgs added to his collection of class wins with the fastest special test score ahead of an unprecedented 18 other riders who finished clean.
The expected heavy rain did not come until the last half-an-hour of the trial and sections would have been tougher if the rain had come in earlier.
Class C winner - Roger Higgs
Mark Baldock was second quickest ahead of Billy Bishop, making it an Ariel top three, Bishop having taken wins and top-threes in the Under 300cc on a Tiger Cub in the past few years.
It was a Higgs double with Garry grinning his way to the Clubman class, despite having to rerun the blast up Hungry Hill after a stranded rider blocked his route. This class was settled on special test times with Karen Clarke narrowly missing out on the class win by five-tenths of a second.
Her C15 named Sneezy coughed its way to the end and didnt steer properly throughout, it could have been different, but it was still the top ladies performance of the day.
In Class G for Over 65s, George Greenland Karen Clarkes dad made it a family double as one of six cleans in class but it was Vic Allan MBE who finally got his hands on the class win.
Last year in a momentary lapse he took a single dab which cost him the win but this time he made no mistakes on the immaculate 190cc MV Agusta concentrating 100 per cent from start to finish.
The four-time British MX champions test time was over a second quicker than second-placed Colin Sadler on his 199cc Triumph 3TA and three seconds quicker than Dave Whites 500cc Ariel HT.
Greenland had the slowest times of the six cleans on his BSA Wasp C15 and at 87 years old he hung on to clean the trial despite queuing in the cold and rain towards the end.
George is very competitive so although it was a good performance, Im sure he was out practising on Monday morning to improve on his times for next year.
Joe Chell brought his BSA C15 to take Class A for the under 300cc machines, and he was smooth throughout and one of four riders clean.
He was almost three seconds quicker on the test than John Dismore on his Tiger Cub, while Adrian Ferris had a good result in third with a very original Cub, after making his annual pilgrimage from Truro.
Richard Talbot rode the only clean trial in Class B for Over 300cc rigid machines on his unusual 410cc Pykett Matchless GLC. Circulating early he didnt put a foot wrong, with Adrian Mountain pipping previous class winner Steve Scott on times to complete the top three, both taking single dabs.
Robbie Head and Aaron Jacobs pick up traction
Darryl Glover completed the trial on the rare 350cc Douglas Competition machine which dropped a valve early on in last years trial. This year the tight turns caused a few emergency dabs but the machine lived to fight another day.
Class E for machines with girder forks includes some of the most interesting bikes and Ariel enthusiast Ivan Haskell on his 1939 Red Hunter is not scared to use plenty of throttle, which was needed on some of the bigger climbs.
He dropped a five on lap one getting lost in section 14 but finishing five ahead of last years class winner Holger Schonknecht.
On the red Indian Scout, Schonknecht dressed in classic gear including a shirt and bow tie drew applause for every successful completion of a section on this most untrials-like machine.
Several sections became deep rutted by the end causing problems for the low ground clearance girder machines, George Smith and James Bell both having to wrestle through section 14 a testament to their stamina and determination.
The Sidecar fraternity were on tenterhooks up to the last section of the trial as the result was too close to call.
The Fishlocks flying to a very close second
From the calculations, Bernie/ Charlie Chambers led by one from Paul/ Kevin Fishlock after the second run up Hungry Hill which is often the deciding section for the chairs.
The thought was that the Fishlocks had three on lap one losing traction part way up and then paddling to the top and then a good one on lap two for a total of four.
Part way up the hill if you keep the power on, the outfits drifts left and you run out of room. Martin Kemp and Bob Chapman found this to their cost as they drifted wide and knocked a spectator off his perch no injuries and an apologetic handshake.
The Chambers were clever on lap one as they blasted to the corner shut off to make the turn and got on line and then opened it up again, Bernie with knee on the seat managing to get enough traction from the Rickman Metisse to make the funnel at the end.
On lap two this didnt work and standard score was a three. They arrived together at section 14 and couldnt believe their eyes Karl Jarvis had got stuck over the roots with the Triumph outfit digging a big hole across the exit.
It didnt help when the experienced Mike Treagus and Steve Gould spun their outfit around in the hole and rode it into a tree for a five.
The Chambers had a plan, making the tight turn before the hole they took the weight of the outfit on to the bike and lifted the sidecar wheel over the step for a clean.
The Fishlocks followed suit and both crews were buzzing at the end Paul Fishlock for getting a superb result with brother Kevin in the chair for the first time in many years and the Chambers for taking their second class win in three years.
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