50/50 report - Rob Sloggett
Sunday 13th April saw good weather grace a return visit to Pen Y Graig quarry and the team had marked out a wide variety of sections that were a real contrast from those experienced one month earlier. This time the 65 riders had a range of cambered banks, root and rock clusters and a fantastic section utilising a set of natural steps in the quarry part of the venue. 45 bikes made up the pre 65 and twinshock classes with 5 pre 90 mono's attending and the balance being made up of modern machines. Once again the Clubmans route was well attended with 26 riders and the rest of the entries being evenly spread across the beginners, 50/50 and Elite routes.
Once again, I had entered the 50/50 route (which is an adaptation of the Clubman's route with variations to stretch the rider to get ready for the step up to Experts). The day started bad with a 5 on my first section (Section 2). The second half of the section with a steep bank going into an immediate left hand turn around a tree then running out across the flat of the bank into the exit gates was a less familiar type of challenge for me and with two lines on offer I went for the flatter bank with the sharper turn. Wrong choice and the next three laps learning from this mistake I was able to get a more respectable set of marks on this section by picking the other route.
Section 8 was an absolute corker with the section made up of 5 different challenges. The entry involved a drop down into the section then a tight right hand turn across some rocks bordered by two trees (just over one and a half handlebar widths). The section then fired up a 40ft uphill run incorporating two rock steps then a left hand turn to attack a cluster of rocks. The section then dropped down across the quarry face finishing with another right hand turn and another 40ft blast up the quarry face with another 2 rock steps to exit the section.
The rest of the sections incorporated a range of cambered turns with the sections feeling longer than normal. It was definitely a physical day as although the ground was dry with plenty of grip my body ached very quickly the next day indicating the amount of work was being done to keep the bike on line.
Clubmans report - Gaz Thomas
A cold start welcomed 65 riders to the Aqueduct Classic trial at Pen Y Graig, of which 26 tackled the clubman route but they were rewarded with a warm sunny afternoon for the four laps of ten sections. Great to see some new faces (to me anyway) as well as the usual suspects making the effort to get out on a Sunday.
Riders were eased into things with a fairly gentle first section which involved going up a bank into a right hand turn followed by a tight left hand turn around a tree before going up another bank between two trees and exiting down a bank, sounds easy but some slippery rocks and roots still claimed a few marks throughout the day.
Having been lulled into a false sense of security section two was pretty daunting with a huge bog immediately after the start cards making it difficult to gain momentum for the uphill right hand turn across a rocky bank before breathing a sigh of relief and heading up a large bank before making a left hand turn and heading for the end cards. Unusually this section actually seemed to improve during the trial as a clear line appeared through the mud but it still managed to claim a hefty number of marks along the way.
Back down to earth with section three which confirmed that tight and twisty was the order of the day with a right hand turn between two trees immediately after the start cards followed by a left hand turn up and over a bank before making a tight u turn in a bombhole before climbing back up and out and then making a right hand turn up an incline for the end cards.
Section four was more of the same taking in a right hand turn almost straight away, winding through the trees to make a left hand turn over a small ridge before making a long lazy right hand turn around an off camber bowl before heading straight up and over two short sharp climbs for the exit whilst managing the grip over the polished roots.
Section five had a down hill entry leading to a fairly tight left hand turn then up and over a brow before crossing some logs then up and right across a root covered bank heading between some trees then another left hand turn for the exit. All fairly straight forward although very easy to spin it up over the logs for anyone not giving it their full attention.
Section six zig zagged its way uphill before turning left and down into a narrow gully full of rocks and roots and back up and out to the left again before snaking across an off camber bank then a final right hand turn to head uphill for the exit.
Section seven started with a long right hand off camber turn around the edge of a bowl made up of large loose rocks before selecting a line either around, over or through some even larger rocks which gave rise to some serious discussions over line choice in the early laps. All this before lining up to get over fallen tree and heading for the exit.
Section eight was a wake up call on a par with section two but the main challenge this time was rocks not mud. A down hill entry led to a very tight right hand turn before going up a rock step followed by another even bigger rock step. Just enough time for a deep breath then a left hand turn around a tree before heading back down some even bigger rock steps before the ultimate challenge of the day, a right hand off camber turn, covered in small loose rocks like marbles making its way onto the uphill exit so some finesse and balance before getting on the gas were essential and the majority of marks were lost here on this very technical turn.
Section nine was a game of three halves with two twisty rocky sections interspersed with a very slippy patch of mud to test the throttle control and balance. The first rocky section bared left in a long turn before heading between some bigger rocks then turning right through the mud patch, then over a ramp like rock and another long lazy left hand turn through a rocky section for the exit cards. Similarly to section two, the mud patch actually seemed to improve throughout the day rather than get worse as an obvious line started to appear through it.
Section ten was another one to test the throttle control and balance as it headed immediately left across an off camber bank before a right, left chicane around a tree before picking a line through some bigger rocks and heading out through some smaller winding turns on the way, again very in keeping with the tight twisty, technical theme of the day
If everyone enjoyed it half as much as me then a good day was had by all so thanks to all involved. Top honours in Pre 65 went to a Triumphant Terry Lloyd on his tiger cub with an impressive 3 marks lost. Hot on his heels another cub piloted by Alan Seedhouse on 8 and BSA mounted Keith Baddeley on 11.
Twinshock clubmen were shown the way by Honda TLR mounted Martin Roberts finishing with a clean sheet but kept honest all day by second place finisher Terry McCann getting his Sealy 200 round for just 1 mark lost and Jon Sowden on his Honda 200 with just 2 marks lost, all well ahead of the field.
Pre 90 Mono honours were closely contested again with Yamaha mounted Gaz Thomas finishing on 7 marks lost, just edging out fellow Ty Mono pilot Stephen Richards on 9 and Paul Cartwright on his Beta on 40.
Thanks again to all at Aqueduct Classics and the dedicated observers who make it possible for us all to get out for a blast at the weekend.
Observer report - Section 2 Geoff Jones
The day dawned bright and sunny for round 3 of aqueduct Classics Championship held at Pen y Graig Quarry Froncysyllte.
As an observer on section 2 I was quietly apprehensive seeing what clerk of the course Russ Jones had in store for the 65 unsuspecting riders who were about to start their day.,
White route was what appeared to be a bottomless muddy slot exiting to the base of a steep up hill climb to section end, whilst yellow crossed the said slot to exit immediately up a loose rocky off camber climb turning tightly back down for another crossing of the muddy slot with an immediate steep climb to exit the section. Red and Green route followed a similar course but with a further climb across the off camber bank and a slightly different route to exit the section via a sharp climb and a traverse across an off camber of slippery grass bank.
This section was not for the faint hearted or non-committed, with the first few riders through the section succumbing to fives in the muddy slot before attempting the climb ! The usual inspection queue of riders gathered and pondered as they do, which was the best line we wonder ?
As the day wore on the section improved with the slimy slot converting to sloppy gloop but with more grip to be found in the bottom, each and every rider found his own challenge with this section, whether it was from a lack of grip or inattentiveness to looping out on the steep climb out and being relieved of their machine just before the exit gate!!
All in all a technically challenging section which took marks from a majority of the entry !
Full final class results were as follows:
Pre 65
Elite: 1 Chris Gascogine Ariel 8 FC, 2 Russ Jones Francis Barnett 8, 3 Mick Clark Ariel 28
50/50: 1 Craig Haworth BSA Bantam 30,Mike Hughes BSA B40 32, 3 Mark Newman James 35
Clubman: 1 Terry Lloyd Tiger Cub 3, 2 Alan Seedhouse Tiger Cub 8, 3Keith Baddeley BSA 11
Beginners: 1Paul Thomas AJS 1, 2 Pete Thomas Royal Enfield 13
Twinshock
Elite: 1 Kev Ellis Fantic 36, 2 Mark Gaskell Whitehawk 96
50/50: 1 Darren Cresswell Armstrong 12, 2 Stephen Knight Yamaha 15, 3 Alex Barrie Honda 19
Clubman:1 Martin Roberts Honda 0, Terry McCann Sealy 1, 3 John Sowden Honda 2
Beginners: 1 Matthew Hopkins Yamaha 13, 2 Michael Jones Yamaha 30, 3 Paul Jones Fantic 40
Pre 90 Mono
Clubman: 1 Gaz Thomas Yamaha 7, 2 Stephen Richards Yamaha 9, 3 Paul Cartwright Beta 40
Modern Mono:
Elite: 1 Gordon Wilson Montesa 65, 2 Alistair Seedhouse 72, Mark Bill Honda 82
50/50: 1 Andrew Coalter Montesa 34
Clubman: 1 Ian Emery Montesa 1, 2 Alec Roberts Gas Gas 3, 3 Andrew Dean Gas Gas 12
Beginners: 1 Ben Jones Gas Gas 2, 2 Rio Roberts Gas Gas 17, 3 Peter Rainsford Beta 28
As always, thanks has got to go to the organisers, club officials, observers and the "lovely baps" catering team as well as the land owner for making such a great venue available to us. The next event is on Sunday 11th May. Please keep an eye on the Aqueduct website or the Trials Central calendar for confirmation of the venue.