The rocks in the Lampkin’s back yard were damp from the overnight rain as the 65 riders arrived at Addingham Moorside near Silsden for round 2 of the Yorkshire Classic full Championship. As the clouds broke on pleasant still day the distinctive sounds of trials irons from the 50’s and 60’s filled the air.
Clerks of the course Dale Harrison and son Will set a challenging premier route with Neil Anderton taking care of the clubman course. If the Clerks’ of the Course aim is to set sections that only one person cleans on each route then they did a perfect job.
The two top dogs staying clean were sidecar ace Robin Luscombe on his specials class Cub on the premier route whilst Steve Cordon mastered the easier Clubman route on his Bantam.
A rerun of the John Maxfield v Tony Calvert battle from 2016 was anticipated in the Cub class and it was Calvert who drew first blood loosing a solitary mark on the tricky section one. Maxfield had an off day with two fives spoiling his day. Close behind on two marks lost were Simon Critchley (Bantam) and Paul Preston, stepping up after winning the clubman’s class last year on his James having a stunning ride. Andy Scott came close
Mick Clarke (Ariel) had a happy birthday to win the Pre-Unit Springer class ahead of a rapidly improving Will Harrison (Ariel)
Rocks and more rocks
Section one was a tricky opener that started downhill with a nasty 90deg right turn up a double step followed by a narrow channel over embedded rocks where Calvert had his sole dab. It turned out to be the biggest mark taker of the day on the premier route with only 4 riders staying penalty free. The clubmen had it easier but lots of marks were dropped here.
Section three was a variation on an old favourite starting over a big slab followed by a right turn into jumbled boulders and ending through a deteriorating bog. It was no problem on the normal route but for the clubmen it was the biggest mark taker of the day. Steve Thomas (Bantam) lost his solitary dab and Gordon Imrie lost his second of two on his immaculate Ariel at the head of the clubmen pre-Unit class T.
Section 5 started over a large rock with a turn between more rocks before a step and run to the finish. The experts found little trouble but many clubmen were uneasy over the big sloping boulder and several marks were dropped.
Section 9 at the far end of the hillside featured a downhill to a camber followed by a climb up a sloping slab before crossing smaller embedded rocks to the finish. Norman Shepherd lost 4 here having earlier being detuned by a nasty fall on the in between going.
Our thanks once again go to all involved for an excellent day’s trialling in beautiful Pennine surroundings.
Results
Premier route
Class A - Pre-Unit Springers
1st Mick Clarke (Ariel) 8 2nd Will Harrison (Ariel) 11 3rd Chris Haigh (Velo) 13
Class D – All Cubs
1st Tony Calvert - 1 2nd Andy Scott - 3 3rd Matt Jackson – 7
Class E – Unit over 246cc
1st Steven Smith (C15) 12 2nd Jeremy Saffin (C15) 26 3rd Neil Buckley (Enfield Crusader) 31
Class F- 2 strokes
1st Simon Critchley (Bantam) 2 2nd Paul Preston (James) 2 3rd Norman Shepherd (Bantam) 5
Class G-Twins
1st Mike Watson (Triumph) 10
Class S – Specials
1st Robin Luscombe (Sp-Cub) 0 2nd Duncan MacDonald (Ariel) 18 3rd Michael Dorricott (McD Cub) 26
Clubman Route
Class B - Pre-Unit Rigid
1st Gary Marshall (Triumph TRW) 8 2nd Tim Pawson (Norton) 80
Class H - Vintage 2 strokes
1st Eric Atkinson (James) 34
Class K – open Clubman
1st Steve Cordon (Bantam) 0 2nd Steve Thomas (Bantam) 1 3rd Eric Boocock (Cub) 4
4th Maurice Brayford (DOT) 4 5th Max Clift (C15) 4
Class K-Specials
1st Keith Hobson (Armac Cub) 4 2nd John Henfrey (Bantam) 12 3rd Mick Haslam (Armac Cub) 14
Class T – Pre-unit springer
1st Gordon Imrie (Ariel) 2 2nd Colin Benson (Ariel) 20 3rd Paul Jackson (Velo) 22