Pics Gary Dowzal

Steeple Hill Corner at Folly Farm Beckley was the venue and 50 plus turned out on May 10th for the final Ixion Sunday morning meeting of the summer being the last round of the 2026 club championship also.

Maybe the Nationwide or Local bad weather forecast had put a few off and on this note the course plotters decided we don't want a National on our hands if the heavens open so eased-sections were marked-out on all routes.

However we set off in the sun with a cold breeze to tackle four laps of ten sections with rooted cambers, Big Hills and Nadgery streambeds to name a few of the hazards on offer today.

In the Expert class John Cowley Beta Syncro 300 put in a spectacular performance losing 2 marks, one of which was applied on the very first section on lap one, a down hill sandy bank with a tricky uphill hop over a fallen tree, this prod was necessary or the Big Five was on the cards.

John Lee 300 Evo took runner-up spot on 10 marks lost with an unfortunate 5 adding to his tally at section 5 a newly cut out ditch crossing after a fierce looking stricken tree crossing.

50/50 class riders were led home by Ian Watts also 300 Beta, Ian lost 5 marks today compiling a sprinkling of dabs at various subs along the way.

Andrew Earnshaw TRS 300 was a single mark behind with section nine proving a bit of a bugbear the Culvert section with several turns through the wet stuff.

The well populated Yellow route Clubman class saw Paul Millhouse Vertigo Nitro 300 give a clean pair of heels and boots to all with an inch perfect ride.

Adrian Steele and Alan Taylor took the minor placings although both were cleaning the difficult section 7 with ease as the gathered crowd looked on, a very rocky uphill stream with water carrying up the exit bank to make for a tricky end for most.

Paul Hadingham was superb on the ageing 340 Bultaco in the Twinshock and 4 was his tally after four laps, section six took a prod at precisely the right place to avoid a higher penalty, an undulating affair though Wild Garlic with the occasional tree to negotiate.

Joe Pusey eased to victory in the Youth A with 21 mark ride and with machine gremlins at work it was a decent effort.

Another very popular class is the 50/50 Middle - Easy route and once again it was DOT WR250 mounted Chris Aylott who took the honours ahead of Gordon Pusey twelve marks to nineteen.

Section 4 was proving a tad tricky on this route with Chris taking a steady two on his first lap, a slight downhill cambered turn then a boggy rise to some awkwardly growing boughs and roots with many lines that changed often over the duration of the event.

The eased White course as usual had a mix of young and old in the Sportsman class and Simon Dowling Beta was the man to beat once again, pre race favourite Simon didn't disappoint with a controlled ride losing 4 marks.

Section eight took half his total on the first visit to ' Axford's Ditch ' and old fashioned type hazard of one hundred yards crossing and Zig-Zagging with a steep slick exit to the end cards.

Mick Clarkson 185cc Bantam was victorious in the Pre 65 losing a miserly 3 marks all day.

Many thanks to all who helped on the day.

Next Trial is the Ivan Davis Cup September 13th.

Heavy overnight rain and cold winds had ceased and so the the sun shone once again on the righteous for Oxford's Good Friday Trial at Steeple Hill Folly Farm Beckley.

This was the venue for Ixions 3rd and penultimate club champs round where a good entry of 50 plus riders set off to tackle 10 sections four times with a mix of mud roots climbs ditches and rocks that sorted an outright winner in each class.

It was a close run thing in the 50/50 Hard-Middle route class with only 3 marks separating the the top three riders.

Eventual winner Ian Watts 300 Beta lost 26 marks although incurring a maximum penalty at section eight third lap the now infamous Rocky Stream, which included a 10 yard muddy ditch crossing before lining up for the gully, there were only a scattering of cleans here on any route all day and so it made for an exciting section for the observer and gathered crowd.

Ian's traveling companion over from the Midland Centre was Phil Ducker who finished on 27 points piloting the 250 Gasser around the long lap course to take runner-up spot in comfort.

Phil was good on section ten, a sixty yard blast from low in the field to get to flat out in third as was required to get to dry land before a series of steep and winding cambers.

Adrian Steele 250 Beta aced the middle Yellow route taking best Clubman on 8 lost  a meagre one point ahead of Martyn Wilmore 300 Beta over from the Swindon club.

Section nine 'Axford's Gully ' was tough, a water splash leading to a polished-up camber then a fast flowing stream with rocks and roots after which a heavily rooted turn had to be navigated, Steele had a steadying prod last lap after three excellent cleans.

Joe Pusey was best Youth C on the middle route with Riley and Freddie Middlehurst also having a good day in the youth classes, unfortunately machine gremlins were causing them delays so opted to take fives so their scores weren’t a true reflection of their ability on the day.

The ever popular 50/50 Middle-Easy route was aced up today by Freddie Davidson with a loss of 14.

Section seven was a tad different his time with a pair of begins and a pair of ends with a few pegs to keep you on the intended line, this one route fits all worked well, starting down the wood a 100 yard or so muddy gully had to judged to perfection.

Freddie had it weighed up at least for the first three laps then a lapse of concentration whilst flat out in fourth not realising a big root had been uncovered towards the end of section with rider having no option other than to bale-out into the undergrowth.

On the White Eased Course pre-race favorite Simon Dowling had a splendid ride with a loss of 8 marks.

Simon cleaned every section but not every lap and sub six first visit took a prod, it was down the woods where a really open but nadgery section had been plotted to take a few from the unsuspecting.

Robert Bremner headed home the Pre-65 brigade with a great ride on the beautifully prepared Ariel HT3, Rob losing 6 with BSA Bantam mounted Keith Baty not too far behind.

Both machines could be heard echoing through the woods as they caned the Big Hills of section three the 'The Verandah'.

Many thanks to all who helped on the day.