Results

Very many thanks to the Case family for welcoming us back at Limerstone for the second round of the 2021 Pat Death Summer Series Championships. Superb venue, especially in dry conditions!

The full report will be available here in the next few days or so - but for now: A massive thank you to the 5 observers; Richard Crickmore, Andy Scott-Jackson, Steve Kent, Andy Ryall and Geoff Taylor along with Photographers; Viki Taylor, Chris & Mathew Wells.

Calvin & Jos Wright did an excellent job by setting 8 fun sections, with enough to take plenty of marks from most riders. Jos even managed to dive head first into the dung heap at section 7 for a well deserved maximum 5 point penalty!

Excellent trial to start the 2021 Pat Death Summer Series.

A big thank you to Ben & Colin Brodie, Jona Read & family & to those that helped clear up afterwards. The full report will be available here very soon.

The Jeffries Cup (4th Winter Series Championship Trial) was held at Haslett Farm, courtesy of Mr Glenn Draper.

The 8 section lap was brilliantly set out by Rob Howard - an excellent trial that brings the 1st half of the 2021 Winter Series Championship. Some close scores today including another tie break. Closest of all is the father & son rivalry between Alfie & Ross Haydon. Although in different classes both were on the B route - and they both went clean. However because Ross has an age and experience advantage - we think Alfie deserves the top spot!

The Summer Series begins on Sunday June 20th - please keep an eye on the events section of this website for all the details which will be published once finalised. Also an announcement regarding entry for The 2021 Wight Two Day Trial (Sept 4th & 5th) is expected very soon.

The Club would like to thank Mr Chris Spence for welcoming us back at Newbarn Farm for The Novice & Expert Cup.

The sections were set by Geoff Taylor & Mark Coombes, who did a fantastic job, keeping one eye on the weather forcast. No Observers today due to the use of punch cards - but a special thankyou to Steve Kent, Mike Morris & Richard Crickmore for volunteering their services.

The full report will be available here in the next couple of days.

The Isle of Wight Motorcycle Club held the 2nd round, of the delayed, 2021 Winter Series Trials Championship on Sunday April 25th at Apes Down, Calbourne. The Club would like to thank Mrs Jane Ball for welcoming us back for our first visit here since April 2019.

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions the entry was limited to 40 riders & 11 officials. Spectators sadly cannot be accommodated until after May 17th. Competitors were spread across all 8 sections from the outset helping to prevent large groups gathering at the start. The sections were skilfully set by Andy Ryall and Sonny Gaskin. We would like to thank them, the Observers and other Club Officials for their part in ensuring a smooth running event. Photographers; Viki Taylor and Gill Locke did an excellent job capturing all the action through the lens.

Three Expert riders began the day but due to an early retirement, from Rob Howard, only two completed the 4 lap course. Jack Ayres convincingly took the honours with an almost perfect score. Jack incurred an uncharacteristic maximum 5 mark penalty at section 3 but went clean for the remainder of the trial. Tom Richards also managed to clean 5 of the 8 sections to finish the day with a total of 14 – superb effort by both riders. The Intermediate class was won (by some distance) by Ross Haydon. Ross chalked up his second consecutive class win with a cushion of 37 marks. Jos Wright did just about enough to hold onto second place from Ben Brodie in third. Dan Locke continues to impress since moving up into the adult class & he is looking increasingly likely to secure his first top 3 finish very soon. Andy Scott-Jackson turned the tables from the 1st round, in the Over 50’s, beating friendly rival Stuart Gummer with a massive 20 mark margin. John Coombes had to battle it out for his third place finish from Phil Chase, close behind in fourth. Geoff Taylor found himself on his own in the Clubman class but never the less he put in a confident performance to bag his ten championship points.

The Twin Shock class was once again dominated by championship favourite Nick Symes. Nick piloted his Honda through the tricky, marbly sections for a loss of 28. Mark Gray did very well in second, 26 ahead of Calvin Wright in third. Paul Baldwin made the trip down from Northampton and was rewarded with the top spot in the Novices. Paul took the win with an impressive 33 margin from Tristan Osborne in second and Ben Ashcroft third.

The new ‘Clubman C’ class was introduced this year and is intended as a stepping stone to help riders progress from the easy route up onto the ‘C’ route. Clubman C riders take on a 50/50 mix of the D & C routes. Just a single competitor on this occasion resulting in 10 championship points for Mike True. The Adult Easy class saw Kev Smith at his best, winning the class by 19 marks from Sam Jurich who was forced into second spot this time out. The Club would like to extend a very warm welcome to new member; Russell Hector. Russell decided to treat today as a practice session, this being his first ever trial. Probably a very wise decision. We look forward to seeing him become a regular rider.

There were six Youth riders in action at Apes Down. Alfie Haydon led the way in the Youth Experts. Like his Dad, Ross, he won with an absolutely amazing 33 mark advantage from Josh Morris. Josh is no walkover – his riding ability and attitude has moved on leaps & bounds from this time last year. Definitely one to watch as the championship progresses. Alfie Gaskin continues to improve since moving up in class from 2020. The remaining 3 Youths were all pitting themselves against each other in the Youth Easy class. Ollie Elford stole the show, recording his first class win, since starting trials in September last year. Riley True finished a close second – just 6 marks adrift. Section 6 proved to be the difference here. Kaidan Cutts should be feeling very happy with his third place finish today. A massive improvement in only his second ever trial. An excellent performance by all 6 young riders.

The Club next meet for The Novice & Expert Cup trial on Sunday May 16th. We will be reverting (by popular demand) to our usual start time of 12 noon. The venue & Course Setters are still to be announced. Please keep an eye on the Club website where all the details will be available once finalised.

The Isle of Wight Motorcycle Club kick started The 2021 Winter Series Trials Championships on Sunday 11th April at Sweetwater Brook, courtesy of Mr Trevor Strickland. We would like to thank Trevor for welcoming us back to this popular trials venue. We would also like to thank Nick Symes & Mark Coombes for setting the 8 section course along with Adrian Daish and Richard Crickmore for their superb observational skills.

The start of this year’s season has been delayed due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic – but thankfully with the cautious easing of restrictions, the Club has now resumed activities with a substantially revised 2021 trials calendar.

The eagerly awaited New Year Shield attracted 38 competitors, a staggered start was employed to spread the riders across all 8 sections which helped prevent large groups of riders gathering whilst waiting to tackle the sections.

We would like to extend a warm welcome new youth member; Kaidan Cutts. Sweetwater can be a tricky test at the best of times but we hope he enjoyed the experience and we look forward to seeing him become a regular rider. It was good to see Paul Kent and Mark Gray back riding again after respective prolonged absences. Paul is the first Adult rider on the Island to take part on a battery powered machine. Apparently these are the future! Mark seemed to be going really well until he decided to take an ‘impromptu’ early bath - in the brook! I sincerely hope that doesn’t put him off from future trials.

Many of today’s scores could be mistaken for crickets opening batsman – and to be fair, not completely unexpected following three and a half months without competition or practice. However there were some very close battles in the Experts, Intermediates, Over 50’s & Youth Expert classes. Rob Howard definitely stole the show completing the expert course for just a single dab. Tom Richards just about held on to the second spot, by a single mark, from Jack Ayres in third. Jack did provide onlookers at section 5 with a lesson on how to clean the tricky bit – by jumping from one bank to the other, completely avoiding the brook, tree trunk and the slippery climb out. Meanwhile the race for the top spot in the Inters eventually went to Ross Haydon, crossing the line with a modest total of 12, just 3 ahead of Ben Brodie in second, with Adam Morgan in third for a loss of 22. A superb performance from Jos Wright in fourth proving he’s almost back to full fitness following his horrific car accident in 2019. Dan Locke certainly deserves a mention, his first attempt at the Adult Intermediate class following his 16th birthday. Dan finished 6th but only 11 marks separated 3rd to 6th places.

Stuart Gummer and Andy Scott-Jackson were tied on 30 a piece in the Over 50’s, but the win was awared to Stuart notching up 13 cleans to Andy’s 11. It doesn’t get much closer than that! Alfie Haydon picked up where he left off with another good performance in the Youth Experts securing the win from Josh Morris with a slender but decisive 8 mark cushion. Alfie Gaskin battled the mud to take the third spot. Other class winners: Nick Symes (Twin Shock) Tristan Osborne (Novice) Mike True (Clubman C) Harrison Crickmore (Youth Novice) Riley True (Youth Easy) and Steve Chase in the Sportsmans.

The Club’s next trial will take place at Apes Down on Sunday April 25th. Just a reminder that until further notice we are unable to welcome any spectators. Hopefully this restriction should be relaxed after May 17th.

The 2020 Boxing Day (Father & Son) trial was held at Shorwell Chalk Pit, courtesy of Mr Ralph Cook. The Club would like to thank Ralph for welcoming us back for this annual event. Alan and George Gosden very successfully set eight excellent sections - something for everyone, no matter what level you compete at - a skilful job, that was very well executed. Our thanks also to Club Photographer; Viki Taylor and the Observers; Mike Morris, Adrian Daish and Kevin Smith. Kev completed his 4 laps in really good time, only to pick up the board at Sec 7 to observe for the rest of the afternoon - brilliant effort Kev.

The scores were pretty close at the top of the Father & Son pairings, but after some very careful double checking - the title this year, goes to Calvin & Jos Wright – very many congratulations to them. There were 2 other trophies up for grabs: Boxing Day Expert & Boxing Day Novice – congratulations to George Gosden & Paul Baldwin who both put in confident performances to bag the silverware.

Not long now before the start of The 2021 Winter Series Championship (Sun Jan 3rd ). Online entry opens at 8am Sunday Dec 28th and closes at 8pm Saturday Jan 2nd . Please take note of the later than usual start time of 12:30. It gets dark early too this time of year – so don’t hang about or you risk not finishing! Simply copy & paste the following link into your web browser, you will be redirected to the ACU’s online entry page for this trial: https://www.acu.org.uk/events/January-2021/Isle-of-Wight-MCC-Ltd-341/Trials/Sweetwater-Brook-Isle-of-Wight-ACU60050.aspx

The Club would like to thank the Morgan family for welcoming us back to Nodewell Farm, Totland - for the annual Matthew Russell Memorial trial.

The Club want to extend a very warm welcome to 2 new members; Dave Elford & Dan Graves. We hope they enjoyed the trial - in what were less than ideal conditions & we look forward to seeing them again soon. It was great to see Harrison Crickmore back on a trials bike after a break lasting several years.

Congratulations to Ross Haydon for his convincing win in the Intermediate class. Ross will now add the 2020 Matt Russell Cup to his trophy cabinet.

As we begin a second national lockdown due to the Covid-19 virus (Nov 5th to Dec 2nd) we find ourselves forced to re-evaluate the 2020 Winter Series, for the second time, this year. The Committee has taken the difficult decision to end the 2020 Winter Series Trials Championship now – after 8 rounds. The Award winning criteria has been amended as follows:

Adult riders must have completed a minimum of 5 rounds (in the same class) with all 8 rounds to count. Youth riders are not subject to the minimum 5 round rule. Youth riders who have competed in more than 1 class – will qualify for an award in their highest scoring class only.

Many congratulations to all the Award winners.

The club’s next trial was originally planned for Sunday 6th December, however this has now been rescheduled for Sunday 13th December and will be a ‘stand-alone’ trial: The matt Russell Memorial Cup. The Father & Son Boxing Day trial remains unchanged - although both are subject to lockdown restrictions being lifted.

This year has obviously been very difficult for all of us, affecting every aspect of our day to day lives – and I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the extra effort & hard work of those committee members who have helped navigate a path through this pandemic, allowing us to keep people engaged in the sport we all love – top work people, thank you.

The Isle of Wight Motorcycle Club held the eighth round of The 2020 Winter Series Trials Championship on Sunday 25th October at Sweetwater Brook, Calbourne.

The Club would like to thank Mr Trevor Strickland for welcoming us back at this superb and popular trials venue.

The eight sections were skilfully set by John Coombes, Andy Scott-Jackson, together with Tristan & Harvey Osborne. Top work by these four. Special thanks also to those who gave up their time to observe the sections – helping to ensure the smooth running of the event. The Club would like to extend a very warm welcome to new member; Matt Graves. Fair to say this was probably not the best trial to make a debut – but we hope he enjoyed the trial and we look forward to seeing him back very soon.

There was always some rain expected over Saturday night into Sunday but no one expected the deluge of wet stuff that actually fell. Some alterations to the sections were needed, prior to the trial start, as Sweetwater Brook rapidly became Deepwater Brook!

Deepwater or not, Expert winner Jack Ayres made light work of the testing conditions completing his 4 laps for a miserly total of just 12 lost marks. Tom Richards finished close behind on 17, section 4 proving to make all the difference. Ross Haydon took the Intermediate win, posting the lowest score of the day, loosing only a single mark at section 6. Things were much closer between Adam Morgan (2nd) and Ben Brodie (3rd) just 4 marks separating the two. The Over 50’s class was taken by Stuart Gummer. Stuart seemed to really enjoy the mud & water to put in a confident performance creating a 10 mark cushion from in second place Andy Scott-Jackson. John Coombes did well to finish in a creditable 3rd place. Meanwhile, Phil Chase, just had to complete the trial for his maximum championship points, being the only Clubman class rider. That said, he posted a very competitive total of 27.

Nick Symes took a convincing win in the Twinshock’s with an amazing performance to finish on 2. Calvin Wright battled the testing ground to claim the second spot. Nick will need to complete 2 of the remaining 3 Winter Series rounds to win the 2020 Twinshock Championship. Tristan Osborne proved to be the clear winner in the Novice class, crossing the line 24 ahead of 2nd place rider, Ben Ashcroft. Ben has made a noticeable and rapid improvement since taking up the sport earlier this Summer. The closest battle of the day involved Kev Smith and Mike True, in the Adult Easy class. Kev managed to take the win by just 1 mark. Sam Jurich took the third spot from John Gustar in fourth.

The Youth classes were headed up by young Alfie Haydon (Youth Expert) with a fantastic ride on the ‘B’ route, beating friendly rival Josh Morris into the second spot. Alfie Gaskin (Youth Intermediate), Freddie Death (Youth Novice) and Riley True (Youth Easy all completed the trial with very competitive scores to take maximum points in their respective classes. Excellent effort by all five young riders.

Don’t forget the next Club trial will be on Saturday November 7th, starting at the slightly later time of 12:30. Please keep an eye on the Club website (Events) where all the details will be published, once finalised.