Results

The Isle of Wight Motorcycle Club kick started the second half of the 2019 Winter Series Trials Championship at Sweetwater Brook on Sunday. The Club would like to thank Mr Trevor Strickland for welcoming us back to this superb venue. The eight section lap was set by Simon Newnham, Geoff Taylor and Dan Locke and between them they produced a good mix of tight and technical tests that went down well with the riders. Many thanks also to Club Photographer; Viki Taylor and to all the Observers for all their important help.

The Club would like to welcome four new members; Sam Parfitt, Alex Smith, Ryan Munt and Marcus Rickard. We hope they all enjoyed the afternoon and we look forward to seeing them again very soon. At least three riders joined that exclusive group to have ended up in the brook – Scott Milton, Dan Locke and Joe Taylor the latest to find out that the water here is not that sweet after all!

It was great to see Elite rider; Josh Stephens in action today not only did he complete the trial! But he did it in style – with a clean sheet. Two Experts went head to head resulting in a two point win for James Stay. Rob Howard was looking favourite until he missed a flag incurring the maximum five point penalty. The Intermediate class was won by Tom Richards, Tom cleaned five of the eight sections to finish on a total of nineteen. Harvey Grieve was only five more behind in second with Ben Brodie taking a solid third place following a five month break. Rory Stephens was the clear winner in the Over Fifty’s from Simon Watmough in second. The Clubman class was dominated by Scott Milton (despite being dumped over the bars into the brook on section two) with an eight point lead over Colin Brodie. Colin finished on forty with Phil Chase only four more behind in third.

The well contested Novice class was taken by Paul Kent who completed the trial for a loss of just twenty-three. New member; Ryan Munt was only three more behind in second with Paul West in third. Joe Taylor had a day of mixed fortunes and he was disappointed with his fourth place finish. Jos Wright was left out on his own in the Twin Shock following the retirement of Nick Symes. That said, Jos put in a blinding performance on the Ossa to finish with a miserly total of just seven. Geoff Taylor was the pick of the bunch in the Sportsman class – losing just four marks, the second lowest score of the day.

Four Youth riders competing this afternoon headed up by Dan Locke and Josh Morris in the Youth Expert’s. Both these riders have moved up from the Novice class. Dan managed to get the win despite his impromptu early bath in the brook. Josh had to settle for second on this occasion – both of these young riders have improved remarkably and consistently throughout this year. Alfie Haydon (Youth Intermediate) put in his now usual top performance to take his ten Championship points. Bertie Grieve continues to gain in confidence in the Youth Beginners, again securing maximum Championship points. There was a regular youth rider absent today – the Club would like to wish Alfie Gaskin a speedy recovery after breaking his arm whilst on holiday. He will regrettably be out of action for several months to come, so get well soon Alfie.

By far the best and most impressive performance this weekend took place not on the Island but at Totherick Quarry in Scotland. Club rider; Chris Stay managed, under what must have been immense pressure, to win the 2019 ACU British Solo Expert Trials Championship. Chris went North of the border with a slender lead of four points going into the final two rounds. He managed an incredible win on the Saturday beating Championship rival; Dan Thorpe by a nail-biting single mark. Dan, being the talented competitor he is, managed to win Sunday’s trial from Chris by a margin of two marks – however Chris had done all the hard work consistently throughout the year to take the title. We would all like to congratulate Chris on his superb achievement. We also recognise the people who helped him on his way, Chris’s Dad; Alan Stay and close friends; Mark Coombes and George Gosden who between them proved to be an unrivaled team providing that crucial support.

Our small Island Club has now helped produce two British Trials Champions. Becky Talbot (Cook) and Chris Stay – there can’t too many Clubs who can rival that fact. Absolutely amazing – we’re all still buzzing!

The Isle of Wight Motorcycle Club held a very special trial in memory of Nigel Crouch on Sunday 18th August. Nigel sadly passed away in January 2018. He served on the Club’s Committee for over forty years holding the post of Hon Treasurer for most of those. He was a very popular character who always saw the best in everyone, an inspiration to all – and very sadly missed - but fondly remembered.

The trial was held at Pagham Farm, Rookley courtesy of A.B. Farms Ltd and the Club would like to thank Michael Brown for his superb hospitality. The day was designed to be a relaxed fun event with a free BBQ to help promote the social side of things. Scott Milton did a superb job with his cooking skills (after completing his 4 laps) making sure that plenty of food was always available throughout the afternoon. Many thanks to Stewart Freeman, John Townsend, Alan Stay and Geoff Taylor for all their help in plotting the sections, Mark Coombes for pulling the flags, Viki Taylor for her ace photography skills and of course all the Observers – brilliant team effort and just as the Club should be. A big thank you also to the VIPMCC for the kind loan of the gas powered Burco boiler - everyone needs a cuppa or two!

As mentioned, the emphasis was on participation, remembrance and just enjoying the trial together with a more social feel to the afternoon – well I think we certainly managed all four of those key aims. Of course it was an observed trial and therefor a full set of results were produced, although not too important on this occasion. There were forty-one riders so an excellent turnout for such a small club such as ours. It was really good to see two of Nigel’s bikes in action – his Montesa 247T and his beloved Greeves Anglian. Both bikes completed the trial intact and despite the mud on section six were probably still cleaner than they’ve been in years!

Although the focus is not on competition there are a couple of superb Awards that have been sponsored by two of Nigel’s close friends; Dave Rose and Joe Henderson. A stunning Silver Plated Cup called the NMC Memorial Trophy from Dave and something a bit different all the way from Australia, Joe Henderson’s ‘True Spirit’ Award. It was decided to present the True Spirit Award to Mark Coombes. Mark cleaned up twice. After completing the four laps of eight, on the B route, with a clean sheet he then took himself off (without being asked) to pick up the flags - clearing the sections twice! While the rest of us gathered by the BBQ – true spirit indeed! Nigel was very well known for inspiring and encouraging younger riders and that legacy clearly continues to have an influence. The NMC Memorial Trophy has been awarded jointly to two of the Club’s youth riders. Both of these lads have improved so much this year and decided to step up into the Youth Experts especially for today – Alfie Haydon and Josh Morris, very good effort by these two. Very many congratulations to all three Award winners.

It was great to see Chris Stay and George Gosden in action providing some excellent spectating for all to see in the Elite class. Set by Alan and Geoff, riding the sort of stuff most of us can only ever dream about! Chris is leading the British Championship Expert class by four points going into the final two rounds due to be held in Scotland in September – on behalf of everyone at the IOWMCC I would like to wish him every success, we have everything crossed for you Chris – you can do it!

The Club would like to thank the Landowners who made this year's Summer Series possible; A.B. Farms, Geoff & Mary Case and Fred Colson & Simon Newnham.

Perfect weather throughout the three round mini series. Top effort to the Course Setters; Geoff Taylor, Shaun Harris, Alan Gosden, Mark Coombes and Simon Newnham. Very many thanks also to all the Observers who's help is very much appreciated and Photographer; Viki Taylor for her amazing images. Finally congratulations to all the Award Winners.

The final round of this year’s Pat Death Summer Series Championship was held on Sunday July 21st at Blackgang. The Club would like to thank Mr Fred Colson & Simon Newnham for the use of this excellent venue. Our thanks also go to Mark Coombes (course setter) Viki Taylor (Photographer) and to all the Observers. We would like to welcome two new members; Riley True and Sam Jurich. Hopefully they enjoyed the trial & we look forward to seeing them again soon.

There was an appeal last weekend for people to help Mark and Simon clear the way - but unfortunately no one turned up, this inevitably resulted in a six section trial being set. We may have the opportunity to return to this venue in the near future, there is loads of scope at Blackgang but it will need some dedicated helpers, suitably equipped - to cut out beforehand. If you would like to get involved then please get in touch? We can then workout a suitable date or dates to get this done.

With no Expert riders today the top honours went to Tom Richards who proved to be the clear winner of the Intermediate class with a loss of only five marks. This makes a full house for Tom winning all three rounds of the series to take the Championship – in style. Dan Flux had a great ride finishing in second, two marks ahead of Andy Scott-Jackson in third. Harvey Grieve, despite a disappointing fifth place today, has done enough to lift the Championship second place cup. Rory Stephens was out on his own in the Over fifty class, but despite the lack of competition he managed to finish with a very competitive total of nine. This ensured his series win – good effort. Things were much closer in the Clubman class between Phil Chase and Brian Brockwell. It was Phil who took the win by just two marks – superb riding by both riders. Phil’s top marks today also means he is crowned as Clubman Championship winner.

The closest contest of the day and in fact over the whole summer series came from the Novice class. Joe Taylor and Paul West were tied with one win and one second place each – the pressure was well and truly on for the decider. It really couldn’t have ended much closer than it did. Joe took the win – by just a single mark totting up eight to Paul’s nine, amazing that after ninety-four sections it all came down to a single dab!

Jos Wright managed to beat Twin Shock stalwart Nick Symes with a superb ride dropping just a single mark. Nick had an uncharacteristic maximum five point penalty on section two to finish on six. Nick shouldn’t be too disappointed as his second place today was enough for him to take the series win. Mike True was another rider who performed very well this time in the Adult Beginners dropping just eight marks. He finishes his first summer series with his first Championship to boot. Meanwhile Sam Jurich, in his first trial took the second place on the day. The pick of the bunch in the Sportsman class was Scott Milton. Competing on the ‘C’ route he was the only rider to finish with a clean sheet – excellent performance.

The youth classes were headed up by Alfie Haydon (Youth Intermediate) ending the day with an impressive total of seventeen – and another Championship win. Dan Locke, Youth Novice, finished today in some style, loosing only three marks, all on section three, making it three wins from three trials – to win his third Championship title! I wonder what his lucky number is? In the Youth Beginners young Bertie Grieve took the win from first time rider Riley True. Riley wasn’t too far off the pace, only fourteen marks behind – excellent effort by both riders. Bertie also earns his first Championship with maximum points. Riley will probably be surprised to find out that he takes the runner up trophy for the series.

I would just like to say very many congratulations to all the summer series class and award winners – some superb competition and top riding across the three trial series. A full set of Championship results/standings detailing all the award winners will be made available very soon.

The next trial will be held on Sunday August 18th. The Bighobbler Trial, held in memory of the sadly missed big man; Nigel Crouch. If you can only make one trial every year – try to make it this one! The venue is still to be confirmed but once it has - you will find all the info on the Club website and our Facebook group.

2019 Summer Series standings, after 2 Rounds, Pagham & Limerstone Farms.

The Club would like to thank Geoff & Mary Case for welcoming us back to Limerstone for the 2nd round of this years Summer Series Championship. Shaun Harris and Alan Gosden set eight superb sections which attracted much positive feedback from the riders. Very many thanks also to the Observers; Darren Taylor, Calvin Wright and Ollie Salter for giving up their time, helping to keep the trial moving smoothly. The full report will be available here in the next day or so.

The Isle of Wight Motorcycle Club kickstarted this year’s Summer Series Trials Championships on Sunday 19th May at Pagham Farm, Rookley. The Club would like to thank A.B. Farms for welcoming us back to what is an excellent venue. Many thanks to Michael Brown and Geoff Taylor for cutting back the overgrowth last weekend. Geoff Taylor had the sole responsibility of setting the eight section lap and he managed to provide something for everyone – very well done Geoff. Thanks also go to the volunteers who gave up their time to Observe the trial along with Photographers; Viki Taylor and Gill Locke.

The Pat Death Summer Series consists of three trials held in May, June and July. Adult riders must complete all three rounds (in the same class) to be eligible for an award. The weather conditions were just about perfect, slightly overcast but crucially warm and dry meaning there was plenty of grip to be found in the higher sections away from the stream. It was really good to see Elite riders; George Gosden and Josh Stephens in action, adding some super hard deviations to some of the sections. George had the upper hand today dropping a miserly two marks with Josh finishing ten more behind. Never the less, these two provided some great spectating whilst inspiring the younger riders. James Stay was out on his own in the Expert class, despite the lack of competition he completed the trial with a competitive score of just eleven. James cleaned every section except seven and eight where he lost almost all his marks.

The well contested Intermediate class was convincingly won by Tom Richards who ended the day on nine. Scout Gregory claimed second place on thirty-nine with young Harvey Grieve just eight more adrift in third. – an excellent performance by Tom. Things were very much closer in the Over 50’s, between Simon Newnham and Rory Stephens. Six marks between them, not even the difficult triple root exit from section seven, helped to separate them – they both lost just a single mark there. Section three is where all the difference was made, Rory lost over half his total - which ultimately cost him the trial. Scott Milton continues to enjoy his spell of good form in the Clubman class, securing another win, with a thirty-two mark cushion, from in second Phil Chase. Sections one, three, four and five proving decisive.

Meanwhile over in the Novice class it was Paul West who held his nerve to stay ahead of Joe Taylor in second – only seven marks between these two. Steve Chase found sections four and five very expensive, relegating him into the third spot. Nick Symes (Twinshock) and John Townsend (British Bike Class) both secured the maximum ten Championship points getting their Summer Series campaigns off to a flying start. Kevin Smith won the Adult Beginner class very convincingly by sixty-nine marks from the relatively new rider Mike True in second. The gap between these two is somewhat distorted, Its not clear if Mike had a mechanical problem or sustained an injury but he was much more competitive on the first two laps.

Three Youth riders competing this afternoon; Dan Locke, Alfie Gaskin and Josh Morris in the Youth Novice’s with Bertie Grieve in the Youth Beginners. Dan Locke took a convincing win forcing Alfie Gaskin into second spot – helped no doubt by his new Bike which he is obviously very quickly getting to grips with. Unfortunately Josh Morris was carrying an injury sustained at an earlier practice session at home, he was forced to retire soon after the trial started. Bertie Grieve continues to gain in confidence with every outing, its clear to see he thoroughly enjoys the sport – rewarded today with ten Championship points. The pick of the bunch in the Sportsman class was Jono Read, he was taking on the ‘C route’ and completed the trial for just a single dab – a foot down at section four spoiling an otherwise clean sheet.

The full results are available in the Results section. The Club next meet on Sunday 16th June for round two of the series. Please keep an eye on this website (Events) where all the details will be published just as soon as they have been finalised.

The Winter Series Standings after 6 Rounds. Please be sure to read the notes at the top of the first page.

The Isle of Wight Motorcycle Club held its annual Wight Two Day trial on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th April. There were two venues in use this year and the Club would like to thank the Landowners Mr Roger Morgan for the use of Knighton and Mr Rob Taylor for Bembridge Down. Very many thanks also to the course setters, whose role was vital – the pressure was on them to build twelve good standard sections at each venue. Alan Gosden, Simon Newnham and Shaun Harris assisted by Stewart Freeman & John Townsend at Knighton, with Rory Stephens, Geoff Taylor, Steve Chase & Jono Read at Bembridge – the very positive feedback from the riders proved they did an excellent job. The Club’s official Photographer; Viki Taylor, was on hand over the weekend to capture all the action with her camera and produced 1000’s of superb shots. Thanks are also due to the ACU Southern Centre Steward; Terry Graves for all his guidance, advice and assistance throughout the weekend.

There were 130 starters (from an entry of 134) which meant that the Observers were kept incredibly busy for close to six hours on each day, with little or no respite. The vast majority of the trials community is very aware, but it’s worth reminding people that these are all volunteers who give up their time - and without which the sport would simply not happen. The Club recognises their outstanding performance on both days. Top effort by every single last one of them.

Saturday’s proceedings were based at Knighton Sand Pit. The day kicked off with an important riders briefing during which a special presentation was made to last year’s Youth Intermediate Winner; Alex Davies. It was an honour to welcome trials legend; Sammy Miller (eleven times British & two times European Trials Champion) on the Sunday morning to Bembridge Down. He was very interested in the organisational side of things and keen to see the standard of the sections of a trial that in recent years has become to be one of the most popular events in the trials calendar along the South Coast. We were effectively running two separate trials on each day – an all ‘off road’ trial and one that included some roadwork. The Club also organised a free social evening on the Saturday, held at Smallbrook Stadium – it’s fair to say that the turnout in the evening was much lower than expected. Never the less we would like to thank Vanessa & the team at Smallbrook for all their hard work and hospitality.

There were seventeen different classes on offer over, the intention was to be as inclusive as possible. The trial also incorporated Round’s 3 & 4 of the ACU Southern Centre Solo Championships. Some superb riding by so many different riders, far too many to mention here. Island riders managed to notch up five first, three second and two third place finishes. IOW winners were Rory Stephens (class 1) Ross Haydon (class7) Jim West (class 11) Stewart Freeman (class 16) and Alfie Gaskin in class 17. The best Mainland performances came from; Geoff Cornes (class 3) Mark Baldock (class 4) Michael Hollyer (class 5) John Bird (class 6) Geoff Muston (class 8) Jack Frearson (class 10) Tony Talbot (class 12) Max Agar (class 14) and Holly Boys-Guest in class 15. Very well done to all those class winners.

Finally The Wight Two Day Trial Committee would like to thank all participants, especially those that travelled across from the Mainland. We hope they all enjoyed the weekend and we also hope to see them back on the Island for next year’s Wight Two Day Trial.

Sunday's Provisional results.

The overall Two Day Standings for the A Course (with roadwork) are included. The overall Two Day Standings for the B Course (all off road) will be available very soon.