Results

The Isle of Wight mcc held its annual Wight Two Day Trial last weekend 18th & 19th April. This year introducing roadwork for some riders. Trials riding on the Island has been exclusively all off road for a little over 30 years. The return to road work is in preparation of the event’s golden anniversary Trial in 2017. Saturday’s sections were at Knighton Sand Pit & Bembridge Down. Riders taking part on the road had to complete 10 sections at Knighton & 10 at Bembridge before returning to Knighton. Riders not taking part on the road completed 3 laps at Knighton. Sunday’s sections were at Cheverton Chalk Pit, Shorwell Chalk Pit and Haslett Farm. The Club would like to thank Mr Roger Morgan, The Taylor Family, Rowena Von Albedeyll, Ralph Cook and Glen Draper for the kind use of their land. The overall winner of the trial was Island rider Will West, taking part in the Twin Shock, hard route with roadwork, loosing just 11 marks for the weekend. Rory Stephens and Nick Symes finishing in second & third respectively. Ian Pemberdy of the Normandy Club had arguably the best ride of the weekend (pre 65 class) managing to complete the entire trial on his BSA Bantam without loosing a single mark – excellent achievement. Andy Scott Jackson headed up the open, hard group (class 5) with a fine performance finishing with a loss of 35 with Stuart Gummer not too far away in 2nd. The all off road hard (class 7) was won by mainland rider Paul Nash of the Southend & District mcc with a total of just 9 for the weekend. Paul was tied with Rob Fleet, Bexleyheath mcc, after the 1st day both on 4 marks lost. Rob finished in a respectable 6th place in a class with 17 riders. Chris Every of Southend & DMCC finished second with Simon Newnham (IOWmcc) in third. Michael Graves (Waltham Chase mcc) took a convincing win in class 8 from Island trio Mike Taylor, Paul Baldwin & Jon Croft who had to settle for 2nd, 3rd and 4th places respectively. Island Youth star Jos Wright found himself in a battle with Tom Norris of Bexleyheath in class 9 (Youth Hard). Jos had a good advantage after day 1 and managed to keep ahead of Tom to take the win. Jos finished on 71 with Tom on 112 – good effort by both riders. Another Island youth rider, Jacob Furnell competing on his Beta 80cc machine also put in a solid performance over the two days. Although riding unopposed in the Youth Easy (class 10) he earned the win finishing on 107 for the weekend. I would like to say a special thank you to all the Observers who displayed good patience having to wait for those out on the road to return for their last laps – brilliant effort. The Club held a raffle for the Observers on each day to show our appreciation. Thanks also to Terry Graves (ACU Southern Centre Steward) who once again gave up his weekend to officiate & keep us all in check. The full results are available from the Club’s website: www.iowmcc.co.uk. Our next Club trial (Summer Series 1st Rnd) is on Sunday 24th May at 12 noon. The venue is still to be confirmed.

The Club would like to thank today's Landowners Roger Morgan for Knighton & Rob & John Taylor for Bembridge. Two great venues which we really appreciate the use of. The Course setters did a brilliant job, 20 good sections across the two venues - Simon Newnham & Alan Gosden (Knighton) and Rory Stephens at Bembridge - Excellent effort. A big thank you to the Observers & Club officials for their help in making this happen and of course all the riders - I hope you all had an enjoyable time.

Newbarn Farm, courtesy of Chris Spence, was the venue for the sixth round of the Winter series – many thanks go to Chris for allowing us to trial on his farm. Apologies to all for the delayed start whilst the sections were being set. On behalf of the Club I would like to thank the posse of ‘last minute’ course setters – Nick Symes, Andy Scott Jackson, Stuart Gummer, Graham Bayton, Brian Brockwell & Ross Haydon who between them put on six really good sections at very short notice! Brilliant effort. The Club sends its best wishes to Stewart Freeman, the original course setter, who is recovering at home following an accident whilst at work.

It was youngster Harvey Grieve who went round today with the least marks lost in the Youth Beginner Class, well done Harvey you should be really pleased with today’s performance. Friendly rivals Alfie Haydon & Harrison Crickmore were once again involved in a close fought contest – despite tangling with the stinging nettles at section 6 it was Harrison that did just enough to earn maximum points. Jason Blackburn (Adult Beginner) should also be pleased with his efforts, dropping just 7 marks on his way to his first win this year.

The Sportsman Class was once again headed by Wayne Brodie who just did enough on the day to finish ahead of Mike Taylor. John Croft finished a creditable 3rd. John was returning to trials riding after a many year absence – good effort. The Twinshock Class was dominated by Nick Symes with Simon Newnham having to settle for second spot. Paul Kent returned to form winning the Novice Class, narrowly from Brian Brockwell, not much between these two with Sam Jones finishing in third.

Mark Gray took the win in the Clubman Class who again just managed to stay ahead of Andy Scott Jackson in second with Stuart Gummer third. The Expert Class was won convincingly by Will West. Will chose to ride a twin shock machine today – but that certainly did not hinder him, showing us all how it should be done! Peter Carr was forced to settle for second place.

We take a break now from the Winter Series Championship – the next Club trial will be the first round of the Summer Series on the 24th of May. The venue is still to be confirmed – please check the Club website (Events) as it will be updated asap.

The next Trial however is the re-vamped Wight Two Day trial on the 18th & 19th April. I would like to remind you all that there are no entries permitted on the day – so if you intend to ride you must get you entries in asap! Many thanks to those that have already volunteered to observe – this is really appreciated – but we need more! If you can spare the Saturday afternoon or the Sunday then please get in touch. You can call me on 07824 318491 by email: [email protected] or [email protected] or via our facebook page.

The Club held the fifth round of the 2015 Winter Championship today at Apes Down, near Calbourne. Many thanks to Mrs Jane Ball for allowing us to use what is a brilliant venue. The course was set, once again, by Andy Ryall & Simon Newnham with Calvin Wright setting the beginner routes – Excellent course guys, very well done.

Will West found himself unopposed today to take the win in the Expert class. Will still posted a really competitive score on his way to another ten Championship points. In the Clubman class it was Mark Gray who took a convincing win from Andy Scott Jackson in second with Stuart Gummer in third.

Sam Jones (Novice class) was going really well until his bike decided to throw him straight over the handlebars, on the steep downhill part of section five – good effort Sam! Meanwhile Brian Brockwell was keeping his head down with a determined effort to narrowly finish in first place. Sam managed to stay ahead of Paul Kent who finished in third, to take second place.

Nick Symes once again took the win in the Twinshocks – Nick was on course for another perfect performance but for a ‘schoolboy’ error as he rode the wrong side of a flag incurring the maximum penalty - five points! Stewart Freeman rode a blinder to finish just one mark behind Nick to take a well deserved second place. Simon Newnham was also going well until he injured his leg, whilst walking the section, which forced him to retire.

The popular Sportsman class was headed by Wayne Brodie who just managed to finish in front of course setter Andy Ryall – just one mark separated these two. Mike Taylor also did well finishing in third place, just one more mark adrift. Brother Geoff Taylor finished in fourth. Phil Sylvester’s bad luck continues to hinder him as his bike developed a carburettor problem resulting in another retirement.

Jos Wright rode unopposed in the Youth Expert class but never the less put in a really good performance to earn another ten Championship points. In the Youth Beginners Jacob Furnell managed to take the win from Harvey Grieve after nursing his bike (which developed a front brake problem) around today’s tricky course by the narrowest of margins. The Youth Small Wheel class proved to be another single point victory for Harrison Crickmore. Alfie Haydon stayed in contention right through but was just beaten on the day – excellent effort by both riders.

The next round of the Winter Championship will be held at Newbarn Farm, near Calbourne, on the 5th of April. The course will be set by Andy Ryall with the normal start time of 12 noon. I look forward to seeing you all then.

The Club held the fourth round of the 2015 Winter Championship today at Shorwell Chalk Pit, courtesy of Ralph Cook – Thanks Ralph, very much appreciated..... The course was set by Andy Ryall with some help from Simon Newnham. Andy, once again, set out eight really good sections..... Calvin Wright was responsible for setting the Beginner routes – A big thank you to them for providing us with a great afternoon’s trialling..... Expert Will West took the win from Rory Stephens with a convincing performance to bag another ten points, Will managed to drop just 6 points on his way to victory..... The well contested Clubman Class saw Tom Read finish in top spot 18 points ahead of second place finisher Mark Gray – good effort by both riders. The scores were pretty close for the minor places with Andy Scott Jackson 3rd, Tony Read 4th & Stuart Gummer in 5th..... The Novice Class produced a very close fought contest between Brian Brockwell & Sam Jones. Sam was ahead of Brian with 1 lap to go before he managed to un-seat his rear tyre at section 1 on his last lap. He did well to get it re-inflated and finish the trial but the distraction proved to be costly leaving Sam to settle for 2nd place..... Is it me, or does there seem to be one or two more riders having a go in the Twin Shock Class (I wonder, is there something going on with Twin Shock’s soon)?.... Former Expert rider Simon Newnham took the win today from Nick Symes who found himself pushed into 2nd spot (apparently Nick stayed out late last night & was probably feeling a bit wobbly!) It was really good to see Steve Wood, who returned to trials riding today after almost a year, he put in a solid performance to just about claim 3rd place from Calvin Wright in fourth. Good effort by all four riders..... Another popular Class today was the Sportsman’s. It was Wayne Brodie, after another wobbly start – losing most of his points on his 1st lap, who headed the bunch finishing in front of the course setter Andy Ryall..... Both Mike Taylor and Geoff Taylor also returned to trials after long absences to finish 3rd & 4th respectively - although it should be pointed out - they were both riding the slightly harder route. Jos Wright put in a great ride in the Youth Expert Class to take another well-deserved win.... Jacob Furnell’s confidence has obviously returned & saw him keep ahead of Class rival Harvey Grieve (Youth Beginners) both riders coping really well on today’s greasy course.... The closest battle of the day came from the youngest riders of the Club – the Youth Small Wheel Class. Alfie Haydon did just enough to take the win from Harrison Crickmore. Alfie managed to complete the trial without losing a single point – Harrison was just 1 point away. Fantastic effort by both riders..... Last Night the Club held its annual Awards/Dinner & Dance. I would like to take this opportunity to say a special thank you (on behalf of everyone that went) to Ann Gustar, Louise Furnell & Linna Gustar, who between them put on a brilliant evening with good food & an excellent band. Thanks also to Sandra Power who stepped in to photograph the presentations, at very short notice. Well done to all of you.

The club would like to thank Glenn Draper for welcoming us back once again to hold the Spring Cup at Haslett Farm – very much appreciated. Thanks also go to Calvin Wright for setting all four routes that included free flowing sections with some tight naddgery ones – great effort Calvin.

Youngster Alfie Haydon, although riding unopposed in the Youth Small Wheel class, put in a confident ride & continues to improve every time he rides. Jacob Furnell turned the tables today with an excellent performance to finish ahead of friendly rival Harvey Grieve in the Youth Beginners.

It was very close in the Youth Expert class, just 4 points separated Jos Wright & Brendon Penn – It was section 4 on Brendon’s 1st lap, where he lost maximum points, that proved to be the difference here – good effort though by both riders.

Ben Wolfe took the win, once again, in the Adult Beginner class. He’s clearly getting to grips with trials riding. The Sportsman class saw Andy Ryall back to winning ways finishing ahead of Wayne Brodie & Dave Barnes who finished 2nd & 3rd respectively.

Nick Symes managed to finish today’s trial without dropping a single point (excellent achievement) to win the very close fought Twin Shock class. Simon Newnham finished second with Calvin Wright in third with just 1 point between them!

Paul Kent took his 1st win in the Novice class loosing just 16 points – Well done Paul, you should be really pleased with today’s performance. The Clubman class was dominated by Father and Son team Tony & Tom Read, finishing 1st & 2nd. Stuart Gummer, who is clearly back on form, kept ahead of his friendly rival Andy Scott Jackson to finish 3rd & 4th with Mark Gray in fifth. There were only 5 points separating 3rd & 5th places!

Expert Will West took the win in his class with the second lowest score of the day – on the hardest route. Will dropped just 1 point at section 2 on his first lap. Today saw the return of Peter Carr after an absence of numerous years. Peter was also riding Expert, and was going really well until several ‘technical’ issues with his bike forced him to retire.

Our next trial (Novice & Expert Cup) will be held on the 1st March, the venue is still to be confirmed so please check the website regularly – it will be updated as soon as we know.

Our Club reports can now be seen at the Island’s online magazine – On The Wight. Go to ‘onthewight.com’- sports section to see the report. The report will appear here within a few days of the trial itself. This along with the County Press reports should help to raise the profile of our Club and hopefully attract new members.

Finally the Awards/Dinner & Dance is fast approaching – Your completed forms need to be sent to Ann Gustar before Friday 20th February – that’s this Friday! Act now not to miss out on what will be a great evening out.

The Club held its second trial of the year at Lee Copse, courtesy of the Gustar family – what fantastic hosts they are. Special thanks to John for setting eight challenging sections and to Ann for her excellent hospitality. Thanks also to Calvin Wright for setting the E route. The wet and slippery Lee Copse clay succeeded, as we would expect, in producing some really high scores more associated with cricket! It was Harvey Grieve in the Youth Beginners that ‘carried his bat’ and lost the least marks today along with Ben Wolfe (Adult Beginner) well done to both of you. Harvey finished ahead of newcomer Nick Platt. This was Nick’s first time out at a trial, although it wouldn’t be obvious by his score – brilliant ride Nick, you should be really pleased with today’s performance. Young Alfie Haydon (Youth Small Wheel) also managed the mud well and managed to fend off a determined effort from rival Harrison Crickmore – good effort by both riders. Jos Wright managed a convincing win in the Youth Expert class from Brendon Penn. This being Brendon’s first attempt at the much harder route – Keep up the good work Brendon, they tell me it gets easier! Ben Wolfe, although today riding unopposed, in the Adult Beginner’s still put in a competitive ride to claim his ten points. Kev Cotton returned to trials riding today, many of you will remember him as a well accomplished rider, after how many years Kev! Judging by his score, he’s still got what it takes. Kev managed to push regular Wayne Brodie into second spot, both riding in the Sportsman’s Class – great effort. It was really good to see, my mate, Chris Cooper back after a prolonged absence - what a difficult and testing 12 months he’s had! Despite not finishing today he still showed good determination and was still smiling at the end. In the Expert Class it was Will West who took the win from Rory Stephens. Will posted the second lowest score of the day, on the hardest course. Sam Jones who has been improving throughout 2014 in the Novice Class, today claimed his first (certainly not his last) Novice win – Keep up the good work Sam. Calvin Wright also took his first Class win today putting in a confident ride in the Twin shock Class – Well done Calvin, have you stopped smiling yet? John Townsend battled his heavy Triumph to victory in the British bike Class to claim his hard earned ten points. Stuart Gummer returned to riding, earlier than thought, after the injury he sustained at Hut Hill on New Year’s Eve, to finish in a creditable second place in the Clubman Class. Andy Scott Jackson took the win here with another solid performance. Finally I would like to thank all those that helped to clear up at the end – very much appreciated. Our next trial will be on Sunday 15th Feb, probably at Haslett Farm – please check the website as I am awaiting the venue confirmation.

The first trial of the 2015 Championship was held today at Sweetwater Brook. Many thanks to Trevor Strickland for allowing us on his land…. Thanks also must go to Nick Symes who set today’s sections and to Jos Wright who helped set the Beginner routes…. Andy Scott Jackson picked up from where he left off in last year’s Championship to take the win in the Clubman class from 2nd place finisher Mark Gray…. Brian Brockwell put in a confident ride to take his 1st win in the Novice class – nice one Brian…. Nick Symes recorded the lowest score of the day on his way to winning the Twin shock class with Calvin Wright not too far away in 2nd spot…. John Townsend rode unopposed in the British class, finding some of today’s sections a bit tricky…. Ben Wolfe (Adult Beginner) continues to improve with a confident ride to take the win in his class…. Wayne Brodie, riding in the Sportsman class coped well with all of today’s sections except section 2 - Things became worse on his 3rd lap when his front wheel ‘tucked under’ and threw him off the bike straight into the brook – good effort!... Jos Wright in the Youth Expert class chose to ride the more difficult ‘B’ route today and put in a great performance, his score was right up there with the adults riding the easier Clubman route – well done Jos…. Both Harvey Grieve (Youth Beginner) and Alfie Haydon (Youth Small Wheel) both posted excellent scores to earn top spot in their respective classes..... Five IOWmcc Club riders ventured across the Solent to take part in the Dick Hoyles memorial trophy trial (Waltham Chase Mcc) Chandlers Ford, Southampton on New Years Eve…. Four laps of ten sections greeted the quintet set in the woods at Hut Hill…. It proved to be a day of mixed fortunes ending with our own Stuart Gummer being carted off to A & E following a crash which left him suffering a painful ligament injury to his hand…. The day was not however all lost as Young Club star Jos Wright put in a great ride on this tricky & greasy course to win the well contested Youth B class convincingly – Brilliant effort Jos…. Nick Symes & Calvin Wright finished 2nd & 3rd respectively in the Twin Shock class with Andy Scott Jackson finishing in a creditable 7th place in the Clubman class…. The Club sends its best wishes to Stuart & hope he’s back to full fitness soon.

Our next trial (Mercury Cup) will be held at Lee Copse courtesy of John and Ann Gustar, on the 25th January. Start time for all routes will be 12 noon. John will be setting the course. Look forward to seeing you all there.

2014 review & look forward to 2015.... Just a quick look back at the 2014 season…. All things considered it has been a good, busy and successful year…. We have held 18 club trials across both the Winter & Summer series culminating with a brilliant Boxing Day event. The Boxing Day trial was well attended (and although this year, slightly competitive) riders still embraced the spirit of this mainly ‘fun’ trial - many turning up in all sorts of fancy dress. It was good to see a decent amount of spectators too…. The Club also put on the traditional IOW 2 day trial, back in April, which consisted of 24 excellent sections across 2 venues – we even had decent weather for this one!... Of course we are very lucky here on the Island to have available to us many excellent venues offering a wide range of differing terrains – we are very grateful and thankful to all those Land Owners…. There are a host of other people involved (often behind the scenes) working quietly away to make all this happen – so many thanks to them too!... Rider numbers have remained low again this year with observers becoming even harder to find – this is not unique to us, it appears to be typical for many trials Clubs throughout the country at the moment…. There is however a concerted effort to raise the profile of our Club, to encourage new members into our sport, particularly younger ones and their families…. We now once again have regular reports published in the County Press, make use of social media (through our facebook page) with other media groups expressing an interest in publishing our reports (I hope to bring more news of this soon)…. Our own website is now kept much more up to date with all the relevant info you need…. Regular emails are being sent to those that have subscribed, containing results, events and news items…. All this will continue into 2015 and beyond - time will tell if all the effort pays off or not!... There is one important change to bear in mind right from the outset of 2015 - which is that to qualify for an award in 2015, riders will be required to complete a minimum of eight trials (in the same class) with your best twelve to count. This will bring us more into line with how most other Championships are run…. Our first trial of 2015 (New Year Shield) will be held at Sweetwater Brook on Sunday 4th Jan, start time for all routes will be 12 noon…. Hope to see you all there…. In the meantime I would like to wish you all the very best for 2015 – have a happy New Year!

On behalf of the Club I would like to say a big thank you, once again, to Ralph Cook for allowing us back at Shorwell Chalk Pit to hold the Boxing Day Cup…. Thanks also to John Gustar who gave up his time on a cold Christmas Eve and Boxing Day morning to set eight excellent sections. I had a chat with John before the trial, he was concerned and worried, desperately, trying to give us something different! - Difficult considering we have had three trials here in quick succession, however he did a great job & needn’t have worried – brilliant effort John – very much appreciated…. The day proved to be a huge success with many riders turning up in all sorts of weird and wonderful outfits, a good entry and plenty of enthusiastic spectators, this makes all the effort very worthwhile and a pleasure to be part of…. The Father and Son competition was won convincingly by Calvin and Jos Wright who both put in great performances to finish ahead of Rory and Josh Stephens in second with Jono and Ben Read in third place. I’m really pleased for Calvin and Jos, they have been nudging at the door for the last couple of years – congratulations to both of you…. It was very close in the Expert class with just 4 points separating the top three finishers – Josh Stephens took the win from Will West by the smallest of margins with Craig Talbot only 3 more behind in third…. Andy Scott Jackson rode himself back into top spot in the Clubman class, Ben Read finished ahead of his Dad (only 3 points between them though) to take 2nd & 3rd respectively with Stuart Gummer in 4th…. The Novice class was another close fought battle – it was Wayne (elf) Brodie that narrowly managed to finish ahead of Paul Kent, who put in a confident ride to finish in second with the ever improving Sam Jones not far behind in third…. Ben Wolfe rode unopposed in the Adult Beginner class who never the less posted a competitive score…. Calvin Wright rode very well to take the Sportsman class with his son Jos taking top spot in the Youth Novice class – Jos recorded the lowest score of the day on the C route which undoubtedly helped the pair to take the Father & Son competition – excellent effort from both of them…. Harvey Grieve was on form in the Youth Beginner class to take a convincing win from friendly rival Jacob Furnell – Jacob had a really tough 1st lap where he dropped most of his points…. Alfie Haydon finished in front of Harrison Crickmore (Youth Small Wheel class) with another confident ride – good effort though by both riders…. I would also like to say a special thank you to our very own Sandra Power, who was seconded by the County Press, as the official photographer. Sandra did a brilliant job in the cold and wet conditions…. I don’t yet have the date for the next trial – please check the website daily – it will be updated as soon as I can get the details.... Finally on behalf of the committee I would like to wish you all the very best for the New Year.... See you soon.