Rocks, tree roots and creeks
National Trials Champs
Labour Weekend’s National Trials Champs took place at three separate venues in the Waikato. It was a weekend of rocks, tree roots and creeks. The Day 2 heavy shower of rain made the tree roots even more slippery and challenging and provided some sloppy mud. The standard of riding was high, the sections were meaty enough to test the skills of all in the well run event, with only one of the 70 competing riders withdrawing after an awkward landing.
Jake Whitacker was in a class of his own and blew everyone away, as expected, to retain the Expert Grade title. He lost a few points in the slippery parts of the rocky river but astounded as he conquered some very big rocks indeed. He really showed his world class ability.
The over 15 riders from the Tauranga Club who competed at the Nationalswith varying degrees of success all thoroughly enjoyed the event.
Tauranga Club member John Haynes (Reporoa) came in second behind Luke Marsh in the A Grade class. Phil Shilton missed out on the same podium by 1 point. “Too many mistakes every day”, he admits, “and next year I’ll be making it harder for myself because I am moving up to a higher grade”.
Lisa Shilton, a rider who is becoming better by the day, came 15th in the very competitive Clubman’s grade. Gabby Gundry led this class for the first 2 days but “bombed out” on the third, letting David Trewin and Thomas Evans slip by to take the first two places on the podium.
Francis Sydenham (11th) thought the section settings for the Clubmans were “bang on”. “Sometimes at an event there can be inconsistencies with some too hard and some too easy”, he says, “but these ones were well balanced. Of course, the 10 minutes of rain on the Sunday made everything difficult and changed the scores considerably but that’s a factor you can’t control”.
Jacob Gundry rode commendably well and showed great promise in his first year in the Intermediate Grade.
“A good weekend with rocks, tree roots and creeks,” reports Ben McLeod. “I came first in the Juniors but the competition was quite easy, the others were quite young boys”, he says, which is a good sign for the future of the sport. Ben himself will be moving up to the “green line” class next year.
Ben’s dad, Paul McLeod, also enjoyed the weekend. He knows his 1983 Yamaha down to a fine line and, with a steady ride, losing very few points, he clinched the Pre 1987 title.
The results of the President’s Grade are still provisional with an appeal pending. 60+ Warwick Merriman felt his pre event diet and training preparation stood him in good stead against his 10 to 20 year old younger competitors. “I did my best round on the last lap of the last day”, he says, “and now I’m waiting for the final decision on the placings”.
Warwick is living proof that trials is a sport for all ages. Balance, bravery and throttle control is the main emphasis for this unique motorcycle competition. Speed is not essential, with the prime aim instead being to conquer extreme terrain without touching feet on the ground or falling off. Points are lost for these “faults” and a rider with the lowest score wins.
The North Island won the North versus South challenge.
Click here for full results.
