News shared by Alfie on behalf of Isle of Wight Motorcycle Club. Ed
In the torrential rain riders from Isle of Wight Motorcycle Club battled to take the win at the Boxing Day Trial.
As the trial got under way riders were greeted with a free bike wash from mother nature. Luckily the rain cleared up and left the riders with some very slippery chalk to contend with.
We must thank Ralph Cook for the use of this all-weather venue along with the course setting skills of Alan Gosden provided riders with sections that were still rideable in extreme conditions.
The Boxing Day Trial hosted the traditional Father and Son Trophy, with seven fathers and sons in action showing how trials is often handed down the generations. Sometimes the father will be the stronger rider, but as the years go on, the youngsters will be leading the show. The main ingredients for success is teamwork and the lowest combined score wins the day.
It was great to see so many new lads and dads in their first year of trials taking part in the Father and Son Trial. They all finished strongly despite terrible conditions at times.
Final round of the 2021 Winter Championship
Not only was this the Father and Son Trial also it was the final round of the 2021 Winter Championship.
The Boxing Day Expert Cup went to local ace, Rob Howard, who made a winning return snatching the victory from Tom Richards, however second place was enough for Tom to win the experts championship making him the 2021 Island champion.
Josh Morris came in third with only his second finish on the hardest route on unfamiliar bike putting in a solid performance.
Intermediate classes
In the Intermediates, the top three riders all finished on single figure scores showing how competitive this class is especially in the wet conditions, but this is to be expected when they have over 100 years’ riding experience between them.
2021 intermediate champion, Ross Haydon (pictured at top), took the win with a loss of only two marks. Adam Morgan has consistently been the main challenger this year finishing runner up in the championship and winning the tie break today on most cleans from veteran rider Alan Stay.
Over 50s Class
In the Over 50s Class, John Coombes triumphed over Andy Scott-Jackson however second was enough for Andy to take a comfortable win in the championship this year however John has the momentum going into 2022.
The Boxing Day Novice Cup goes to Paul Baldwin making the trip over from the mainland to take the spoils. Paul Kent was not far behind on his electric bike with Jason Elford rounding out the top three.
Youth Classes
In the youth experts Alfie Haydon took the win along with the championship from Alfie Gaskin who came in a strong second position on the day as well as runner up in the championship.
These two riders have consistently posted scores comparable to the top adult riders on the B route. Youth novices were headed up by championship winner Harrison Crickmore who snatched the win and the championship that day from Ollie Elford both riders have improved a great deal this year.
Youngest rider Riley Baker didn’t let the bad weather effect his enthusiasm for the sport smiling all the way round to win the youth beginner championship. Helped by mum and dad great result for Team Baker.
Last but not least we would all like to thank Mike Morris, Richard Crickmore and club chairman Andy Ryall for observing in the terrible conditions.
The club met again to kick off the 2022 championship at Sweetwater Brooke, Calbourne last Sunday (2nd January 2022).
Find out more by visiting the Website.
Image: © Viki Taylor
