ACU Trial GB Round One - Billy Green fells Fell Green

By Team TMX on 22nd Apr 24

News Trials

Current Trial2 World Champion Billy Green fired a warning shot at his closest competition in the FIM series by soundly beating them as he dominated the opening day of action at the all-new Trial GB: ACU British Motorcycle Trials Championship. The Scorpa rider took an early lead and then never looked back in the three laps of 12-sections trial held at Fell Green in Cumbria.

Sherco’s new signing Harry Turner matched Green through the first four sections but a five in section five saw Harry slip down the running order and at the end of lap one, Green led the trial by a single mark over Harry Hemingway with defending British champion Jack Peace a solid third – just a further one mark in arrears.

Green’s second lap started with a five, but after that he was sublime and extended his lead with a stunning display of skill in the slippery hazards. While Green got around the lap for a total of 12, it was Peace who was the best of the rest on 16 as Hemingway had a troublesome time, ending with a lap score of 25. This gave Green a healthy lead heading into the final lap

Another impressive effort saw Billy eke out an even bigger advantage as he brought home his Scorpa in first place. With the lowest lap score of the day, Green also grabbed a bonus championship point to start his season scorecard with a maximum 21-point haul for his efforts.

Peace, meanwhile, was having a difficult final lap and as Hemingway found some consistency, came under fire. A pair of fives underneath the trees in sections three and four, saw Harry move back into second position and from there a measured performance got the job done and the Beta ace secured second spot on the podium with Peace third.

Behind them came Jack Dance and Harry Turner with very consistent class rookie George Hemingway securing sixth in his first ride in the headlining class.

It was tight at the top in Trial 2 with veteran Alexz Wigg taking on the young guns – Duncan MacColl, Jamie Galloway and Alfie Lampkin. Wigg and MacColl were level after lap one ahead of Lampkin and another vet Sam Conner who is also the series Sporting Manager.

The lead pair had a tougher time of it on lap two as Galloway, Lampkin and former Trial 2 champion Andy Chilton came to the fore. The three of them got around for a lap score of 15 while MacColl clung onto the trial lead with a score of 17 which put him one ahead of Lampkin. Wigg, meanwhile, slipped back to third which set up an interesting final lap.

Galloway was the best of the lot on the final tour and managed to get around for a loss of 17 for a total of 51. Wigg went into the final hazard, level on points with Galloway but a solitary dab increased his trial total to 52 and meant he’d have to be content with third on the day. MacColl, meanwhile, rode a steady lap to manage his lead at the front of the pack and take the class victory on 48.

Lampkin had a difficult final tour and just about held off Chilton, who got better and better as the day continued, to secure fourth place. The fight for the first non-podium place was quite tight with fourth-placed Lampkin, Chilton, Connor, Josh Hanlon and Hugo Jervis separated by just five marks.

In the Trial Expert class, Sherco’s Emma Bristow took top honours despite a very early start time that saw her riding towards the front of the field all day. Despite that perceived disadvantage, Emma knuckled down to the task at hand and showed her true class by taking home 20 championship points and an early series lead.

Emma’s day score of 68 marks lost, reflects the trial’s difficulty. What’s interesting is the fact she wasn’t the best performer through the flags as Beta’s Brad Bullock took that honour – ending the three laps of 12 sections for a total of 65. However, 12 time penalties proved deadly and at the end of the day, the very popular rider from Cheshire had to be content with fifth place.

After the opening two laps, Luke Walker had a sizable lead but a disappointing final lap saw the Sherco rider drop 31 marks compared to his earlier efforts of 19 and 17. This meant he’d have to settle for second ahead of a very consistent Dan Thorpe and Tom Swindlehurst (who ended lap one tied with Bullock at the head of the field). Thorpe and Swindlehurst ended the event on 75 marks apiece with the current champ getting the nod on the most cleans tie-breaker.

So, an interesting day of action on the Cumbrian Fells. The series now heads south to Hookwood in Surrey and an interesting double-header as the Trial GB series and the ACU Youth Nationals come together for a weekend of feet-up funanigans.

Check out www.acutrialgb.org.uk for more info.

Trial GB: ACU British Motorcycle Trials Championship

Results: Round One - Fell Green, Cumbria

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