Report: Manx International Classic Trial
By TMX Archives on 7th Sep 16
James Harland won the Manx International Classic Trial for the second year in succession with a sparing loss on his 350cc Triumph 3TA.
Last year he completed the two days without loss, this time he required a single dab to complete another dominant victory.
Harland dropped his only mark on the second sub at Arrasey Plantation, seven sections into the event.
Saturday was miserable with rain from the word go for the run south-west from St John's.
Rob Bowyer (500 Triumph) and newcomer to the event Eric McMeekin (Drayton Bantam) were joint second on five at the end of a rain-swept 33 hazards, followed by Nick Shield (Trifield) on six, Under-35 Ben Butterworth (500 Ariel) and former World Trials champion Yrjo Vesterinen (175 Bantam) both on seven.
John Palmer (Drayton Cub) from Berwick-upon-Tweed had no idea he had been leading the Clubman in the closing stages of the entire event. His overnight score was nine, three fewer than James Morton (Cub) from north of the border, with late entry Owen Hardisty (Cub) third on 14.
The Twin-shocks, running at the front of the 250 strong entry saw Steve Martin from North Wales leading on three from similarly Yamaha Majesty-mounted Stephen Murphy of Northern Ireland and Cheshire's Steven Davies (Yamaha) on six apiece.
Andy Ellis of Northern Ireland led the Twin-shock Clubman on his TY175 on 12-marks lost, closely followed by Victor Martin Bordonau (Bultaco) and fellow Spaniard Miguel Angel Garcia (Bultaco) on 13 and 16 respectively.
Conditions were near-perfect for Sunday's route in the north-eastern corner of the island, based between Laxey and Ramsey.
Harland cleaned all 32 sections in impeccable style on the Triumph Twin to again carry off the premier award and the Unit Four-stroke category.
Bowyer, who had also completed the previous weekend's Manx Two Day Trial (on the Clubman route), held on to finish runner-up on his larger twin, adding another four marks to his original tally to finish on nine, two marks clear of Shield, who took the best Newcomer award.
Chris Gascoigne leap-frogged into fourth place on his Francis Barnett, losing out on a podium finish by a count of cleans.
Vesterinen was fifth, one in front of 2013 event winner Paul Heys (Stealth Cub), with Mark Stokes (Trifield), McMeekin, Pre-unit Springer class winner Michael Irving (Ariel HT) and 2014 winner Eddie Aitkin (Trifield) rounding off the top ten.
Ian Hutchinson was the best of the TT stars who contested the event, grabbing a first class award for 27th place on a borrowed Triumph Cub.
James Morton edged out John Palmer for the Clubman honours on a narrow count of cleans after both riders finished on 12 marks.
Lancastrian Sean Isherwood (Ariel) snatched third place away from Hardisty.
The battle of the Steves in the Twin-shock saw Ulsterman Murphy take another count of most cleans over Welshman Martin after they finished the event on 11 apiece.
Miguel Garcia, one of a high number of overseas riders to contest the event, beat fellow countryman Victor Bordonau by a single dab in the Clubman Twin-shock, with Andy Ellis a further single mark adrift in third.
