Report: Westmorland MC - Lonsdale Cup Trial
By John Dickinson on 4th Feb 17
JACK Spencer took the Premier award in the Westmorland Motor Club's Northern Centre Championship trial, the AB Sherco Lonsdale Cup.
The talented Beta-mounted Lancashire lad made the most of a quick trip up the M6 to Cumbria on Sunday.
Stephen Dixon, winner of last week's Centre round at Bootle, was Jack's only serious challenger, the Scorpa rider finishing just six marks astern but almost 20 ahead of his usual foe, Bassenthwaite club stalwart Richard Gaskell.
The Lonsdale is one of the WMCs premium events being a classic single-lap road-based trial starting from the club's own land at Firbank, only a mile from J37 on the M6.
The trial took in five sections close to the start, then traversed some pretty wet and mucky off-road towards the A684 Kendal - Sedbergh road where a nice, tight climbing, slippery beck lay in wait with nine sections – ending with an entertaining blast up a vertical slippery banking for the Hard and Green contenders.
This loop was lapped twice, to make the most of a super little group, before heading off to pick up the narrow, single track backroads which would take the field out for a group at Knipe's farm towards further hazards in the wood at Grayrigg by West Coast mainline and then loop back to Firbank.
The Lonsdale has a good reputation built-up over the years and not far short of a three-figure entry turned up on a day that dawned cold, after overnight snow, but sunny. With riders from several adjoining centres, from Scotland and John Holland making one of his infamous 4am starts from Lincolnshire, the Lonsdale had a National flavour.
As ever the Hard course was all about quality not quantity but this was more than made up for with over 30 Green (50/50) course hopefuls and around 50 enthusiastic Clubmen ensured a busy day.
All three courses proved just about on the button with Spencer dropping just a dozen marks for overall victory. With the usual centre suspects Dixon and Gaskell following Jack, veteran Nigel Birkett enjoyed a good day, the slippery stuff proving right up his street, to finish fourth ahead of young guns Tom Hudson, James Hayhurst and James Postlethwaite.
The Green course was closely fought with an experienced trio filling the podium headed by Stuart Gaskell, Richard's brother, regular Lancs visitor Ian Payne and Simon Hartley. First of the youngsters was teenager Joe Hiley while Adam McCanna on the four-stroke Montesa held-off Robert Taylor, giving his 349 Mont a rest in favour of his 315.
Clubmen saw a runaway winner in Antony Brockbank who was not only title sponsor of the Lonsdale but also masterminded the course and sections and deserved his reward for putting in the graft with an 11-mark total.
Mark Barrow was Brock's closest challenger and the only other rider to finish his day under 20 marks. It was then as tight as a tick all the way down the order with Mike Batty now really getting the hang of a modern Scorpa, after a ‘lifetime' on Pre-65s, in fifth.
Having said that Chris Gascoigne sneaked his Pre-65 James into the top 10 on just 31 and Jonny Wren on his TYZ Yam in the top dozen proving if you are good enough the bike really doesn't matter as much as you'd like to think!
Big thanks to all involved.
RESULTS
Hard route: Jack Spencer (Beta) 12, Stephen Dixon (Scorpa) 18, Richard Gaskell (Beta) 37, Nigel Birkett (Scorpa) 46, Tom Hudson (Beta) 52, James Postlethwaite (Scorpa) 57, Andy Holker (Gas Gas) 81, Owen Gilchrist (Gas Gas) 82.
Green route: Stuart Gaskell 21, Ian Payne 23, Simon Hartley 25, Joe Hiley 29, Adam McCanna 31, Robert Taylor 34, Adam Smith 34, Tom Hutchinson 35, Ryan Whitehead 36, Aaron Whitehead 36.
Clubman route: Antony Brockbank 11, Mark Barrow 19, Richard Taylor 27, Ian Oldcorn 28, Mike Batty 29, Steve Smith 29, Phil Fallows 30, Graham Parker 31, Chris Gascoigne 31, Pete McCanna 32.
