Becky Cooks on Low heat
By TMX Archives on 2nd Jul 08
BECKY Cook reigned supreme at Low North Park on Sunday, winning her fourth ACU British Ladies championship round and extending her points tally over Mansfield winner, Donna Fox, by three championship points.
The 21-year-old equestrian trainer from the Isle of Wight stamped her authority on the Low North Park course with an unbeatable but matchable clean sheet on her first lap so Fox and Emma Bristow were playing catch-up after the first dozen Dave Wilkinson-designed sections.
The major shock though was not Becky but Joanne Coles who aced the Route 1 field at Low North with a brilliant two dabs at Tonia and Jim Carr's second tree-shrouded rock garden on the eastern side of the venue. That second drop-off ledge brought a succession of wedged wheels but the final yards involved a large rock with a clay approach, so it was either hit it hard and fly out of control, or try a softly softly approach and spin out. The dividing line was knife-edged. Only Cook, Bristow, and Joanne Coles nailed this one on any of the three laps.
The whole of the Scarborough entry poses for Barry Robinson and his camera!
It was on lap two that Joanne hit the wedge after the drop-off. Those two marks only served to fire Joanne to greater heights. The Youth B route also stopped all three riders during the day. Even the determined Chloe Richardson and the aggressive attacking style of Danielle Whitham defied cleans and they footed or failed. Catherine Alford almost sneaked the final ledge on lap one but her Beta lost grip on the final inches while the rider still persisted.
Youth C missed the hard bits but still only Kate Hunter posted cleans while class winner Nikita Smith and Hannah Richardson opted for safety dabs, which worked, for them.
Hannah Styles and Harriet Peacock lost the battle with the second hazard on every lap and the following ‘Twin Forks' did them no favours either. Coles stormed the narrow stepped stream bed which was slippery. Harriet Peacock was dead right on the fallen trees at the fourth but the Richmond girl was just off the throttle when she hit the rock that barred the climb from the stream-bed. Emma B and Katy Sunter also had their boots down on the double rock at the end of the section.
By the end of the lap, the only one getting into a lather was Dave Wilkinson who was convinced that someone was going to throw in a clean sheet ride, and worse still that could happen in both the Adult and Youth A classes.
At the first punch change, it was Cook with that clean card, matched by Joanne Coles, then Fox on six. Emma B had hoiked a flag out on lap one at the tricky but dry fifth above the top car park.
Wilkinson was right there and said she took the flag with the back wheel. Emma also failed the flight up out of the south bank of the river at number ten on lap one, so, with a dab on the step at four, she tallied 11.
Kate Hunter lost Youth C on the sixth hazard which twisted and turned. A three and five blew spoiled her chances and let Nikita Smith in the door.
To be fair though, every weekend it is either Nikita or Kate in every East Yorkshire trial going head-to-head. Even after her problems at the sixth, Kate posted the only clean third lap. So there!
A sting in the Adult and Youth A course was the 12th where a downhill path ended in a slot, or an undercut step. Neither Donna or Em went a bundle on this hazard. Fox shreiked when she dived the Sherco into to the captive slot on the final lap. Donna was not happy, nor with the double dab on lap one. But for that final section, Miss Fox would have been a dab behind Miss Cook.
And finally, Emma Morphett travelled from Herne Bay and ruled supreme with a very average opening lap then slammed Vicky Ellis' hopes with two cracking consistent laps of 10 and 11 which only accountant Niki Wraight got near.
Robyn Alderson won the Youth A Intermediate which came as no great shock to those in the know. The Askrigg lass, daughter of Scott Trial winner Philip Alderson, has shot up the standings in Richmond events recently.
ACU LADIES TRIALS CHAMPS
Rd 5 – Scarborough Ladies Trial
(Scarborough & DMC)
LADIES CLASS (Route A): Becky Cook (250 Gas Gas) 7 marks lost, Donna Fox (250 Sherco) 15, Emma Bristow (250 Gas Gas) 21, Katy Sunter (250 Gas Gas) 50, Saskia Baxter (125 Beta) 80.
SERIES STANDINGS after 5 (of 7) rounds: 1 Cook 80 points, 2 Fox 71, 3 Bristow 62, 4 Sunter 52, 5 Baxter 44,
YOUTH A (Route A): Joanne Coles (125 Sherco) 2 marks lost, Hannah Styles (Sherco) 51, Harriet Peacock (125 Sherco) 95.
SERIES STANDINGS after 5 (of 7) rounds: 1 Coles 80 points, 2 Styles 68, 3 Peacock 60, 4 Bullock 26,
YOUTH B (Route B): Danielle Whitham (125 Beta) 35 marks lost, Chloe Richardson (125 Sherco) 60, Catherine Alford (80 Beta) 77.
SERIES STANDINGS after 5 (of 7) rounds: 1 Whitham 77 points, 2 Richardson 74, 3 Alford 62, 4 Percy 26,
LADIES INTER (Route B): Emma Morphett (125 Gas Gas) 49 marks lost, Vicky Ellis (Beta) 58, Jane Peace (Beta) 78, Niki Wraight (250 Scorpa) 79, Hannah Kirtley-Paine (125 Gas Gas) 113, Helen Lang (125 Scorpa) 126, Francesca Kirtley-Paine (125 Gas Gas) 155.
SERIES STANDINGS after 5 (of 7) rounds: 1 Morphett 77 points, 2 Wraight 67, 3 Ellis 54, 4 Lang 52, 5 Kirtley-Paine 52, 6 Kirtley-Paine 40, 7 Crabtree 19, 8 Peace 15, 9 Cannom 15,
YOUTH C (Route C): Nikita Smith (80 Beta) 7 marks lost, Kate Hunter (80 Sherco) 10, Hannah Richardson (80 Beta) 45, Simone Wallis (80 Beta) 68, Victoria Payne (50 Gas Gas) 90, Maisie Payne (80 Gas Gas) 94, Louise Alford (80 Beta) 107.
SERIES STANDINGS after 5 (of 7) rounds: 1 Smith 80 points, 2 Hunter 71, 3 Payne 52, 4 Richardson 62, 5 Payne 42, 6 Alford 40, 7 Wallis 48,
NON-CHAMPIONSHIP CLASSES
YOUTH INTER A (Route B): Robyn Alderson (125 Gas Gas) 42 marks lost, Harriet Shore (125 Gas Gas) 89, Emma Colwell (125 Sherco) 128.
LADIES NEWCOMER (Route C): Chloe Cockerill (125 Sherco) 81 marks lost.
NEXT ROUND: Aug 3 – Dartmoor Ladies Trial (Torridge & DMCC).