British champs are on trial!
By TMX Archives on 18th Nov 11
As the provisional dates calendars are being assembled for the 2012 season editor JD looks at the British Trials series...
Over the past couple of months there has been an increased call, mainly from the trials bike importers – and rightly so because if they don't, who will – for the ACU to take an urgent look at making some major changes to the British Trials Championship which has seen entries for the main Championship class as ridiculously low as six in 2011.
That figure alone clearly shows that there is something wrong. And it is no good pointing to the supporting class and saying all is well because Expert B is thriving as that just ducks the real issue, which is, of course, the British Championship itself.
It is not an easy subject to address and I don't claim to have a definitive answer. But I have come to the same conclusion as the importers. We have to do ‘something' and that simply sitting back and doing ‘nothing' is not an option.
Quick history lesson for those of you who (unfortunately) don't remember life before the current system. The British Trials Championship for many years was simply a selection of events taken from the many excellent National trials that took (take) place throughout the country. These were many and varied and took in the rocky Northern events and muddy southern Nationals (even the Scottish and the Scott have been included).
Those trials utilised a single route and regularly drew entries of 120-plus – just as the better one-day Nationals do today!
As machines developed, particularly after the monoshock revolution, and riders perhaps became more ‘professional' the trial organisers began to make the sections harder and then harder still in attempts to take marks from these pro riders.
Some events became so hard and specialised that the lesser lights did not see the point in entering any more and they were lost to the calendar. Also, ‘support crews' began following riders round the mainly road-based trials, which created its own problems with irate locals protesting as lanes were blocked with larger and larger transporters.
Hence – and there were other reasons as well – the ACU decided, with justification, to radically change the course of the British Championship and insisted that they take place on a single piece of private land over multi-laps of a short course with all sections within range of the start. This was in order to (hopefully) attract spectators and traders and to make a real ‘event' of it. All good worthy reasons.
Unfortunately, as these things do, all has not turned out as planned and the British Champs has embarked on a downward spiral that has reached the current situation with virtually no riders in what should be the Blue Riband class.
But what to do? I have listened to the views of Malc and Rhoda Rathmell, John Lampkin, John Shirt and Nigel Birkett et al, and while none claims to have all the answer, all have come to the same conclusion as stated above. ‘Something' must be done, because if nothing is done, the series is finished.
One part of the argument is that firstly, the observing must return to no-stop. The thinking is that the sections must necessarily be made easier, thus encouraging more competitors. This is not as easy as it sounds and all are agreed on this. Competitors must adopt a ‘no-stop' mindset. More importantly, clerks of the course and their observers on the day must also adopt the rules and abide by them.
There is no point whatsoever in a club agreeing to run a Championship round on a no-stop basis and then everyone totally ignoring it with riders blatantly stopping and observers letting them get away with it. I see this on a regular basis, several recent stand-out moments in the recent Lakes Two Day Trial spring instantly to mind.
The problem of lack of entries is not restricted just to the British Championship, the World series suffers exactly the same. Only here the powers that be are happy that the Junior and Youth classes that run alongside it make up the numbers and everyone's happy. Dads and mums pay their offspring through Youth and Junior ranks and then rightfully bail-out when the kid comes of age and has to pay his own way while the parents pay-off their debts. I can supply a list of names as long as this page to prove this argument is valid.
To me there are several basic questions that should be posed, going back to basics. Like what is the purpose of the British Championship? Who (if anyone) benefits and who is supposed to benefit? Trials is working absolutely fine at the lower levels, so why does it all come off the rails as soon as we hit British Championship level?
Personally, if I was an importer I could see no reason to support the series as it stands. How does it benefit his business? Compare a British Championship round against a National trial with 150-entries or an event like the Reeth Three-Day Trial and then ask yourself which event would he be better supporting and promoting his wares. The answer is an absolute no-brainer.
But it shouldn't be. There should be a valid, exciting British Trials Championship series.
Ideas anyone...?
