A Wild' day for Thorpe as he turns on the Gas
By TMX Archives on 13th Nov 08
DAN Thorpe headed a Gas Gas landslide at Wildboarclough on Saturday where he won the 61st Northern Experts trial from fellow GG riders Ross Danby and Shaun Morris. For Danby it was a real hot ride, the Bewdley teenager was right in the zone on the fantastic, two-lap, 20-section course, as was Shaun Morris. For Shaun it was something akin to the form of pre-eye injury days, the normally reserved Preston rider being almost extrovert at the end of what was a cracking trial. Neither Shaun nor 2008 Northern Expert Michael Brown had a certain score in their heads at the finish. I have no idea what we got for Eardley's Burden, could have three or five, commented The Atom.
As it was, Manchester 17 ran observers with boards and no punch cards, so the riders did not know their final tallies. Maybe it did heighten the atmosphere at the finish but the novelty angle was that they actually finished in daylight thanks to the time allowance and the time saved by running observer boards rather than punch cards.
For Thorpey, mathematics hardly played any part in the calculations. One finger was enough, a dab on the revamped Clough Gully on the first of two laps. Dan did the next 17 sections clean!
The Beta attack came from Michael Brown, Ian Austermuhle and Jack Challoner while Lee Sampson fronted Ace Sherco, and did the job in style, taking out all the Beta Boys, beating Brown by a dab.
Richard Allen conquered the Clubman course, taking the overall and the Over 40 class while Mick Boam and Kev Hipwell weighed in with good rides.
In some ways, the Northern Experts had a new-look course and the scores in both classes were low. The sections in Plantation, Clough Gully and Ben's
Ditch were more straight-liners while Cumberland Corner tracked the stream bed with the sting in, or on, the 14th where the Waterfall concealed some slippery slabs. Harvey Lloyd and Ken Eyre had spent a week prospecting and digging out Clough Gully which was well overgrown after a couple of years out of the course format. The Daring Duo had all also revamped all Plantation, and cleaned out Ben's Ditch where some rocks had moved. Apart from Eardleys, Harvey and Ken set the benchmark because it all happened in the first 14 sections.
NORTHERN EXPERTS TRIAL
Wildboarclough, nr Buxton
(Manchester 17 MCC)
HARD ROUTE
Expert: Dan Thorpe (300 JST Gas Gas) 4 marks lost, Ross Danby (280 JST Gas Gas) 8 (36x0), Shaun Morris (300 JST Gas Gas) 8 (35x0), Lee Sampson (290 MRS TRC Sherco) 11, Michael Brown (270 Beta UK) 12, Ian Austermuhle (270 Beta UK) 17 (33x0), Jack Challoner (125 Beta UK) 17 (32x0), Craig Robinson (280 JST Gas Gas) 19, Miles Jones (250 Betws Montesa) 23, George Morton (270 Beta UK) 30 (28x0,5x1), Chris Pearson (290 MRS Sherco) 30 (28x0,3x1), Dan Farrer (280 JST Gas Gas) 32, Liam Walker (300 JST Gas Gas) 37, Shaun Fox (250 Beta) 53, Mark Reynolds (270 Kelcoat Beta) 58, Robert Loney (280 Gas Gas) 64, Grant Morris (250 4T Beta ) 66, Neil Jones (250 Beta) 70, Iain Robinson (250 Montesa) 96.
EASIER ROUTE
Expert: Rob Bowyer (250 Gas Gas) 8, Andy Cripps ( Gas Gas) 9, Dan Clarke (270 Beta) 24, Daz Williams (300 Gas Gas) 34, Terry Elliott Craig (280 Gas Gas) 38, Mark Atkinson (280 Gas Gas) 38.
Inter: Gavin Black (250 Montesa 4RT) 8, Mark Shaw (250 B&S Beta) 17, Paul Boam (280 Gas Gas) 20, Liam Robinson (250 Gas Gas) 24, Richard Wells (250 Beta) 49, Andrew Hallam (280 Gas Gas) 49.
Novice: Matt Timperley (250 Beta) 26, Sam Clarke (250 Montesa) 28, Anthony Cooper (250 Gas Gas) 32, James Drewett (290 Sherco) 49, Andy Longden (300 Gas Gas) 51, Matthew Smith (250 Gas Gas) 65, Andrew Smith (250 Gas Gas) 69, Katy Sunter (250 JST Gas Gas) 23, Ben Powell (250 Beta) 26, Stewart Oughton (280 Gas Gas) 38.
Over 40: Richard Allen (Gas Gas) 4, Mick Boam (250 Scorpa) 5, Kev Hipwell (225 JST Gas Gas) 7, John Hulme (250 JST Gas Gas) 20, Dave Knaggs (250 Gas Gas) 22, David Braithwaite (280 Beta) 23, Mike Edwards (250 Gas Gas) 26, Tim Morris (250 Gas Gas) 29, Paul Bennett (290 Sherco) 30, Andrew Turner (250 Gas Gas) 35.
FOR FULL REPORT SEE T+MX NEWS, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2008
Ian Austermuhle, pictured poised nicely on the Beta pegs, is always a contender in northern events.