Dibs up & running
By Colin Bullock on 12th Apr 13
Report & pictures: Colin Bullock
James Dabill got away to a flying start in his quest for a fifth consecutive British Trials Championship with a convincing victory over his friend and rival Michael Brown in a tough opening round.
With this year's series being run over just four rounds it was important to hit the ground running – and Dibs did just that.
The Anthony Rew Trial was back at Kelly Farm, Lustleigh, Devon, which was in a
pretty dry state, with plenty of big sections on both Championship and Expert routes.
Twelve sections, set on the wooded hillside, had to be ridden three times and with a two hours 30 minutes first-lap allowance, time was going to be tight.
The entire Championship class, all 26
riders, stood and looked at the opener for some time. It did not look like a no-stop hazard with a huge seven-foot boulder at the halfway point.
Once over that, another jagged rock climb looked nasty but rode okay.
Early attempts were mixed, and it stopped British No.3 Ross Danby, but then saw some nice clean rides.
Sam Connor was steady, Sam Haslam and Jonathan Richardson likewise and it was a good start for Richardson, who is on the Ossa this season.
The second sub had a nasty double step and it was fives all the way until Ben Morphett passed the ends card for a three.
Michael Brown then pulled off the most spectacular clean, showing that no-stop can still be a spectacle.
FOR FULL REPORT AND PICTURES SEE TMX APRIL 12
EXPERT CLASS
1 Darren Brice (Sherco) 10 + 17 + 14 + - = 41
2 Tom Affleck (Sherco) 25 + 22 + 15 + - = 62
3 Jack Stones (Gas Gas) 25 + 21 + 25 + - = 71
4 Richard Timperley (Sherco) 22 + 24 + 25 + 1 = 72
5 Josh Woods (Sherco) 21 + 21 + 32 + - = 74
6 Brad Bullock (Beta) 19 + 23 + 33 + - = 75
7 James Graham (Gas Gas) 23 + 23 + 29 + 2 = 77
8 James Carr (Ossa) 20 + 31 + 27 + 2 = 80
9 Andrew Blackman (Ossa) 30 + 28 + 26 + - = 84
10 Joel Edwards (Beta) 29 + 31 + 25 + - = 85
11 Rob Pollard (Beta) 25 + 26 + 35 + - = 86
12 Ben Sprigg (Sherco) 29 + 31 + 28 + - = 88
13 Shaun Fox (Gas Gas) 26 + 23 + 39 + - = 88
14 Buster Regan (Beta) 24 + 25 + 40 + - = 89
15 Emma Bristow (Sherco) 38 + 31 + 27 + - = 96
SERIES STANDINGS after 1 (of 4) rounds: 1 Brice 20 points, 2 Affleck 17, 3 Stones 15, 4 Timperley 13, 5 Woods 11, 6 Bullock 10, 7 Graham 9, 8 Carr 8, 10 Edwards 6, 11 Pollard 5, 12 Sprigg 4, 13 Fox 3, 14 Regan 2, 15 Bristow 1.
