Feature: British Trials Championship Review
By Team TMX on 16th Dec 15
THE 2015 British Trials Championship, sponsored by RT Keedwell transport, promised to be one of the tightest domestic series for years, with James Dabill looking to retain his crown and give the all-new Vertigo Combat a debut title win.
Arch rival Michael Brown was looking to stop him and repeat his own 2013 Championship triumph.
And in a welcome twist John Lampkin introduced Beta factory ace, Spain's Jorge Casales, who signed-up to take on Dibs and Michael Brown.
After four early rounds it was shaping to exactly that way when disaster struck as both Michael and Jorge suffered injuries at the Japanese World Championship round.
Browny smashed his knee and Casales broke bones in his foot.
This left James to storm away with two straight wins while his rivals had no way to reply.
And it was effectively all over with James virtually having his sixth British title in the bag and Vertigo heading to their first-ever National title.
As we know, Michael's season was over but Casales came back to grab a win in the first of the two days in the Edinburgh club's round at the Bob McGregor Trials Academy, Dunlop, and a second and third place in the final two rounds saw Jorge finish the season as a distant runner-up to Dibs.
The nine-round championship year had a very different look in 2015 starting with two southern rounds in March, Hook Woods in Surrey and a welcome return to Butser Limeworks, Petersfield, courtesy of the Witley club with arch enthusiast Jim Connor a prime mover of both trials.
Dibs got his season away to a flier with cracking wins in two tough trials.
The steep climbs and drops at Butser Limeworks, back as a top venue after some 30 years out of bounds, saw some cricket scores from both the Championship, Expert and Youth class riders.
Still, those opening rounds went exactly as predicted with Dabill and Brown first and second each time, although Dibs was well ahead both days.
The surprise was Sam Haslam who took a pair of well-deserved third places.
Casales got his head around British conditions and won the West of England trial in Devon, part of a West Country double in April.
Browny nailed the second day to really open up the championship as reigning champ Dabill took a brace of second places.
Sadly, as we know, the two challengers were then knocked-out with those injuries sustained in Japan and Dibs took a pair of relatively easy victories at Neath in Wales and then at Low North Park, the Scarborough club's own venue.
Haslam finished runner-up in the first and then Ross Danby – on the Steve Saunders-supported Jotagas – nailed second at Scarborough.
Billy Bolt, in his first full adult British Championship season, had been impressing with his all-or-nothing attacking style.
And he nailed his first podium with third at Scarborough and then followed it up with another next time out, which was almost three months later in August in the first day of the double header in Scotland, at the excellent Bob McGregor Academy in the quarry near Dunlop.
Casales was back in Scotland and with a bang, taking the first day from Dibs but the positions were reversed on Sunday and James established his supremacy and was able to celebrate his sixth British crown with a round still to go.
That final round, the Guisborough club's John Hardaker Trial, up on the Yorkshire moors, threw up a surprise all of its own as the win on the day proved a popular first for 19-year-old Welsh Champ Iwan Roberts.
It was no fluke ride by the tall Beta rider who handled the slippery conditions beautifully with superb throttle skills.
Iwan had impressed many in the trials hierarchy all year with his application and mature outlook and his inaugural British Championship victory was just reward for a season's hard work.
And taking the scalps of Dabill and Casales was a bonus!
The Guisborough trial was a BTC first at the venue which provided a great variety of natural sections with plenty of scope for the future.
So, James had ridden to his sixth British Championship, Casales missed two rounds yet still finished as runner-up and steady Sam Haslam bagged third, holding off a strong late-season finish from Ross Danby.
The young guns were Billy Bolt, Jack Price and Iwan Roberts in fifth, seventh and eighth, harrassing sixth finisher Alexz Wigg, who had a quiet season by his standards.
Failing to make a single podium showed that Alexz was missing riding the World Championships.
One thing is certain though, it won't be any easier next year as Billy, Jack and Iwan step it up again!
EXPERTS
THE 2015 Expert class of the British Champs proved to be a case of Experience v Youth, with Dan Thorpe and Tom Hooper the main protaganists.
And the end result went to veteran campaigner Dan on the JST Gas Gas with five wins, including a decisive victory in the final round.
Tom finished a safe second on the day and in the series with lively Richmond club member James Stones third overall but only just by a single point from comeback man Jonny Starmer.
And it was Starmer who got the series under way at Hook Wood with a surprise victory from southern ace Ben Morphett, who didn't contest the remainder of the series, with Tom Minta third.
Thorpe could only manage sixth on the day but was back on form next day at Butser to win from Hooper.
In April it was the south west weekend double in Devon courtesy of the West of England club and another surprise was in store as on Sunday.
After only finishing ninth on Saturday, local star Nick Baker stormed to the win and the 20 points.
These were the only two rounds Nick contested which is something of a shame.
Thorpe dropped to sixth, same as in the opening round, and Hooper gained points with yet another second place while Yorkshire character James Stones nailed a pair of third-place finishes.
Neath was next and again Thorpey got back on track as Hooper's challenge stalled slightly when he finished behind Tom Minta and Sunderland's John Crinson.
The Experts series is often the most interesting in the Championship because some riders elect only to ride their local event or events.
And at Scarborough there was yet another shock with Whitby's Jack Howell, east Yorks northern area champ in 2014, bagging the win.
It was the first of only two series outings for the Beta rider, the second, in the final Guisborough round, netting sixth place.
Jonny Starmer jumped back on to the podium in Scarborough in third place.
Off to Scotland for the weekend in early August and Dan was tightening his grip on the crown with a win on Saturday and second on Sunday.
Tom Hooper continued to just lose ground with a pair of third places which left two podium slots to fill.
Well, Jonny Starmer was on a roll with runner-up on Saturday to back-up his second place at Scarborough.
That left Sunday in Scotland and it was Sherco-mounted Richmond club member James Stones, having something of an up and down season, coming up with his best ride of the year and popping up with a win.
The title was still up for grabs as they headed to the moors above Whitby for the Guisborough club's excellent final round but Dan was in no mood for an off day and in a fitting final day's action the first three on the day finished in that order in the Championship and that was Dan Thorpe, Tom Hooper and James Stones.
Jimbo benefitted from Starmer not contesting the final round by pipping his southern rival to third overall by a single point.
Well done to veteran Dan though on his latest title while young Tom Hooper is sure to have his day in future.
YOUTH A
FOR the first time the Youth A class series was run alongside the Adult champs, riding the Expert route.
And it proved to be a cracking two-horse race between Cornwall's Toby Martyn and east Yorkshire's Jack Peace who monopolised the top two podium places.
The Championship went to the final round but Toby maintained the edge he gained when taking the four opening rounds, before Jack struck back with two wins of his own.
Toby regained the initiative though to end the year with three straight wins as these two lads showed great promise – and an ongoing rivalry – for the future.
Each round attracted around a dozen contenders with Sam Johnson and Thomas Culliford scoring heavily and regularly, while Scottish challenger Joe Dawson made his presence felt once he joined the series after the opening two rounds.
Toby Martin was the star in 2015 though is planning to crack on in 2016 and while proud of his Youth A title it is ultimately a means to an end.
LADIES
THE British Ladies contested their own separate seven-round series which incorporated multiple classes to encourage as many competitors as possible to push the boundaries.
This tactic is clearly working as Britain now boasts the most competitive and successful Ladies scene.
With Emma Bristow the reigning World Champ it came as no surprise when the Sherco factory rider romped away with the 2015 British Series winning all six rounds she contested and could afford to miss one with the best six from the seven to count.
Former champ Becky Cook was in excellent form on the Steve Saunders backed Jotagas and pushed Emma hard all season.
But the big surprise was the form of comeback girl Donna Fox, whose return was a welcome boost for the series.
All three girls had an amazing year and they finished 1-2-3 in the world as well as in the domestic series which demonstrates just how strong British Ladies trials really is.
And with young Jess Bown a consistent fourth in the series, and contesting virtually every event she can enter including an excellent debut in the Scottish Six Days, Chloe Richardson getting stronger and Katy Sunter back from a frustrating knee injury, there's plenty more to look forward to.
