Hooper tops West of England's Pre-Christmas Trial
By Mick Perry on 30th Dec 14
Teenager Tom Hooper won the West of England clubs Pre-Christmas Trial by five marks from Ben Lovelace at the popular Hound Tor venue, near Widecombe-in-the-Moor on mist-shrouded Dartmoor on Sunday.
However, the weather did not deter 99 solos and five sidecar competitors and the solos faced three laps of a dozen sections, while the three-wheelers were given two laps of 20 subs on a separate circuit devised by Andy Cheeseman.
Hooper lost the majority of his marks in the 10th and 11th sections on a series of climbs and descents over loose rocks, which called for aggressive tactics in parts and discreet throttle control in others.
However, he was outshone in both subs by Lovelace, but the latter lost more marks in several other locations.
Rivals
There was a three-way battle between Mike Champion, Rodney Broom and Dean Lovelace on the slightly easier Sportsman route, where the lead changed hands frequently before Champion gained the edge of his rvals late on the final lap.
Full report, see TMX edition 1952 (January 1, 2015)
