Hutty feeds his Hunger!
By TMX Archives on 28th Jan 09
FOLLOWING the unfortunate cancellation of last year's event, due to a date clash with some army training, the Talmag Trophy Trial at Hungry Hill, Aldershot, kicked back into action in appalling conditions on Sunday.
Heavy rain prior to the event left conditions for the traditional four-stroke only classic, extremely challenging for the majority of entrants, but not so for Matchless-mounted Len Hutty.
Hutty, a favourite for honours prior to the event and a previous winner, lost an unbelievable three marks over two laps of the 15-section circuit, despite the adverse conditions.
His dominance was never seriously threatened, as his nearest challenge in the Over 300cc class came from Roger Higgs, from Rayleigh in Essex, who took his Ariel HT5 into runner-up spot some 17 marks adrift of the winner. Similarly mounted Mark Parry-Norton narrowly missed out on the silver, a further one mark adrift.
John Dismore took the Premier class trophy in the Under 300cc class taking his Tiger Cub round with the loss of only 19 marks, five ahead of second placed Shane Stalker, on his 1959 BSA C15.
Victory in the Rigid Over 300cc class was claimed by Clive Dopson after he guided his Norton 500T round with a loss of 62 marks, while silver went to Mathew Neale, from Diss in Norfolk, who took his Douglas round with a loss of 74.
In the Girder Over 300cc class, victory went to Canadian visitor John Merrett who dropped a total of 48 marks on his New Imperial, while local rider, Peter Smith, narrowly missed out on his 1939 Ariel a further six marks adrift.
Joan Westbrook had a remarkable day, claiming the honours in the Over 65 class, taking her BSA C15 round for a loss of only 13 marks, three ahead of similarly-mounted Mike Palfrey from Shawick.
The Sidecar class produced a clear victory for the in form duo of Paul Fishlock and Debbie Merrell, who demonstrated some impressive riding skills, finishing with a loss of 38 marks, exactly half that of the runner-up pairing of John and Paul Young.
It wasn't all plain sailing for the Talmag organisers though, as the Army had, once again, applied for training on the same date as the traditional classic event. Thanks to some serious negotiations on the part of the organisers and the Army, the issue was resolved with certain restrictions in place.
TALMAG TROPHY TRIAL
Hungry Hill, nr Aldershot (Talmag MCC)
Class A – Under 300cc: John Dismore (Tiger Cub) 19 marks lost (Special Test: 59 secs), Shane Stalker (1959 BSA C15) 24 (ST: 55 secs).
Class B – Rigid Over 300cc: Clive Dopson (Norton 500T) 62 (ST: 1.19 secs), Matthew Neale (Douglas) 74 (ST: 1.25 secs).
Class C – Springer Over 300cc: Len Hutty (Matchless) 3 (ST: 48 secs), Roger Higgs (Ariel HT5) 20 (ST: 53 secs), Mark Parry-Norton 21 (Ariel HT5) (ST: 59 secs), Chris Collins 22 (???) (ST: 55 secs).
Class E – Girder Over 300cc: John Merrett (New Imperial) 48 (ST: 1.17 secs), Peter Smith (1939 Ariel) 54 (ST: 1.15 secs).
Class F – Over 65: Joan Westbrook (BSA C15) 13 (ST: 1.16 secs), Mike Palfrey (BSA C15) 16 (ST: 1.01 secs).
Class G – Sidecar: Paul Fishlock/ Debbie Merrell (???) 38 (ST: ???), John Young/ Paul Young (???) 76 (ST: 1.09-secs).
Favourite to win the trial, Len Hutty took the honours with the loss of only three marks over 30 sections.