Manx Max factor
By TMX Archives on 6th Sep 07
GRASSINGTON'S John Maxfield won the Manx Classic Weekend Trial for the second time in four years, overhauling defending champion Dave Thorpe with a cracking day two ride on his Triumph Tiger Cub.
Overnight, Thorpe and Maxfield had beenlevel-pegging on two marks apiece, but Maxfield held his nerve on aslightly tougher Sunday route in the north of the Island to deny his62-year-old rival a double.
Former England and Halifax speedway legend EricBoocock won the Pre-65 Clubman event, while home ace Juan Knight rode a500 CCM to a comfortable victory in the Twin-shock class over fellowlocal Nigel Crellin.
Nigel Rooksby was the best of the Twin-shock Clubmen on a 26-year-old 125cc Fantic.
Much of the route for the 12th running of the ManxTrials Club's event had to be changed a few weeks earlier to complywith ‘Foot and Mouth' restrictions, but the course proved as testing asever with a total number of 38 sections in the southern half of theIsland on Saturday and 35 in the north on Sunday.
Of the record number of 198 entries, quite anumber of riders travelled to the popular two-day event from mainlandEurope and beyond. Regular competitor Hans Klein completed a12,000-mile round trip from South Africa with his wife, even afterpulling out of the event because of a back injury, to kindly offer hisservices as an observer.
Thorpe, having also ridden the Clubman class ofthe previous weekend's Manx National Two-Day Trial, lost a dab on thelast of three subs at Archallagan and another on the first of threesubs at Kings Forest to bring his tally for the opening day to twomarks.
Riding a near identical Cub, Maxfield dropped adab on the first at Old Stoney Mountain Quarry and, similar to Thorpe,also needed a prod from his left boot to continue forward motion overan awkwardly placed piece of slate on a short climb midway through thefirst at Kings Forest.
The pair finished the day three-marks clear of BonAccord's Murray Whittaker, a five-mark score which included a three onthe first at Old Stoney Mountain.
MANX CLASSIC WEEKEND TRIAL Isle of Man (Manx TC)
TWIN-SHOCK PREMIER
Best Performance: Juan Knight (CCM) 5 (Best Under 35 - Kissack Bros Trophy).
First Class Award: Nigel Crellin (Yamaha) 28, MickThurman (Yamaha Majesty) 48 (Best Over 35 - Peter Dawson Trophy),Michael Owen (Honda) 50, Russell Rooksby (Bultaco) 51, Steve Astley(Yamaha) 53 (Best Newcomer - EDP Photography Trophy), Nigel Fallows(Yamaha Majesty) 54, Andrew Keel (Fantic) 57, Damian Owen (YamahaMajesty) 59, Jez Bray (Yamaha Majesty) 76, Phil Ward (Fantic) 80, ColinScarffe (Honda) 82 (39x0), Tony Swidenbank (Yamaha Majesty) 82 (34x0).
TWIN-SHOCK CLUBMAN
Best Performance: Nigel Rooksby (Fantic) 50 (Label Mann Trophy).
First Class Award: Roger Smith (Fantic) 57 (47x0),Graham Thomas (Honda TLR) 57 (43x0), Geoff Griffiths (Fantic) 75, AlexLorente (Lorente) 78, Jason Lamb (Yamaha) 94.
PRE-65 PREMIER
Best Performance: John Maxfield (Triumph Cub) 7 (Manx Classic Premier Award & Unit 4 Stroke - Derek Batty Trophy).
First Class Award: Dave Thorpe (Triumph) 9, RoyWilson (Triumph Cub) 14 (Best Manxman - Juan Cannell Trophy & BestManx Trials Club Member - MTC Members Award), Murray Whittaker (TriumphCub) 15 (Best Under 35 Class 1 - Abbotswood Trophy).
Stephen Collins (Triumph Cub) 19, Eddie Aitken(Triumph Cub) 20, Juan Readshaw (Triumph Cub) 21, James Harland (AJS)25, Chris Gascoigne (James) 28 (Two Stroke Springer - Manx Trials ClubTankard), Peter Salt (Francis Barnett) 28, Gerald Rathmell (TriumphCub) 32, Duncan MacDonald (Triumph Cub) 32, Alan Wright (James) 35(Best Newcomer - Classic Racer Magazine Trophy), Rene Maliby (MontesaImpala) 37 (Best Foreigner - Paul Skott Trophy & Best OverseasNewcomer - Davied Rowe Trophy), Mick Grant (Triumph Cub) 38, Dave Wood(BSA C15) 39, Jim Pickering (BSA Bantam) 43, Neil Gibson (FrancisBarnett) 44, Chris Denney (James) 44, Kevin Chapman (Triumph) 47,George Emmott (Triumph) 47, Steven Maxwell (BSA) 50, Bruno Schleer(Noriel) 50 (Pre-Unit Springer - Manx Trials Club Rosebowl), AngusJenkinson (Triumph) 54, David Emmott (Triumph) 55, Keith Hobson(Triumph Cub) 56, Alan Whitton (MacDonald Cub) 56 (Special - CyrilHuxley Trophy), Hedley Cockshott (Triumph Cub) 56.
PRE-65 CLUBMAN
Best Clubman: Eric Boocock (BSA) 18 (Manx Classic Trophy).
First Class Award: Steve Rayner (Matchless) 21,Carl Winstanley (Francis Barnett) 24, Derek Brooks (Triumph) 26, DavidWear (Royal Enfield) 26, Phil Alderman (BSA) 27, Paul Brimelow (James)29, Les Burgess (Greeves) 30, Tony Bilton (BSA) 31, Mark Harrison (BSAB40) 31, Brian Cottrell (James) 31.
Best Newcomer: Mark Sturtevant (BSA) 35 (Lancaster Trophy).
Best Tele-fork Rigid: Ian Watkins (AJS) 42 (Corkill Trophy).
Best Two-stroke Rigid: Eric Atkinson (James) 82 (Rigid Tankard).
Best Girder-Fork Rigid: Stephen Dixon (Ariel) 93.
For full story T+MX NEWS, Friday, September 7, 2007.
