So much to think about
By TMX Archives on 28th Oct 09
Even though the year is fast coming to a close, JD finds that there is enough going on to keep his brain working ..!
IT'S the tail-end of the season and by rights things ought to be winding down a bit, yet there's currently so much either going-on or coming-up that's its difficult to know what to concentrate on.
Last Saturday's concentration was, for me, reserved for the Scott Trial. This event, like its virtual namesake the Scottish, is an anachronism, a throwback to a former age. Today's minimal trials bikes are most definitely NOT built for blasting round boggy moors at high speed and the riders don't get much pracitise at that kind of thing either. Yet the Scott remains by far and away the best single day out in trials whether you are a rider or a spectator. And even given Saturday's 'orrible weather, there were a hell of a lot of riders and spectators.
Staging such an event in these restrictive times gets ever harder so no praise can be high enough for the organising Richmond club as the members work year-round to keep everyone happy, be it landowners, usually not a problem, or government agencies as they somehow put everything together to link a single 80-mile course all off-road.
One interesting spectator, lurking inside a Red Bull crash helmet, turned-out to be none other than Shaun Simpson! The MX ace was taking a look at the Scott with fellow Red Bull rider Dougie Lampkin and Shaun enjoyed his day so much he was even talking about having a go next year. Hmmm, we'll see!
I did hear several Scott watchers getting their names crossed during the day. Having heard that a top road racer was entered (it was Leon Camier who in the end couldn't ride as he got a wild card ride on the factory Aprilia in the final World Superbike round) they had obviously spotted the name Haslam in the programme. So I heard several times, See that Sam Haslam, he's the son of that road racer, Rocket Ron Haslam! Don't think that Ron's real son, Leon, rides a trials bike quite as well as Sam!
Still on trials, the upcoming Milan Show looks like being a hotbed of trials (well, a small one at least) with no fewer than three firms planning on showcasing brand new models.
The eagerly awaited new Sherco just might be at Stoneleigh next week. Rhoda Rathmell tells me that the factory is burning the midnight oil and doing its best to get the model ready for the Dirt Bike Show but that they had run into the usual problem with one-off components from outside sources. Fingers crossed though.
Then there's Marc Tessier's (he also owns Sherco) rejuvenated Scorpa factory that is also due to launch a new model (or models) and that too will have to be a surprise. And to top it off, a stand has been booked by an apparently back-from-the-dead Ossa factory, more about which you can read about in Trials Torque. Having owned, ridden and enjoyed one of the last models from the old' Ossa concern, a Yellow Gripper, back in 1982, I am more than keen to see what sort of bike the Ossa badge adorns. I've been told that it will be fantastic and way ahead of anything currently available but that I won't be able to afford it...Nothing new there then. But if new Ossa can afford to exhibit at the Milan Show before they have anything for sale at least they must have a few bob behind them.
Moving on, what about the opening round of the World Indoor Enduro Cup that will take place this Saturday at the Sheffield Arena. The entry list is a Who's Who? of the current enduro scene and a real exciting night is to be expected.
Experienced Supercross promoter John Hellam has bitten the bullet and decided to have a go at something different and as the rider line-up is as good as it gets, with Brits David Knight, Paul Edmondson, Dougie Lampkin and Graham Jarvis taking-on the likes of Taddy Blazusiak, Ivan Cervantes and co, lets just hope that the track does the event justice.
There deserves to be a mega crowd for such a historic event, Certainly on the Continent Indoor Enduros have proved sell-outs with Barcelona and Madrid in Spain being jam-packed with fans.
When you think about it an Indoor Enduro should capture fans from all disciplines of the sport. Indoor trials, with the exception of Sheffield which sees changes each year, have got very samey and even the excitement of SX can wane once you've seen it a few times. But the Enduro promises to both excite and entertain and the logs and rocks and man-made obstacles set-out on an SX style course should keep the attention. Bring it on.
Finally of course, next week sees the Dirt Bike Show kick-off at Stoneleigh Park on Thursday for its annual four-day run. These are certainly hard hard times but it takes a lot to keep a good man (or woman) away from his/ her bikes and a packed hall is a certainty.
So if I don't see you at Sheffield, see you at the Show!