Special Feature: It really was a different world

But given that TMX has just celebrated an amazing 2,000 weekly issues with a look back through each decade of the paper with a weekly feature which culminated in the blockbuster Issue 2000, I thought why not keep the theme running!

Obviously bringing together those recent features, that looked back at TMX through the decades, meant digging out and re-reading the old issues in order to jog the equally old memories. 

And you can guess that once you open an old issue you start the old, "Look at this... " and "look at that...” and "I remember him...” and "I'd forgotten that...” and suddenly a couple of hours have gone and you have only covered a couple of issues.

It isn't just the major features and events that I scanned, I found myself looking at old club trial results from all over the country.

And it is amazing the number of riders' names that regularly featured in TMX in the 1980s and are still cropping up in the results today. 

Extreme examples are George Greenland and Peter Gaunt who are still riding and winning their classes at 83 and 80 years of age respectively.

We've all been looking back and remembering what we got up to in those early days and recently that venerable Yorkshire trials sage Barry Robinson (a former practice partner of Top Gear Gaunt) dug out some pics from British World Rounds run by the Wetherby club in the early 1980s.

World Rounds back then were much, much closer to trials as you and me, aka Joe Schmo, understand them. 

They were in essence souped-up established National trials with no bullsh*t attached and very few FIM hoops for keen, hardworking, organisers to jump through. 

Just bumper entries and bumper crowds who turned out to watch.

Those Wetherby rounds at Bainbridge were superb examples. 

The venue was Raydale, down the narrow, single-track one-way road from Bainbridge and across the forded stream at remote Raydale Grange as still used to this day by the Wetherby club for their ever-popular Wainwright National.

The entry in 1981 was 76-strong and this was, remember, just a single World Championship class, not like today with a dozen riders in the Championship and 30 youngsters, paid for by dad, in a separate World Cup class.

Out of those 76 were a mighty 45 Brits, almost all of them top adult centre riders who rode Nationals week in and week out.

Riders like Dave Thorpe, Rob and Norman Shepherd, Richie Sunter, Glen Scholey, Graham Tales, Chris Clarke, southern stars Dave Clinkard, Steve Moore, Steve Monk and Geoff Chandler, Welsh ace Mike Leddy and a bunch of Yorkies like Tony Calvert, Ian Weatherill, Brett Haley, Roy Palmer and Joe Buckworth.

Incidentally, notice how many of the above are still riding 35 years later – I make it all of them!

Then there were youngsters like John Lampkin, Butch Robson and Shane Edwards. 

Shane was a southern lad with a larger than life dad, Maurice, who was christened White Lightning (by Martin Lampkin!) as Maurice wore a white Rubettes (remember them!) cap, T-shirt and shorts - with contrasting black wellies – whatever the weather. 

Maurice drove a venerable 1960s Ford Zodiac, with a juice-gobbling three-litre V6 petrol engine, all over Europe and kept us entertained all season.

Haven't seen Shane's name in results in decades so if anyone knows Shane Edwards' current whereabouts please get in touch.

The trial was won by the previous year's Swedish World Champion Ulf Karlsson (Montesa) on a mighty 70 marks from Martin Lampkin (SWM) on 73 and Malcolm Rathmell (Montesa) 74, while fourth was French teenager Gilles Burgat who would go on to win the 1981 World title for SWM.

Next Brit home was John Reynolds in tenth on the Comerfords Bultaco as the Spanish company was close to final closure. JR dropped exactly 100 marks and back then tenth was the final World Championship point. 

Yes, from 76 starters just 10 gained Championship points! 

What a contrast to recent times when points go down to 15th place yet we frequently have fewer than 15 starters.

At Raydale, Chris Sutton, from Chobham, Surrey, was 12th while Italjet-mounted Cumbrian Chris Myers finished 14th and beat his team leader and 1979 World Champ Bernie Schreiber as Bernie could only manage 15th – yet neither Chris got a point...

Trial winner Ulf became famous locally for literally taking the bridge out of Bainbridge, crashing his sponsored Saab through the ancient stone retaining wall. Ulf phoned Saab in Sweden and they instantly arranged a replacement model through a local agent!

So there we are, a brief snapshot of the British World Championship round – 1981 style.