The Mor' the better!
By TMX Archives on 18th Nov 10
Beta UK teamster George Morton put Lancashire back on the map on Saturday when he won the cliff-hanger 63rd Northern Experts Trial, run at a chilly Wildboarclough where Manchester 17 again excelled with a 20 section two lap test of the best of the northern trials riders.
To say that Morton came out of the blue is an understatement. He was right in the Lion's Den - Gas Gas country, but the Rossendale youngster stuck with an early-ish number of 48 and just got on with his task. It is many a long year since a Red Rose rider hit the top spot but Morton did just that, a dab ahead of Yorkshire's Jonathan Richardson who basically lost the trial in Phil Granby's second section in Plantation, where the little wriggle through two rocks within a metre of the ends cards caught the MRS Sherco teamster for two dabs.
Report: Barry Robinson Pictures: Eric Kitchen
Significantly, Morton was the only clean on the first lap while 2009 winner Dan Thorpe, Ross Danby and Richard Sadler escaped with a fleeting dab. Richard Timperley was on form on his Sherco but the style marks went to Montesa 4RT pilots Ross Crosby and John Sunter.
No great surprise who won the Clubman class, Barnsley builder Daz Wasley, on a dab, up on't moors at Normans. Gavin Black was matching Darren then he dabbed on lap two, right in front of a frozen Judy Farrer who was aiming for hyperthermia up on the heights of Correction Brook. Mick Boam and Simon Levett laid on the pressure to take their four score into a tie-breaker which Levett won.
Harvey Lloyd and his team stage-managed the trial with some changes. Clough House opened the trial for the 126 riders where all the hard course contenders shrugged-off the shallow beck and the exit up the right hand bank which collected slack dabs from a few Clubmen. The stream levels in all three Plantation sections were rider-friendly after a week of heavy rain. The strong wind and weak sunshine lifted a lot of moisture off the moors. Judicious flag planting at the end of the second sub kick-started the penalties; the Clubmen more or less straight lined the beck bottom where strangely John Hulme located a rolling stone. Armed with a 250 MRS Sherco and in white gear provided by Rhoda R the 2009 Clubman winner was taking things easy after right elbow surgery.
The hard men had a little right and left flick with a fallen tree port-side to prevent any flying. There was also a king-sized hole into which Richard Sadler poked a front wheel. His reversal was not missed by Phil Granby and the Richmond youth copped a five for his misdeed. Morton cleaned, along with Richardson, Danby, Thorpe, Chris Pearson and cousin Richard Timperley. Not a hard section by any means but a sneaky hazard.
The second sub was mild for the Hard route but the Clubmen turned right up the muddy bank and then left, into a bog. Mud king Chris Pearson dabbed the beck as did Sadler while the top eight Clubmen sailed through. The third section brought in some mountain climbing for all riders. A trip into the beck and a hairpin clutch and brake turn was followed by a near vertical exit. The Hard route involved a very short launch pad but few were troubled. Surprisingly the climb dried out and was quite grippy on the narrow exit line. Of the five subs up in Correction Brook the bottom three took their respective toll. Judy Black marked Morton, Ross Danby and Jon Richardson who all dabbed the fifth on lap two. Thorpe, Pearson, Craig Robinson, Sadler and Richard Timperley attacked hard on both laps.
The next section ended Thorpe's charge after an opening lap six mark score. Judy Farrer was amazed when Dan speared the bank with the JST GG front wheel and stopped dead. Craig Robinson, Richard Timperley and Phil Disney dropped a boot first time up the rock climb. The even colder Janice Proctor was on seven where the wind was straight in from Siberia but the section was mild.
Norman's was way out on the moor where the narrow beck and its rocky banks claimed marks from Danby, Thorpe and Robinson. Morton, Richardson and Sadler were the trio that bossed it.
Cumberland Corner's tripple whammy up the steep, stepped cleft in the moorland was tough. Morton, Richardson and Sadler were the best with a dab in total. Danby took two to clear the first sub on lap one. Thorpe added to his score and left on five but Morton departed to Holt Gully on a dab!
The crossing across Suicide Ally – aka the A54, was uneventful though Thorpe added another dab as did Farrer. The long arm-sapping climb was in forgiving mode. The triple at Cut-Thorn yielded to the Hard route men although Robinson slacked a dab but it was disaster for Pearson and Sadler who fived the first and third subs.
The sting came with three stream sections with big-big steps in the depths of Eardley's Burden. And who bossed all three subs, brilliantly - Richard Sadler, right in front of 1950s Royal Enfield star Jonny Brittain who stood at the foot of the nigh impossible first sub. Dan Thorpe knew the day was a lost cause but attacked the big angled water covered steps to clean the section, so his singleton on lap two edged in on Sadler's ride. Danby's three mark loss on lap one edged him out of a tie-breaker with Morton while Pearson turned on the style to dab the roots on the exit line on top section on lap one.
As for the Clubman, Wasley never faltered or failed all day. His dab in Normans, matched by Simon Levett, laid the footings for a good result. Gavin Black doubled his final score in the first sub in the Cumberland River group.
On the basis of the scores Manchester 17 were right on the button on Saturday delivering a cracking Northern Experts.
NORTHERN EXPERTS TRIAL
Wildboarclough (Manchester 17 MCC)
Premier: George Morton (Beta-UK) 6 marks lost.
Expert: Jonathan Richardson (MRS Sherco) 7, Ross Danby (JST Gas Gas) 9, Dan Thorpe (JST Gas Gas) 13 mc, Craig Robinson (JST Gas Gas) 13, Richard Sadler (MRS Sherco) 17, Chris Pearson (MRS Sherco) 21, Richard Timperley (MRS Mial Sherco) 25, Dan Farrer (JST Gas Gas) 27, Andy Cripps (Gas Gas) 40.
Inter: Iain Robinson (Gas Gas) 80, Liam Robinson (JST Gas Gas) 84.
ClubmAn
Expert: Richard Allen (Gas Gas) 7, Neil Jones (Beta) 21, Rob Bowyer (Triumph) 25, Kieran Hankin (Beta) 25, Oliver Pitt (Gas Gas) 41,
Inter: Gavin Black (Gas Gas) 2, Mark Shaw (Sherco) 11, Sam Clarke (Beta) 13, Tony Moulder (Beta) 17, Matt Timperley (Gas Gas) 28, Liam Atkinson (Beta) 21,
Novice: Daniel Clarke (Beta) 9, Michael Benn (Gas Gas) 10, Shaun Hoyle (Beta) 14, Rob Sheldon (Beta) 17, Lewis Black (Gas Gas) 18, Luke Meredith (Gas Gas) 18.
Over 40: Darren Wasley (Gas Gas) 1, Simon Levett (Beta) 4, Mick Boam (BMS Scorpa) 4, Michael James (Beta) 8, Kevin Hipwell (JST Gas Gas) 10, John Hulme (MRS Sherco) 14.