You can Bank on a scramble
By TMX Archives on 3rd Sep 10
Editor JD ruminates on classic scrambles, the Manx BANK Holiday Monday and, curses, I'm holed-up in the T+MX office with the sun shining hard through the stable door (don't ask!) and instead of being out there riding or watching bikes your editorial servants are bashing away, putting together the paper, which you are hopefully reading right now.
Where do I wish I was? Well, nothing too exotic amazingly, where I'd actually like to have been was Bassenthwaite for a look at Darren Hudson's MX meet. The trip represents nothing more than a drive through the heart of the Lake District for lucky me with the scenery purely dependant on whether I choose a direct, fast, route or a more twisty picturesque road. I've been to Whittas Park many times and witnessed some cracking races.
Top memory from a Bass scramble was witnessing Norman Barrow fall on a short, sharp hillclimb out of a very muddy beck bottom when in the lead of the Big Race.
Norm, being a win-at-all-costs man, was lying alongside his still-running CCM still weighing-up his options and I'm pretty sure that it just slipped out of his hands, on full-song and whistled across the track taking-out what should have been his arch-rival, Bob Wright. But the person who actually got T-boned by the mighty single was actually Andy Ainsworth who was minding his own business, touring back to the pits a lap down... A grinning Wrighty blasted-up the hill a couple of seconds later for the win.
My urge to get out to a motocross was inspired by attending the Kendal Classic club's Nostalgia scramble the previous weekend. The two events would show exactly what the difference is between a scramble and a motocross. The Classic scramble took place on a green grass field and what would amaze modern day Mxers is just how long the grass stayed green – and slippery! If you just have Pre-65 type bikes with next to no suspension and limited power the grass would very likely remain grass all day. But given the weather and some very spirited (that means fast) Twin-shock racing from full grids it did eventually churn-up a bit.
My brother hadn't been to a scramble or MX for years and he thought the scramble was brilliant – and ‘that old bloke' can go a bit. The old-bloke in question was Terry Challinor, approaching 70 and still blowing-off competitors up to 50 years his junior mounted on his mighty Triumph Metisse. Don't know its exact capacity, but it doesn't half go!
Alternatively, while I'm still dreaming of escape from the office, I would quite like to have been to the Isle of Man for the weekend to take-in the Two-Day Trial. Sadly for me I haven't been to the Isle of Man this century, for which I am definitely the loser. Some of the best times of my life have taken place on that sceptered isle standing there alone in the middle of Irish sea which some wag once – entirely wrongly – labelled ‘40,000 people clinging to a rock!'
I've been to the TT, the Grand Prix, the Southern 100 and even went just for a holiday once. Can you believe that! The Two-Day Trial was my favourite trial and those of us present can still laugh all evening at the great times had at this brilliant event.
The Isle of Man is of course motorcycle heaven and if you can afford a week off then the week incorporating the Manx and then the Two-Day Classic Manx trial which sandwich the Grand Prix is about as good as it gets...
CATCHING-UP with my dose of Bank Holiday telly sports I must say I've recently noticed a lot more mentions of lack of sponsorship and how the world's financial situation is now affecting sport and sports events of all kinds, never mind motor sport.
Just by chance I flicked-on to the the Tour of Spain (Vuelta) cycle race just as the commentator was talking about how increasingly difficult it was now to attract sponsors to a team. The actual instance given was that no fewer than six Spanish-based teams had folded this year so far. They went on to say that this is drastically affecting young riders trying to make a name for themselves because the smaller teams are disappearing and the well-funded ones can pick and choose from the established riders. What's this got to do with us?
Nothing directly, except to show that sport in general is lagging behind regarding the financial constraints affecting the world – and that tough times still lie ahead.
There's further proof of this, if you need it, regarding MX in America. For years, Euros headed to the States in droves because the tracks really were paved in gold. Any half-decent rider could make a fortune with teams queuing-up to sign riders up. Check-out the new queue of Euros heading back this way now, along with a growing band of Yanks looking at earning a few quid in Europe.
FINALLY, well done to Alexz Wigg for winning the 2010 European Trials series. It's been a funny year for young Alexz, he's had a hard time on the World Indoor and Outdoor series – but winning the Scottish Six Days and now the European series shows what a highly skilled rider he is. But will we lose him to the world of speedway... where riders actually get paid...?
Two-Day Trial and other random Bank Holiday thoughts...