2018 British Trials Championship - Llanidloes preview
By John Dickinson on 26th Sep 18
The sixth round of the 2018 RT Keedwell ACU British Trials Championship comes courtesy of the Llanidloes (mid-Wales) based Hafren Dirt Bike Club this Sunday, September 30, with additional sponsorship support from Putoline.
This is an all-new round with the Hafren club, renowned for putting on top class Enduros plus they have staged a successful Welsh Championship trial, and will offer a mix of natural hazards including steep-sided rocky gullies, streams and muddy banks.
This should make for an interesting event as there is great variety, not just one type of hazard. The format will be the usual three laps of 10 sections.
The event is being staged at Glynhafren Farm, Old Hall, Llanidloes, home of 10-time British Enduro champion Geraint Jones and the good news is that there is plenty of excellent parking and admission for spectators is free. The postcode is SY18 6PS. All sections will be within easy walking distance.
With the World Championships now over the contenders will be able to fully commit to the domestic scene, especially James Dabill (Beta), Jack Price (Gas Gas) and Toby Martyn (Montesa) who have just returned from the Czech Republic having given Team Great Britain an excellent second place behind Spain in the Trial des Nations.
The Championship Class has seen James Dabill unbeaten with five straight wins to lead 2017 No.1 Jack Price with Dan Peace (Gas Gas) a close third. Dan and younger sibling Jack, also Gas Gas mounted, have been contesting the Trial2 World Champs.
They will be joined by Jack Sheppard (Sherco) and Scorpa pairing Andy Chilton and Tom Minta.Both have won recent National trials, Tom the White Rose and Andy last Sundays Travers, so are on good form. Welsh ace Iwan Roberts (TRS) scored well in the last round and will be looking for a top ride in his home country.
The Masters class sees Midlands rider Ross Danby (TRS) with a perfect record to date. Tom Affleck (Vertigo) is his nearest rival but Tom would need Ross to suffer some major bad luck to catch him at this point.
In the Expert group, Richard Sadler leads the way with a handy points lead over fellow Beta rider Guy Kendrew. The last round at Guisborough went to Luke Walker (Sherco) and there are plenty of riders capable of a podium including veteran Gas Gas ambassador Dan Thorpe.
Youth Elite is headed by Mitchell Brightmore (Gas Gas), who returned from injury at the last round and promptly got straight back into winning ways, extending his lead over Gus Oblien (Sherco).
As usual with RT Keewell BTC events, it will start with the Expert class away first at 9.30am followed by the Masters, Youth and then the Championship riders.
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