ACU TrialGB goes down to the wire
By Image: ACU TrialGB on 14th Sep 26
There are easier ways to win a championship than beating your kid brother by a single mark. But then, there probably aren't many better ways to win one either.
After eight rounds of the 2026 ACU TrialGB Championship, Harry Hemingway and younger brother George arrived at Geddington with everything still to play for. George had taken control on the opening day of the Northamptonshire finale, but 24 hours later it was Harry who produced the ride that mattered.
By the narrowest of margins, he beat his brother to the final-round victory – and with it secured the second TrialGB title of his career.
A single mark.
That's all that separated them.
And given how closely matched the pair have been all season, it was a fitting way for the championship to be decided.
The Hemingways had taken four wins apiece during the year, but Harry had the crucial advantage of consistency. His hat-trick of second places ultimately gave him the edge and, with 146 championship points to George's 140, the Beta pair finished first and second.
It was the sort of finale that makes you wonder why anyone bothers keeping score until the very last section.
Geddington certainly wasn't making life easy for them. Autumn rain had turned the already demanding Northamptonshire venue into a slippery examination, with huge rocks, steep wooded climbs and 12 observed sections waiting twice for the 93-strong entry.
And while the Hemingways fought over the big prize, Jack Peace made sure the final step of the podium belonged to Sherco.
The outgoing champion finished third in the championship on 114 points, five clear of teammate Harry Turner, with Jack Dance completing the top five on 83.
But the day belonged to the new champion. Harry Hemingway had waited until the moment when it mattered most. And he delivered.
The TrialGB Women Championship didn't quite have the same last-section drama, but Alice Minta's successful title defence was no less impressive.
The reigning champion signed off another hugely consistent campaign with two wins at Geddington, taking her season tally to seven victories and a single second place.
Kaytlyn Adshead pushed her hard during the year, but Minta simply refused to give her many opportunities. The Vertigo rider's title hopes finally slipped away at the finale after a big crash on day one and subsequent retirement on day two.
Minta finished the season on 157 points, a healthy 35 clear of Adshead. Alicia Robinson took third on 118, with Nikita Smith fourth on 108.
Jack Spencer arrived at the final round with the Trial2 championship there for the taking. He left having put the cherry on top.
The Beta rider had been building his challenge through the latter part of the season and finished the job in emphatic fashion with a pair of wins at Geddington to successfully defend his title.
Duncan MacColl had looked an early threat after the opening rounds, but a broken ankle put the Beta rider's campaign on the back foot. He returned for the finale, but by then Spencer had taken control.
Oliver Smith had two wins of his own during the season but couldn't match Spencer's consistency and finished runner-up on 136 points. Harison Skelton completed the championship podium on 96, despite missing the final round after deciding to contest the TrialGB class as a guest.
The Trial2 Women championship provided perhaps the strangest title finish of the lot. After eight rounds, Summer Peters and Holly Dixon were level. Both finished on 145 points, meaning the championship had to be settled on the tie-break. It was Peters who emerged with the title.
The Scorpa rider had struggled in the wet conditions at the finale and finished third on the day, but the work she had put in throughout the season was enough to carry her over the line. Dixon had pushed her all the way, but ultimately had to settle for runner-up.
Seren Walters finished the season strongly enough to take third overall, two points ahead of Brianna King.
For Peters, it was a championship won by doing enough, often enough – and then surviving the one day when the conditions didn't quite go her way.
Charlie Smith's Expert Championship was built rather differently.
While the Vertigo rider lost some form over the final two rounds, the damage was limited because the advantage he'd built earlier in the year proved sufficient.
He secured the title at Geddington with 122 points, while Joshua McParland's superb finish to the campaign – two wins at the finale – lifted him into second ahead of Brett Harbud.
Emma Bristow deserves a mention here, too.
The 10-time FIM Trial Women's World Champion missed two rounds but still finished fifth overall in what remains a predominantly male class. The Sherco rider's presence was another reminder that the Expert field is no place for anyone expecting an easy ride.
Some champions had to sweat until the final day. Mason Vasey didn't.
The young GASGAS rider wrapped up the Trial3 title on day one at Geddington, bringing an already excellent season to an early conclusion.
Koby Smith had been his persistent challenger and was the only rider to beat Vasey during 2026, but his absence from the final round ultimately cost him dearly, dropping him to fifth in the championship.
George Jones took advantage with a strong finish to the year and moved into second, while Scotland's Archie Bremner secured third.
Just two marks separated Bremner from Ollie Gundry in fourth.
The margins, once again, were tiny.
The first year of the Trial3 Girls Championship couldn't have asked for a better title fight.
Sophie Sellers and Rosy Connor were almost inseparable throughout the campaign, and it went right down to the final round.
Sellers eventually prevailed – but even then there wasn't much in it.
She beat Connor by just six marks at Geddington to secure the final-round victory and, with it, the championship by four points.
That meant 143 points for Sellers, 139 for Connor.
Chloe Butler and Lilly Butterworth completed the championship podium after their own battle stayed close throughout the season, with only 10 points separating them at the finish.
For a new class, it was quite an introduction.
Niki Louis had already done the hard work in Trial3 Women, but there was no sign of easing off at the finale.
The TRRS rider took another win on day two to put the finishing touches to her championship campaign, ending the season with 148 points.
Kayleigh Rich finished runner-up despite not competing at Geddington, while Sarah Turner secured the bronze medal.
Hudson Ravenhill-White also had a title to celebrate – and a chapter to close.
The Sherco rider signed off his final year in the Trial4 class by securing the championship with a round to spare.
He was in imperious form on day one at Geddington, losing just a single mark as he took the win ahead of Tommy Keet, who finished on 10.
Ravenhill-White then opted to step up and compete in Trial3 on day two, opening the door for a new Trial4 winner.
That honour went to Harvey Sanders, while Keet's season-long consistency earned him second in the championship and Samuel Le Fevre completed the overall podium.
Le Fevre had switched from GASGAS to Sherco for the final two rounds and immediately rewarded the move with third and second-place finishes at Geddington.
More like this…
Motorcycle Trials Late September 2026
Our regional list of trials around the UK in the second half of September 2026 with links to find out more.