Brits impress on Day One of TrialGP of GB
By Team TMX on 7th Sep 25
Under glorious September skies and in front of a vocal home crowd, Britain’s rising trials stars delivered the goods on the opening day of the final round of the 2025 Hertz FIM Trial World Championship – with Harry Hemingway clinching the Trial2 title, Sophie Bailey bagging a career-first win in Trial2 Women, and Harison Skelton taking a brilliant double victory in Trial3.
An all-new venue for the series, Geddington’s steep-sided valley and boulder-littered hazards provided a testing finale – but the Brits rose to the occasion, putting on a show for the thousands packed into the natural amphitheatre.
All eyes were on Beta UK’s Harry Hemingway, who arrived at his home GP with a commanding 28-point lead in the Trial2 standings. The young Yorkshireman kept his nerve to wrap up the title a day early, much to the delight of the partisan crowd.
He laid down his marker early in Race One, cleaning the infamous fifth section – a steep, twisting climb that caught out nearly everyone – and ending the lap with just three marks lost, one better than Spain’s Arnau Farre (Sherco).
The second race was another tight affair, with both Hemingway and Farre posting identical scores. The Spaniard took the tie-break for the overall day win, but the real winner was Hemingway, whose combined results gave him an unassailable 50-point lead in the standings.
“I can sleep tonight,” laughed the newly crowned champ. “It’s been a fairly stressful week, but I’m over the moon to get the job done a day early – and in front of my family, sponsors and the amazing British crowd.”
Sophie Bailey (GASGAS) turned in the ride of her life to take a surprise but well-deserved victory in Trial2 Women – her first ever at world level – edging out series leader Sara Trentini (TRRS) with 3-1 finishes across the two races.
The 21-year-old from Derbyshire looked calm and confident throughout, handling the pressure of home turf with maturity beyond her years. While Trentini settled for second on the day, the Brit's composed performance delighted the fans and added to a dream weekend for Team GB.
“What a feeling to win in front of my home crowd,” said Bailey. “It’s such an honour. I lost a few silly marks, but it’s been a good day – hopefully I can pull it out of the bag again tomorrow.”
Not to be outdone, Harison Skelton (Scorpa) also delivered a clean sweep in Trial3, winning both races – the second with a faultless zero mark score – and making a huge leap up the standings in the process.
Race One saw a four-way tie at the top, with Skelton edging out Japan’s Jin Kuroyama (Sherco), American points leader Ryon Land, and Norway’s Jonas Jorgensen (Beta) on a tie-break. In Race Two, Skelton repeated the trick, going clean and taking another tie-break win over Land to top the podium again.
“It feels fantastic just to ride in front of my home crowd, never mind taking the win,” said Skelton. “It’s been a nerve-racking day, but I’m really happy.”
His double win moves him into second in the standings, although Land’s consistency leaves the American with a 33-point cushion heading into the final day.
In the premier class, Jack Peace (Sherco) may not have been challenging Bou for titles, but the British ace continued to impress in his rookie TrialGP season. The 24-year-old went 8-5 across the two races – just enough to leapfrog Spain’s Aniol Gelabert (TRRS) and move into fifth place in the final standings.
With Bou wrapping up his 19th consecutive TrialGP title and Spaniards dominating the podium, Peace’s gritty performance kept the Union Jack flying high in the top class.
