It's A Wrap - S3 Parts Trials Championship Review
By John Dickinson on 9th Dec 16
THE S3 Parts National Trials (Clubman) Championship is the most popular of the many and various ACU National series.
And as it encompasses some of the best road-based single-lap events in the calendar – which would be successful as stand-alone events – it is easy to understand why.
They are simply everything that's great in traditional trials with an enjoyable ride out and sensible, genuine no-stop sections.
The 2016 series comprised nine rounds, with the best eight scores to count, beginning with the North Berks club's Wallace Cup in February and ending seven months later with the Newcastle club's Travers Trophy.
And it was really good to see that this cracking trial has been successfully revived after a period in decline.
On to the important bit, Sherco rider James Fry is the 2016 S3 Parts Champ and James led home a Sherco 1-2-3 as he was joined on the Championship podium by Luke Walker and 2015 winner Chris Pearson.
It wasn't so much a win for Lincolnshire's James as a total whitewash as he took the S3 Parts title with a full-house 160 points, winning all eight rounds he contested.
With one round to drop anyway and the trophy in the bag James opted out of the final round, which finally gave someone else a chance!
They certainly weren't all easy victories though and in fact James only gained his maximum points in the first two rounds on tie-breaks.
The North Berks club's Wallace Cup opener, which included a major group of sections at the famous Seymour's Arena, was a low-scoring event and James dropped just two marks, one each in the penultimate and final sections – numbers 35 and 36.
Amazingly he was joined on two marks by a surprise packet, Gas Gas mounted Tom Moss.
Tom was only prevented from taking the win by dint of the fact that he dropped his first mark on section 34, both riders having cleaned the opening 33 hazards.
This feat was all the more impressive as James and Tom finished first and second overall, beating Elite riders (not eligible to score S3 points) Sam Haslam, Ross Danby, Alexz Wigg and Jack Sheppard.
The ever consistent Luke Walker was third points scorer on just six marks.
Just one week later on Sunday, March 6, as a particularly wet winter was thankfully coming to an end, the Stratford upon Avon club staged the second round with its long-standing National event The Colmore Cup.
And this turned out to be a very different trial to the opener with many more marks lost and a whole heap of time faults for late finishing coming into play.
James and Chris P were at it this time and both ended on 43 marks after losing ten and seven on time respectively, but James again just came out on the right side of the tie-break.
Surely the writing was on the wall after that start? James had actually led the series in 2015 but withdrew after six rounds to concentrate on the ‘day job' of looking after Emma Bristow in the World Trials Championship.
At the time he held a one-point advantage over Sherco team-mate, Chris Pearson.
Third in the Colmore was Simon Welch, who didn't hang around on the course and capitalised after losing just a single time fault.
Next on the list, just a couple of weeks later was the Jack Wood, that Hillsborough club classic one-lapper staged around High Bradfield, north of Sheffield on Easter Sunday.
There was a clear win for James for the first time as he dropped just five marks over the mighty 50-section course.
This was a superb ride as it was ten better than Jack Wood runner-up, Elite rider Dan Thorpe, who lost 15, and third-placed Jack Spencer on 23.
Next S3 Parts contenders were Luke and Chris on 32 and 37 marks respectively – as the top three finished in the same positions as they ended the year, the only time during the season this happened.
The series was in full flow now and the next day, Easter Monday, it was over to North Wales and the Llangollen club promoting its well-known Lomax Trial in some awesome riding country including roads, forestry tracks and open going and fully deserving its three figure entry.
James was again riding at the top of his game and took another convincing win, dropping just seven marks, this time over the single-lap 36-section course.
There was a different runner-up though and it was Chester's Beta-mounted, Dec Bullock, who bagged second place on 23, just ahead of regular challengers Luke and Chris. Dec only contested two rounds, but still finished ninth at the end of the season.
Yeadon Guiseley MCC brought up the halfway stage, and it was still only April 10, with their always interesting Chris Carter National based on the club's well-known woodland venue Dob Park, near Otley.
And James duly rattled his tally up a maximum 100 points with five wins from five starts.
When asked if he was going to complete the series this year after dropping out while leading last time round he laughed, saying, "Looks like I'll have to now doesn't it?”
After two laps of 20 sections, mainly in the wet gullies or rock outcrops of the steep woodland, James kept his losses to just six.
That left him 10 ahead of Luke Walker – who bagged his second runner-up place of the series – while local club ace Sam Yeadon nailed a good third place.
Sam rode four rounds of the series and this was his best result, showing the Gas Gas rider could be a regular challenger.
Still in April the series moved into the second half with a visit to Powys, Mid Wales, and while Fry's delight continued, second place saw yet another new name, this time the ever-cheerful British, European and World Enduro star Tom Sagar.
The Oswestry rider, a National trials rider before switching over to enduro, showed he can still do feet-up and took his Sherco to 17 points.
Sunderland's John Crinson, who contested the whole series, enjoyed his best ride of the campaign to date in third, edging Luke and Chris off the podium.
There was a summer break of almost three-months before the series resumed with the Bradford club in July with its well established Allan Jefferies Trial deep in the Yorkshire dales at remote Halton Gill, high above, although miles away from, the market town of Settle.
James Fry was still on fire and closing in on the title with his seventh straight win, taking the scalps of Elite Beta riders Richard Sadler and Guy Kendrew for the Allan Jefferies Trophy.
The ever reliable Pearson and Walker were a dozen marks back despite their best efforts.
James put the destination of the title beyond doubt at the Westmorland club's Astley Trophy Trial held in Kentmere, just a couple of miles from Windermere in the Lake District.
James completed his clean sweep eight from eight but just as it was in the opening two rounds of the series it was back to a tie-break decision again.
This time it was Luke Walker providing the challenge as both dropped seven marks and amazingly, for the third time in a season, James got the verdict with one more clean than Luke.
It hit Walker hard, Luke rides Nationals week in, week out and is always challenging at the sharp end but just can't seem to nail that all-important win.
"It's never going to happen,” he exclaimed, but veteran Nigel Birkett said, "Yes it will Luke, it will happen one day when you aren't thinking about it and you just relax and ride.”
Both S3 contenders again pipped Elite regulars Sadler and Thorpe, leaving Tom Hick, another welcome regular face on the National circuit, to claim a season-first S3 podium.
With Fry guaranteed the title and Walker equally secure in second, neither contested the final round, the Newcastle club's Travers National staged in and around Allendale and Weardale.
The Elite trio of Sadler, Kendrew and Thorpe finished first, second and third in the Travers but the Championship points went to Richmond club member James Stones, riding his first and only S3 event of the year, who kept Sherco's 100 per cent series record intact.
Jimmy led home Jonathan Richardson, returning to trials after giving Hard Enduro a go and John Crinson as the S3 season came to a close.
Congratulations go to James Fry for a flawless season and commiseration to Luke and Chris for hard-fought campaigns.
Welsh challenger Joel Edwards contested the series, missing only the Colmore, and scored heavily each round, never finishing below eighth and finishing sixth no fewer than three times, before a morale-boosting fourth at the Travers.
Sole 125 class entrant Andrew Eley picked-up 20 points in each of the opening four rounds and didn't need to turn out after that! Where was the opposition?
The popularity of the series and its superb events can be judged by the fact that more than sixty riders scored championship points.
Congratulations to James – great trials, great series!
2016 Final Series Standings (Top 10)
1 James Fry (300 MRS Sherco)
2 Luke Walker (300 MRS Sherco)
3 Chris Pearson (300 Splat Sherco)
4 Joel Edwards (300 Beta)
5 John Crinson (Beta)
6 Thomas Hick (300 Acklam Beta)
7 Sam Yeadon (Acklam Beta)
8 Emma Bristow (300 MRS Sherco)
9 Dec Bullock (Roundhouse Beta)
10 Simon Welch (300 BVM Sherco)
