Preview: RT Keedwell ACU Trial GB British Championship kicks off this weekend
By John Dickinson on 4th Mar 20
THE 2020 RT Keedwell ACU Trial GB British Championship kicks off this Saturday, March 7, when Hookwood Trials Club stage the opener in the eight-round series at Hookwood Trials Centre, West Horsley, Surrey.
Hookwood head honcho Jim Connor and his boys have been working hard at the venue and have completely reworked the sections, especially for the Trial GB Championship class, to take into account new observing rules which allow not only stopping but also rolling backwards.
A one-minute time limit per section per rider means shorter sections but much more extreme/ technical elements.
Overall, there is an impressive entry of 73 competitors but the move to a more extreme format sees just seven riders signed up for the top class.
The battle for the 2020 title looks, on paper, to be a head-to-head between two-time and reigning Champ Jack Price and eight-time National supremo James Dabill.
Pricey has a change of mount from 2019, swapping his GasGas for a Vertigo, while the Dibsta sticks with his tried and tested Factory Beta but can already boast a British title earned while riding Vertigo.
It wont just be a two-horse race of course and one rider looking to make regular podiums will be Cornish ace Toby Martyn, another rider to make a machinery switch for 2020.
In Tobys case, it is from four-stroke Montesa to two-stroke TRS and he has already taken a title, winning the Southern Experts in December.
East Yorks Sherco-mounted brothers Dan and Jack Peace will also be in the mix, while Devon teenager Billy Green waves the Montesa flag.
Last, but certainly not least, is Welsh ace Iwan Roberts who will again be TRS-mounted.
There might only be seven contenders but they are really well matched and a close-fought season is guaranteed.
ACU Trial2 is looking good with 16 hopefuls and picking winners is just guesswork.
Choose your favourite from Ross Danby (TRS), Richard Sadler (GasGas), Tom Minta and Andy Chilton (Scorpa), Jack Shepherd and James Fry (Sherco), Sam Haslam on Montesa four-stroke, local Beta ace Sam Connor, last years ACU Expert Champ Chris Stay (TRS) or promising Scottish teenager Ben Dignan.
And dont forget the four challengers for the ACU Trial125 class, where Alice Minta takes on Jack Dance, Harry Hemingway and Harry Turner in a four-way epic which will be every bit as hard-fought as Trial GB if not more so.
In a nutshell, the ACU TrialGB series kicked-off last year under the guidance of Brian Higgins and this year Brian has really made changes.
Saturday is the suck it and see moment with Hookwood in the hot seat.
And dont forget the new up-to-date lap results system which YOU can keep up with in real-time anywhere with internet access, on your device by logging on to racego.co.uk
