Report: Allan Jefferies Trial
By John Dickinson on 13th Jul 16
JAMES Fry is the 2016 ACU S3 Parts National Trials Champion!
After seven rounds of the nine round series the MRS Sherco rider has won every single one to amass 140 points and with one score to drop at the end of the series it is impossible for James to be beaten.
Last Sunday James' latest victory, an emphatic one at that, was at the Bradford club's Allan Jefferies Trophy trial when he scored maximum S3 points and won the trial overall.
The organisers really rang the changes on the long-standing event in 2016.
The start area at remote Halton Gill at the end of Littondale, near Settle, remained the same but the course was all new.
It took the form of a double loop up on the fells but taking in different groups. Refuelling took place in Wilks' field at the end of each loop.
The opening loop saw the entry, which was just short of three figures, all eager for a good ride out, take in main groups at Yockenthwaite, in the steep, climbing limestone gully, and then the slippery streams at Raisgill and Bouther Gill.
It was a muggy day and the midges in the tree-lined gills were biting furiously.
The fourth sub at Yockenthwaite was an early tester with Fry, Ian Austermuhle, Rob Waite and Danny Gamble escaping for dabs.
After a return run over the tops to refuel it was off to Hubberholme, the large group at Redmire farm and Hagg Beck before returning to Liitondale for Wilk's field, Ellershaw Farm and the final sting in the tail that is the slippery as ice waterfall at Halton Gill.
S3Parts Championship riders and Experts were grouped towards the back of the field and James proved to be the class of the entry.
He only parted with tgwo dabs until the stiff opener at Ellershaw Farm when his two ab ride was the best of the field.
Ian Austermuhle reached the ends cards for a three and the rest were clocked for a maximum.
Even tougher was the always unbelieveably slippery Halton Gill, located behind the village hall where the good ladies of the tiny village provided tea and awesome home-baked cakes.
The waterfall took James for his only maximum as just four riders on the Expert route were judged to have kept on the move and they were Chris Pearson, Ian Austermuhle, Danny Gamble and James Carr.
Chris was eventual runner-up on the day, just a single dab ahead of Beta's Guy Kendrew with last week's Dave Rowland trial winner Richard Sadler five marks further back.
Luke Walker was close behind Richard and Austy rounding out the top six one mark further astern.
The large Clubman class, with a mighty 70 entries, saw host Bradford club member, another James, James Moorhouse to be precise, on his 35 year-old Bultaco twinshock, walk away from the field to drop just 30 marks.
This proved to be no less than 13 fewer than runner-up, Beta mounted Andy Tales, who in turn finished just a dab ahead of brother Graham who was back on his special Montesa 2T having successfully cured a persistent engine problem by replacing it with another motor!
The field was tightly packed behind with Andrew Jackson next on 45 while Darren Wasley only just got the better of the new Mrs Thorpe (formerly Miss Katy Sunter) after both dropped 47. Lancashire's Julian Ingham got the better of a tie-break with Barnsley's Simon Hirst, both on 48 with the top ten rounded out by Darren Holmes and Nene Valley (Northants) clubman Steve Swanson.
The six hour time limit proved a bit tight for some of the Clubmen, with a long queue of riders at a taxing sub at Hubberholme a contributory factor, and as with the Expert route the final sub up Halton Gill proved to be the sting in the tail, especially as many had little time to inspect the line.
There were a few well earned cleans on the Clubman route though including by winner and runner-up James Moorhouse and Andy Tales and they were joined by north east vet Glen Quinn, Roddy Baker, Mark Coulson, Zach Hubery and Bretton King.
RESULTS
S3 CLASS SCORERS: James Fry (300 MRS Sherco) 12 marks lost, Chris Pearson (300 Splat Sherco) 23 (27x0), Luke Walker (300 MRS Sherco) 23 (26x0), Ian Austermuhle (Beta UK) 30 (26x0), Rob Waite (300 Beta UK) 30 (24x0), Danny Gamble (Sherco) 35, Sam Yeadon (Acklam Beta) 39, Joel Edwards (300 Beta) 41, Chris Alford (Feet-up Gas Gas) 42, Phil Disney (300 Appleyard Honda) 44, Thomas Hick (300 Acklam Beta) 50, Aran Drachenberg (Beta) 51, Tom Ablewhite (250 Sherco) 52, James Carr (AM Jotagas) 62, Thomas Housecroft (300 Acklam Beta) 65.
Clubman Class: James Moorhouse (Bultaco) 30, Andy Tales (Beta) 43, Graham Tales (Montesa) 44, Andrew Jackson (Beta) 45, Katy Thorpe (Gas Gas) 47, Darren Wasley (Gas Gas) 47, Julian Ingham (Beta) 48, Simon Hirst (Montesa) 48, Darren Holmes (Montesa) 52, Stephen Swanson (Beta) 53.
