Report: RT Keedwell ACU TrialGB series gets underway at Hookwood
By Team TMX on 11th Mar 20
The 2020 RT Keedwell ACU TrialGB series got underway in Surrey on Saturday with the Hookwood club.
Clerk of the course Jim Connor had intelligently laid out a challenging trial consisting of three laps of 12 sections for each of the championship classes Trial GB, Trial 2, Trial 125 and Experts.
The recent spell of stormy weather ensured conditions were slippery from the off and only got more challenging as the mud got dragged onto the rocks and roots that featured in the majority of sections.
While James Dabill ended the trial on top of the podium after mastering the conditions on his Beta, things didnt start so well for 33-year-old Yorkshireman who was the only rider in the six-strong Trial GB class to five the very first section of the day.
While the Dibsta got off to a shaky start, Shercos Jack Peace was firing on all cylinders and the only one of the six who stayed feet-up through this hazard.
He then utilised a safe dab in the second to keep his early lead intact.
Section three proved to be a real stopper as Toby Martyn (TRRS) , both Peace brothers, Jack Price (Vertigo) and Billy Green (Montesa) all dropped five although Dabill went through for a two to the applause of the sizable crowd.
Section four was equally as tough for five of the six with only Martyn escaping with anything less than maximum marks as he footed his way out for a three to take over at the head of the field.
But Martyns lead was very short-lived as a five on section five a section that Dabill, Dan Peace and Jack Price all managed to go clean on saw him get gobbled up by the pack, with the Peace brothers now sharing the early advantage on 12 marks dropped apiece.
Section six proved simple enough, with everyone bar Billy Green getting through feet-up. The seventh meanwhile proved to be much more pivotal. Jack Peace and Green both dropped five, Price and Dan Peace a three, Dabill two and Martyn just a single dab.
This gave Dan a one-point advantage over Dabill and Martyn who were tied for second and after section eight they were tied for the lead as a clean for both saw them spring clear while Dan struggled through for a three.
Nine was a toughie. Martyn dropped three while both Peaces and Price fived it. Dabill rode cautiously to drop a single mark but Green whod been struggling more than most up until this point took an emphatic clean.
Section 10 stopped the lot while between them, 11 and 12 took one from Dabill and Dan Peace, two from Martyn, five from Green and six from each of the Jacks Peace and Price.
So at the end of lap one, it was Dabill whod slipped away into the lead with just 23 marks dropped, Martyn was second, three marks in arrears of Dabill with Dan Peace third on 29, the Jacks tied on 33 each and Green a further 11 behind.
Dabills second tour was stupendous and he somehow stayed five-free to end the lap for just 11 marks lost less than half of what second-placed Martyn dropped and hed had a pretty good lap too as the only other rider to make it all the way through each section.
Tobys second-lap score was 23 with Jack Price next best on 30, Jack Peace on 31, Dan Peace on 33 and Green sticking in his best lap of the trial with 38 marks lost.
So after two laps, Dabill led on a total of 34 with Martyn the only other rider to stay in the sub-50 bracket on 49 marks lost.
The following three were separated by just two marks with Dan Peace third on 62, Price on 63 and Dan Peace the last of the podium contenders on 64. The final lap would be vitally important in deciding the outcome.
Of the three it was Dan who seemed to be most up for the challenge, matching Dabills score of three through the first three sections of the final tour.
Martyn had dropped seven through the same group with Price eight, Jack Peace nine and Green 15.
Section four delivered fives all-round, Price dropped one mark in section five, where everyone else went clean, and then the entire top-five went clean through six.
Nobody got through section seven for less than a two, eight took one from Dabill and the Peace boys while Martyn, Price and Green lost two in the same section.
It was more fives all round on section nine and a similar story on 10 except for the leader Dabill who got through for a two to more or less secure his victory on the day.
There were just two sections left to settle things and although Dabill was more or less assured victory, Dan Peace could still leapfrog Martyn for second and the two Jacks were tied in their battle for fourth.
Dibsta rode out the trial with a two and a three plus two on time for a total score of 59, while Martyn secured second with a one in section 11.
Even a five in the last would keep him out of the reach of Dan Peace who ended with a two and a clean to equal Dabills lap score of 23 for a grand total of 85.
With the podium settled it was down to Jack Peace and Jack Price to figure out whod finish in fourth place.
Price moved one in front on section 11 as he dropped one dab to Peaces two. It was also looking likely that Peace would pick up a time penalty, though, so a good ride through the 12th was essential.
Price dropped two in this one but Peace matched his brother Dan by staying feet-up. This gave him a final score of 94 to Prices 95 but an extra mark on time put them equal once more and their battle for fourth would be decided by the most cleans tie-breaker.
Prices five cleans was blown out of the water by Peaces astonishing total of nine which was equalled by his brother Dan and only bettered by Dabill, whod stayed feet-up no fewer than 11 times during the very difficult trial.
It was tighter at the top of Trial 2 where a disastrous final lap for Scorpas Andrew Chilton saw him throw away a six-mark advantage over the rest by fiving five sections on that last tour.
While Chilton floundered, local hero Sam Connor absolutely smashed it, losing just 19 marks on his final lap.
The Beta rider ended the trial with a total of 68 seven clear of Ross Danby (TRRS) who hung on to second. But only just
While Connors final lap won him the trial and Chiltons lost it, the other three in contention for the win Danby, Sam Haslam (Honda) and Tom Minta (Scorpa) had all more or less matched each other.
And as things stood, Danby ended up with 75, while Haslam took third on 76.
Chilton had three time penalties to add to his total of 74 meaning he ended up fourth on 77 with Minta fifth just one more point behind.
Five riders competed in the Trial 125 class with Jack Dance taking a very well deserved victory on his GasGas.
Betas Harry Hemingway was best of the rest 20 marks in arrears of Dance with GasGas Harry Turner a further six marks back after 36 tough and very slippery sections.
A massive line up of Experts scrapped it out for class honours with just four marks separating the top five after 36 sections.
Ben Morphett (Montesa) led after lap one with a super low score of six which placed him one ahead of Vertigos Sam Yeomans with GasGas Dan Thorpe running third on eight.
Morphett increased his lead on the second lap, dropping just 10 to Yeomans 12 as Connor Atkinson made his presence felt as he dropped a lap total of just 11 on his TRRS.
Atkinson had a superb third lap too, dropping 11 once more a feat that was only equalled by Thorpe.
GasGas Lloyd Price dropped 12 while Yeomans was next best on 17 it was time to get the calculators out and find us a winner.
In a super-close finish, Yeomans just took it on 36 with Price finishing second on 37 and no doubt rueing the two marks he lost on time after missing a section on lap one and having to go back which ultimately cost him the victory.
GasGas team-mate Dan Thorpe took third on 38 after tieing with Morphett but cleaning one more section, which on this occasion was the difference between standing on the podium and not.
All in all a great days sport, although according to the TrialGB website (www.acutrialgb.co.uk) its expected that the second round at Neath the St Davids Trial on April 5 will be slightly easier.
Well see how that pans out then
Trial GB
1 James Dabill (Beta) 59
2 Toby Martyn (TRRS) 81
3 Dan Peace (Sherco) 85
4 Jack Peace (Sherco) 95
5 Jack Price (Vertigo) 95
6 Billy Green (Montesa) 127
Trial 2
1 Sam Connor (Beta) 68
2 Ross Danby (TRRS) 75
3 Sam Haslam (Honda) 76
4 Andrew Chilton (Scorpa) 77
5 Tom Minta (Scorpa) 78
6 Richard Sadler (GasGas) 82
Trial 125
1 Jack Dance (GasGas) 45
2 Harry Hemingway (Beta) 65
3 Harry Turner (GasGas) 71
4 Reece Gazzard (Scorpa) 76
5 Alice Minta (Scorpa) 139
Experts
1 Sam Yeomans (Vertigo) 36
2 Lloyd Price (GasGas) 37
3 Dan Thorpe (GasGas) 38
4 Ben Morphett (Montesa) 38
5 Connor Atkinson (TRRS) 40
6 Tom Affleck (Sherco) 49
