Review - 2016 British Trials Championship
By John Dickinson on 24th Dec 16
James Dabill totally well almost dominated the 2016 RT Keedwell British Trials Championship to claim his seventh British title and the second for the Vertigo factory.
The Dibsta won 10 of the 11 scoring rounds losing out only once, in the Guisborough club's eighth round, The John Hardaker National, in August when Beta-mounted Jack Sheppard stepped up to the mark to take his first ever BTC Premier.
While Dibs was confidently clocking up the wins and drawing further and further in front of the title chase there was a real battle for the vice champion's badge between Shep and Gas Gas challenger Jack Price.
Pricey, after a strong winter's training schedule when he went off on his own to Spain to practise with the best riders in the World, really stepped up a level in 2016 and finally bagged the British runner-up slot in the final round of the season in Scotland.
Jack scored almost 100 Championship points more over the series than he did when finishing seventh over a full season in 2015, which just shows the huge step forward he had taken in less than a year.
Sheppard meanwhile, used 2016 to regroup having had a rough time in 2015 while attempting to campaign the Jgas at World Championship level with minimal factory help.
Shep took the decision to return to Britain and concentrate on rebuilding his trials career as a privateer campaigning a machine he knew well – Beta – in the British Championship, a series he missed altogether in 2015, while competing Internationally.
The 2016 series, sponsored by Haulage company RT Keedwell, comprised 11 rounds, with all scores to count, run over nine weekends.
It began with a double-header run by the Lakes MTA in south Cumbria in mid April and ended six months later in October with another two-day epic staged at the Bob Macgregor Trials Academy in east Ayrshire. In between were seven single-day rounds that took in most of the country including back to back Saturday Sunday rounds at Hook Wood and Butser Limeworks in the deep south in July.
Back in April the Lakes club got things under way with their weekender staged at Fell Green, Bootle, on the Cumbrian west coast, overlooking the Irish sea, an awesome venue from where – on a rare clear day – you can see Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and the Isle of Man.
Defending champ Dabill got his campaign off to a perfect start on the predominantly rocky hazards – the series is based on three laps of a short, 12-section course – and James' challengers played right into his hands as none of them showed any consistency.
TRS-mounted Ross Danby finished runner-up on Saturday but dropped to ninth on Sunday while Alexz Wigg followed-up third with a lowly tenth next day.
Pricey started badly with a ninth but improved to third while Shep jumped up from fifth to third but all this gave Dibs a very handy points lead. A full month later, after the opening World Round and just a week after the Scottish Six Days, it was off to deepest Wales on May 15 for the Neath club's long-standing St David's Trial run at Aberdulais.
The going was a mix of slippery sections in woods and rocky outcrops but the result was the same, a win for Dabill and 20 more points. Second on this occasion was James' pal Michael Brown, returning to something like his old form after missing virtually the whole of 2015 following a serious knee injury at the Japanese World trial.
Browny held off Jack Price as Dibs edged further ahead.
A couple of weeks later it was up to Scarborough and Low North Park in Harwood Dale. The big rocks were just to Dabill's liking and another 20 points were in the bag with Pricey showing his skill level in a fine second.
Local ace Browny just couldn't better sixth on the big stuff but teenager Dan Peace, from nearby Kirkbymoorside, stepped up to the plate to make it two Gassers on the podium with his vert first adult BTC podium.
It was off to the West of England club's Anthony Rew trial in Devon for the fifth round in early July when the steep climbs and big boulders in the woods at Kelly Farm, Lustleigh provided a good test.
The series was settling now with Dabill clearly on top, while Pricey and Shep had emerged as the most consistent podium challengers, Shep just shading it on this occasion.
Cornish teenager Toby Martyn had joined the series proper (after riding for no points as a Guest on a 125) at the previous round and took a fine fourth place in what was his local National in the west country.
The half way point was then reached on Saturday July 30 with round six in Hook Wood, West Horsley, Sussex, where the Connor clan provided a dozen testing sections. Dibs and Pricey took a one-two but keeping Shep off the podium was Welsh champ Iwan Roberts who had had a disappointing BTC season to date, coming off a sensational career victory at the final round of the 2015 series in the Guisborough round.
The following day it was off to the famous Butser Quarry, courtesy of the Witley club where some scary climbs and descents awaited with Dibs taking his seventh consecutive win, Shep and Pricey following him home and Ross Danby nailing an impressive fourth.
Back up to the north in August and the Guisborough club returned to the north Yorks moors and the John Hardaker National with a mix of big boulders, tight streams and some really slippery steep rocky bankings.
And it was here that Dibs was defeated for the first and only time of the series as Jack Sheppard produced some awesome riding to nail his first BTC win.
James was magnanimous in defeat and was the first to congratulate the Ipswich rider on his success. And there was a further shock as Toby Martyn bagged his first BTC podium giving Beta two bikes in the top three.
A brand new round followed in September thanks to the Tynemouth club and members of the north east centre who ran an excellent round in remote Northumberland.
Shaftoe Crags venue, near Belsay, is only available once a year and Tynemouth, who usually run a Centre event, sportingly gave the BTC a shot.
The fells provided some excellent rocky sections and the riders rightly praised the event as Dabill not only got back to his winning ways but also tied-up the British Championship.
Iwan Roberts rode to his best result of the campaign to take second while Price kept Shep off the podium.
All that remained was the series finale double header at the Bob Macgregor Academy in the slate quarry at Dunlop in Ayrshire where there was a final Dabill double for good measure.
The big battle was for the vice-champions No.2 plate and that went to Pricey as thanks to a pair of strong second places the Yorkshire man just pipped his season-long rival and fellow Jack, Sheppard by a couple of points.
Dabill is clearly Britain's No.1 but going forward he will have plenty of opposition as we saw all through the year young guns like Jack Price, Dan Peace, Iwan Roberts and Toby Martyn will only get better and stronger...
2016 RT KEEDWELL BRITISH SOLO TRIALS CHAMPIONSHIP
CHAMPIONSHIP CLASS
Total R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 R11
1 James Dabill (Vertigo UK) 217 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 17 20 20 20
2 Jack Price (R&T Gas Gas) 163 7 15 15 17 15 17 15 13 15 17 17
3 Jack Sheppard (Beta UK) 161 11 17 13 13 17 10 17 20 13 15 15
4 Iwan Roberts (Top Trial Team Beta) 121 10 5 11 8 11 15 10 11 17 13 10
5 Michael Brown (JST Gas Gas) 115 9 13 17 9 10 9 8 10 10 11 9
2016 RT KEEDWELL BRITISH SOLO TRIALS CHAMPIONSHIP
Experts CLASS
Total R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 R11
1 Tom Minta (Gas Gas) 183 17 17 15 20 17 20 20 17 20 20 –
2 Dan Thorpe (JTS Gas Gas UK) 174 20 20 20 17 15 17 17 10 8 15 15
3 Tom Affleck (Cloburn MRS Sherco) 136 13 8 11 13 13 15 13 11 13 13 13
4 Joel Edwards (Beta) 105 9 15 17 10 5 9 11 15 3 9 2
5 Richard Sadler (Beta) 86 – – – 15 – – – 20 17 17 17
Minta nails the Experts
RUNNING alongside the main Championships are of course the Experts and Youth A series with the Experts being particularly well represented and hard fought over the whole season.
The Experts began with reigning champ – the vastly experienced Gas Gas ace Dan Thorpe – nailing three wins on the trot.
Behind him Tom Minta began the season switching between machines, finishing second to Dan twice in the Lakes on Montesa and finishing third in the St David's before winning the Scarborough round on a Beta.
Tom then switched to a Gas Gas with a deal from John Shirt, beginning with a second place in the Anthony Rew. That trial was won by former British Expert Champ, local star Joe Baker, contesting his only event of the series but showing what a great talent he has always been.
Tom then really got the hang of the Gasser and reeled off two straight wins in the two southern based rounds in Hook Wood and Butser.
Yorkshire's Richard Sadler then popped up at the Gusiborough round in a rare Experts outing to take the points with Tom second.
But with Dan down in sixth the battle for the Experts title was really on.
After his brilliant start, Dan's Championship slump hit rock bottom with eighth place and with Tom riding high having taken his fourth win the title was in sight.
And the Shropshire lad nailed the British Experts class crown on the opening day of the final two-day event in Scotland where Sadler kept Dan off the podium and the title was Tom's.
Once again it had been a keenly fought series with the accent being an Experience v Youth – and youth won out on this occasion.
Third overall went to Sherco's Tom Affleck who enjoyed a very consistent year, just off the podium in the main with his high point being a fine third at Hook Wood.
And fourth went to Welsh contender Joel Edwards who visited the podium twice, at the St David's and the John Hardaker but who, over the season, couldn't quite manage Tom's high level of consistency.
Jack's king of the Youths
JACK Peace enjoyed an amazing 2016 season, the younger brother of Championship class contender Dan not only taking the World Trial125, European Youth and European Junior titles he added a fourth with the British Youth A class crown.
Gas Gas mounted, like his bro Dan, he was in a class of his own as he romped to ten wins from ten starts to finally put the title beyond doubt with victory on the opening day of the double header in Scotland.
Then, like Experts winner Tom Minta, Jack opted to ride the full British Championship course on Sunday, for no points but in readiness for 2017 – and both would have scored good points.
For Jack's challengers it was a case of who would fill the podium places and it was Beta's Kieran Child who kept his focus, never dropping off the podium all year.
Then, when Jack moved on after making sure of his crown, Kieran fittingly nailed the win in the final round. Great effort.
Northern Ireland's Josh Hanlon made his regular trips across the Irish Sea worthwhile with third overall, his rides netting three second-place finishes.
Toby Churchill and Duncan McColl also scored impressive three-figure final totals while Dunfermline's Joe Dawson finished sixth despite not contesting four of the rounds.
The standard of sections in the Youth A class is very difficult for your average schoolie so it's hats off to all those who gave it a go and congratulations to Jack, who is clearly a special case whose fortunes will be closely followed...
