Sidcup MCC - Dick Dickenson Trial

By Dick Law on 7th Nov 23

GASGAS rider Thomas Moss rode both laps of 18 sections of the Sidcup club’s Dick Dickenson trial without loss last Sunday. That’s 36 sections on the hills around the club's famous Canada Heights motocross track without putting a foot down, not even once.

Ashley Newbery took second place in the Expert class behind winner Thomas Moss

Laying out a trial in this country at this time of year is always a problem most clubs have to deal with, but a week before the event, with wind and rain lashing the hillside venue, and with the weather forecast not looking that good, the hardworking club members laid out the event with all that information in mind. But, as we all know, the weather changes and the day before the trial, the sun came out, and the wind dried out the sections. Hence the low-scoring trial.

Luckily, Moss was the only rider to clean the trial and was awarded the historic Simmons Cup, without even getting his boots muddy.

Celeste Phillips concentrates hard as she navigates the Youth course on her OSET

Three-time cup winner, including last year, Ashley Newbery (TRRS), started his day off well and was notching up clean after clean until Section 16 on the opening lap, where he slipped up and recorded a three. He cleaned that section on his second attempt, but disaster struck Newbery again at Section 12, where he recorded an unexpected five after cleaning the section on lap one. This gave him an event total of eight, which dropped him to the runner-up position.

Ben Smith (Beta) and Jack Stiles (GASGAS) were difficult to split in third and fourth as they both finished the trial with the loss of just 11 marks – it was down to the most numbers of clean sections to decide the final finishing order.

Smith had a two on section two and a disastrous five on section seven. He had a couple of single dabs for the rest of the lap for a total of nine marks lost. On his second lap, he once again lost two on Section Two and cleaned the rest of the lap, giving him an event total of 11.

Stiles, in contrast, had three single dabs and a two on his opening lap for five marks lost and started lap two with a two and a dab. He then cleaned the rest till two sections from the end of the trial, where he had a three for his total of 11. Smith had 31 cleans while Stiles had 29.

Gavin Cooper (GASGAS) won the slightly easier Expert B class dropping just three single dabs, all of which he acquired on lap one. He cleaned his second lap for a total of three marks lost.

A five on his first attempt at Section 11 cost Brodie Branch (Beta) the class win as he completed the rest of the trial for a couple of dabs. He finished on seven marks lost – four behind the winner Cooper.

Ben Smith searches for traction in the autumnal leaves

Mark Reason (Beta) doesn’t mess about. He cleaned all but three of the 36 sections. Unfortunately, the three he didn’t clean were all fives, giving him a total of 15 marks lost as he took third in class.

Only six marks separated the top four in the Intermediate class as Matthew Godden, on an old SWM, took the win against a field of modern machines with a loss of just nine marks, all of which were ones and twos scattered about the trial. Jason Arnold (TRRS) was second, four points behind Godden, with Michael Hollyer (TRRS) and Jack Taylor (Beta) in third and fourth, all separated by a single mark.

Robert Stevenson battles this tricky hazard

Tony Dobbs (Montesa) had a four-point win over Kevin Miller (TRRS) in the Intermediate B class with Marc Taylor (Beta) third, just two behind Miller.

Kurt Gigney (Beta) won the hotly contested Novice class with David Little (Beta) and Sean Cuckow (GASGAS) second and third, separated by a single dab.

Holeshot PR head honcho Harley Stephens (Beta) won the Over 40 class riding the Blue route with the loss of just six marks, a score that would have seen him winning the Intermediate class. Jon Allen (GASGAS) was second, five behind the winner, Stephens, with Richard Brush (TRRS) third.

Warren Eves (Montesa) won the Over 50s, riding the Red route with the loss of six, and once again, a score that would have seen him win the Novice class. Andrew Randell (GASGAS) was second, with Brian Thomas (Beta) third.

Steve Mannerings won the small twinshock group riding the Blue route, while Daniel Burton (Aprilia) won the Pre67 Twinshock class riding the Red route.

Samuel Le Fevre (Beta) was the only youth rider to attempt the Expert route and finished on a respectable 60-mark score.

Rowan Dean (Beta) won the Youth Intermediate B class, while Flynn Joyce (Beta) won the Youth Novice group.

Matthew Godden rode his SWM in the Intermediate class

Ken Cross (Montesa) won the Sportsman class, while Charlie Gigney (Beta) took top honours in the Youth Sportsman class.

Sidcup MCC Dick Dickenson Trial 2023 Results

Expert

1	Thomas Moss	GASGAS	0 marks lost
2	Ashley Newbery	TRRS	8
3	Ben Smith	Beta	11 (31 Cleans)
4	Jack Stiles	GASGAS	11 (29 Cleans)
5	Dean Heathfield	Sherco	17
6	Alex Davis	Montesa	26
7	Scott Wilson	GASGAS	39
8	Liam Seamer	TRRS	45
9	Rebert Stevenson	TRRS	50

Expert B

1	Gavin Cooper	GASGAS	3
2	Brodie Branch	Beta	7
3	Mark Reason	Beta	15
4	Simon Levett	Beta	16

Intermediate

1	Matthew Godden	SWM	9
2	Jason Arnold	TRRS	13
3	Michael Hollyer	TRRS	14
4	Jack Taylor	Beta	15
5	Thomas Bartrum	BSA	21
6	Thomas Norris	GASGAS	25
7	Mark Robinson	TRRS	29
8	David Kent	Vertigo	42
9	Grace Dark	TRRS	46
10	Aaron Seamer	TRRS	47

Intermediate B

1	Tony Dobbs	Montesa	11
2	Kevin Miller	TRRS	15
3	Marc Taylor	Beta	17
4	Jonathan Andress	TRRS	21
5	Douglas Norris	Scorpa	24
6	Phillip Stewart	Montesa	32 (23 Cleans, 6 Ones)
7	Terry Lilley	Montesa	32 (23 Cleans, 5 Ones)
8	Neil Houckham	Montesa	34
9	John Bird	Sherco	39
10	Derek Baker	Beta	43

Novice

1	Kurt Gigney	Beta	10
2	David Little	Beta	14
3	Sean Cuckow	GASGAS	15
4	David Griffiths	EM	16
5	Marcus Wright	Beta	17
6	Emma Thompson	Sherco	21
7	Mark Teal	Fantic	25
8	Robert Head	Scorpa	28
9	Tim Taylor	Scorpa	30
10	Tom Kemp	TRRS	38

Over 40 (Blue Route)

1	Harley Stephens	Beta	6
2	Jon Allen	GASGAS	11
3	Richard Brush	TRRS	14
4	Chris Anderson	TRRS	15
5	Jonathan Sturdey	GASGAS	17 (28 Cleans)
6	Adam Marshall	GASGAS	17 (28 Cleans)
7	Michael Nutbrown	Beta	19 (28 Cleans)
8	Lee Brocklehurst	GASGAS	19 (27 Cleans)
9	Shaun Wallis	GASGAS	19 (25 Cleans)
10	Richard Johnson	EM	33

Over 50 (Red Route)

1	Warren Eves	Montesa	6
2	Andrew Randell	GASGAS	9
3	Brian Thomas	Beta	12
4	Alan Coulter	TRRS	16
5	Allan Lown	Sherco	22
6	Jason Clifford	Montesa	26
7	Paul Cuckow	Sherco	27
8	Gareth Clare	Montesa	32
9	Roy Beatty	GASGAS	33 (23 Cleans)
10	Graham Knowler	Montesa	33 (18 Cleans)

Twinshock (Blue Route)

1	Steve Mannerings	TRRS	9
2	Simon Bird	Yamaha	14
3	Chris Dark	SWM	34

Pre-67 Twinshock (Red Route)

1	Daniel Burton	Aprilla	7
2	Graham Baylis	Francis Barnet	8
3	Geoff Muston	Montesa	12
4	Trevor Town	Francis Barnet	15
5	Antony Martin	Triumph	22

Youth Expert

1	Samuel Le Favre	Beta	60

Youth Intermediate B

1	Rowan Dean	Beta	20
2	Edward Mowat	GASGAS	27
3	Samuel Kent	GASGAS	77

Youth Novice

1	Flynn Joyce	Beta	21
2	Ronny Taylor	Scorpa	27
3	Lilly Wright	Beta	40
4	Amelia Munday	Sherco	49
5	Tristan Phipps	Beta	96

Sportsman

1	Ken Cross	Montesa	30
2	Joe Munday	Sherco	37
3	Ian Gibbins	Beta	50

Youth Sportsman

1	Charlie Gigney	Beta	16
2	Celeste Phipps	OSET	23
3	Max Robinson	Beta	26
4	Hector Kemp	OSET	28
5	Max Isard	OSET	31
6	Willow Kemp	Beta	35
7	Ethan Munday	Beta	42