TrialGP Great Britain - Tong ready for action
By TMX Archives on 5th Jul 17
TrialGP Great Britain takes place this weekend (July 8-9) when the Parkwood venue at Tong, near Bradford, hosts round five of the Trial World Championship.
Building on the success of last year's debut event at the venue, fans will be treated to two full days of action and entertainment with the new-look series taking the championship to the next level.
Yorkshire brothers Dan and Ben Hemingway have used their wealth of international trials experience to plot 15 testing sections, some completely new and some heavily reworked, to stretch the talents of the best riders on the planet.
With the ACU having now taken over as the local organiser of this weekend's TrialGP Great Britain at Tong - Bradford, they are delighted to announce that free admission will be given to all ACU licence holders - both competitors and officials - when they show their membership card at the entrance.
Since agreeing to run the event just over three weeks ago much work has gone on behind the scenes to ensure that the TrialGP remained at the original venue which is a mecca for all off-road fans and will provide easy access to all the 15 sections.
The ACU directors have been keen to ensure all members have the opportunity to watch this event first hand at minimal cost.
The action takes place over two days with the official practice starting at 11am on the Saturday followed by the new qualification at 3pm, which to date has been a real highlight at the previous four events.
In addition, around 60 riders of the future will compete in the Oset Trial on a separate compact course within the confines of the Trial area.
Of course, the big day is Sunday when all of the world's top riders, including the incredible Toni Bou - (Repsol Honda), along with a good crop of British challengers, will demonstrate their skills over 15 spectacular sections from 9am onwards with an early finish time of around 3.30pm.
The course has been designed for all spectators to be able to visit all sections with a dedicated path away from the Trial route for ease and safety.
Members who wish to camp will need to pay the standard camping fee, but a packed glossy programme will be available to all who attend.
ACU licence holders who have already purchased advance tickets will be refunded after the event.
After regaining the upper hand with a dominant victory last time out, Toni Bou will start TrialGP Great Britain this coming weekend with a commanding 13-point lead over fellow Spaniard Adam Raga - TRRS.
Following victories at the opening two rounds in Spain and Japan, Bou's bid to claim a record 11th consecutive FIM Trial World Championship title suffered a blow when he was beaten into third by Raga and Jaime Busto (Repsol Honda) in a close-fought TrialGP Andorra.
However, the most dominant rider in the series' 43-year history struck back at TrialGP France and recorded a crushing victory.
Bou has enjoyed a phenomenal run of success in Great Britain.
He holds the record for the most TrialGP victories here with 14 and under the previous two-day format has won ten times in the last five years.
In fact, the last rider to beat him on British soil was Raga all the way back in 2011.
On paper this weekend looks to be a two-man battle between Bou and Raga, but as the 2017 FIM Trial World Championship moves into the second half of the season there are still a number of contenders to consider.
After coming frustratingly close on a number of occasions Busto claimed a career-first podium finish in Andorra. He followed this up with third at TrialGP France signifying that the 19-year-old has come of age and surely now must be considered a threat for the top step of the podium.
The young Spaniard currently sits third in the standings, tied on 61 points with his team-mate Takahisa Fujinami - Repsol Honda.
Without a win for over a year, Fujigas last took victory in Great Britain on the opening day in 2011 and the hugely-popular Japanese rider will be keen to rectify this at the Parkwood Off Road Centre this weekend.
Still looking for his first podium finish of 2017, Spain's Jeroni Fajardo - Vertigo is fifth in the standings on 60 points, three points ahead of fellow countryman Albert Cabestany - Sherco thanks to a consistent run of results.
With British riders traditionally going well at their home GP, James Dabill (Gas Gas) could potentially improve on his second place on day one at TrialGP Japan.
Consistently fast in qualification, could fervent home support spur him on to a famous first career victory?
Britain's Iwan Roberts - Beta, holds a ten-point lead in Trial2 over Spain's Gabriel Marcelli - Honda.
Both riders have struggled at times with consistency, as have third-placed Luca Petrella - TRRS from Italy and France's Gael Chatagno - Gas Gas and Spain's Francesc Moret - Honda in fourth and fifth.
Trial125 is also close with Italian Lorenzo Gandola - Scorpa eight points clear of Britain's Billy Green - Beta going into the final counting event for this class with round four winner Fabien Poirot - Gas Gas from France in third but already a long way adrift of the leading pair.
Green will need a win and some good fortune if he is to lift the title on home soil.
So the actions kicks off this Saturday with the gates opening at 7.30am ready for the Oset Mini E Trial, staring at 10am.
The event is free for ACU licence holders (licence must be produced on the gate)
Tickets will be available on the gate priced at £25 for an adult weekend pass or £20 for Sunday only.
Weekend passes or Sunday-only tickets for children aged five to 15 are just £5 and there's no charge for under fives. Onsite camping on Friday and Saturday is £25 per night.
For more information please go to www.trialgp.com
Timetable
Saturday
07:30: Gates open
10:00-14:00: OSET Mini E Trial
11:00: Rider section inspection closes
11:00-13:00: Official / qualification practice
14:30: Rider autograph session
15:00-16:30: Qualification
Sunday
07:30: Gates open
08:00: Official warm-up
09:00: First rider starts
10:00: Last rider starts
11:45: First rider ends lap one
12:45: Last rider ends lap one
12:05: First rider starts lap two
13:05: Last rider starts lap two
14:20: First rider finishes
15:20: Last rider finishes
15:45: Podium ceremony
