DESPITE heavy overnight rain, Consett Club’s trial at Oxenlaw, in County Durham, went ahead on Sunday with a number of riders making the trip from surrounding centres due to their own events being washed out.

Nearly 60 competitors made the start and the event got under way after a few hasty alterations where the streams had swollen too high to ride.

The Experts faced some steep climbs out of the streams in the first few sections, but Robert Waite got off to a good start with three cleans before paddling out of the steep climb at section four, where John Battensby took a one, while Colin Ward and Billy Bolt left with two and three respectively.

John Crinson, in contrast, needed singles in both sections one and two before going clean on the fourth.

Section five featured a tight left hander before a 4ft step, and while Waite and Crinson went clean, the rest, apart from Battensby with a one dab attempt, took fives.

The green route took in half of the Expert sections, with the rest being the eased-off Clubman course. Ian Stephen, Tim Longstaff and Philip Baxter were all out for the win, while a number of ridrs were going for glory on the Clubman and Easy courses.

􀁧 At the time of going to press, no results were available, but will appear in next week’s issue.

WETHERBY Motor Club’s annual President’s Shield Trial on Sunday at Kingstone Farm attracted 57 riders in a rain-free event at Fellbeck farm.

In what seemed a window in the current weather pattern of torrential rain and high winds, for some strange reason the Nidderdale Valley seemed insulated. Fifteen miles south at Ilkley the rain hammered down and at 8.30am on Sunday it was headlight darkness and a spate of flooded roads. Twenty miles north at Marske, Richmond Club’s Eric Ridley Memorial Trial had suffered the first of three cancellations.

Not Fellbeck though, where Norman Shepherd and his team plotted ten sections, albeit of the muddy rocky grassy variety. Tricky rather than severe, as the triple two penalty rides by Fellbeck’s Richard Shepherd, Melmerby’s Paul Dennis and Boston Spa teenager Sam Yeadon illustrated.

Sam Beecroft-Penny cleaned all Stormin’ Norm’s sections on all four laps. His mother will now have the MacRae Tray to polish for a year! The flagging at the infamous Holly Tree was well executed. The top adults breezed it and the three leading youngsters also went clear. Richard Taylor was intent on using a photographer wheelgrip when his 4Rt took over in the final yard. Notables who copped a maximum from Wendy Yeadon were Kirkby Malzeard’s Dave Mawer, and Darley’s Michael Platts. Mick Shorrock marked the sixth, which was tricky little number, with a climb at the top of each line, but with awkward turns in the initial yards.

ORGANISERS of Richmond Motor Club’s Eric Ridley Memorial Trophy Trial, scheduled to run at Hurst, had no option on Sunday morning but to cancel the event. A course inspection at 8am preceded the outcome.

Within minutes of Richmond’s cancellation, the Scarborough Club’s youth trial at Low North Park and the Middlesbrough open trial at Lazenby Bank also joined the list of events postponed due the adverse weather conditions.

Thirsk Motor Club cancelled their trial at Kilburn on Monday afternoon – six days prior to the event.