WEST Witton’s Richard Sadler won the rain-lashed Harold Graham Memorial Trial, in Arkengarthdale, on Sunday where Richmond Motor Club headed the numbers game with 160 entries.

Despite the weather – it rained horizontal – only 42 competitors failed to complete the four laps and ten sections. Clerk of course Brendan Suffell and his team managed to strike the right balance in the h conditions and in all classes the penalties were modest.

Teenager James Stones excelled in the rain to win the novice class, losing out on the fifth section where Sadler lost two penalties.

Jack Stones, cousin to James, won the Inter class the Matt Maynard and North East Centre visitor Paul Nicholson. Paul Sadley won the clubman class, thus providing the West Witton family with a double trophy score.

EBORACUM MC ran the Kay Trophy Trial at their popular Ouseburn venue on Sunday, incorporating the third round of the East Yorks Youth Championship.

The venue proved remarkably dry considering the amount of rainfall of late and a total entry of 90 turned out for a day of hard competition. The four lap, ten section course included woodland climbs, streams and rocks as Pocklington’s Ollie Kendra produced top ride to lift the trophy, finishing seven marks clear of Tom Hick, from York. Thirdplaced Chris Alford, from Lincoln, starred here, the only expert to clean every lap.

Wombleton’s Shane Monkman topped the Intermediate class and York’s Mark Coulson headed Clubman A class home, but he had to be at his best as Roman (Korky) Kymyckyj heaved the tidy SWM round.

Jeremy Saffin also grabbed the win in Clubman B over-50 class, riding his Fantic. He beat Dave Almack, of Thirsk, by five marks, Almack losing six marks on the eighth section. West Yorkshire youth champion Ben Goddard headed A class as Scarborough duo Zac Collinson and Callum Williamson fought for dominancy in B class, Collinson having a superb ride of just three lost on the difficult fifth, while Danile Wilkinson and Archie Burley grabbed full points in Youth C and D.

WITH the South Shields MC trial suffering a late cancellation, the Stanley Club put on an event at Butsfield Quarry, Castleside, last weekend, where 71 riders turned out at the County Durham venue, where the sections all turned out on the easy side. With this in mind, it turned out very tight on the Expert route, where winner Michael Phillipson (Ossa) remained clean, but was closely followed by Carl Shaw (Gas Gas) on one and Colin Ward (Beta) on three, with the final place going to Gavin Lowther (Sherco) on four.

Ian Stephen (Gas Gas), on three, took the Green course win in a very competitive field, three marks ahead of Louis Grey (Sherco), who pipped Eddie Aitkin by a further mark. It was another close call on the Clubman course where Eddie’s son Scott Aitkin (Gas Gas) beat off the challenge of Steve Curry (Gas Gas) by virtue of having one extra clean after they had both dropped four marks. Sherco mounted Dan King’s three marks up the fast flowing stream at section eight cost him the chance of a win as he finished his day on five.

Two twinshockers filled the top three on the Easy course, but it was Jack Slassor aboard Geoff Young’s Bantaco Special who took the honours with a single mark win over Paul Martin (Montesa), with Ian Cheetham (Dot) taking third on seven.