CHG Sphinx Trial - ACU AJP Ultrapassar Trailbike Championship
Report & Pix by Ben Falconer
Video by Observer Colin Jones
And more on the West Glos site
TITLE sponsor AJP's rider Chris Koch broke in to the massed ranks of Gas Gas Pamperas but missed out on winning the first round of the ACU Trailbike Trials Championship.
AJP should be pleased with a second place on the 200cc Ultrapassar's debut at Cheltenham Home Guard MCC's Sphinx Long Distance Trial, given that more than half of the top 15 and 25% of the 100-plus entry was mounted on Gas Gas's ageing but favoured machine for these type of events.
Lydney's Henry Bendall took the first round win by capitalising on Koch's five at Zona 1's Birdlip Quarry. The tight left hand exit beat most riders, but Bendall squeaked out with the loss of just one. That meant Bendall could afford to lose a respectable three on a fast degrading Withington Woods section 15, where Koch lost one.
First man through, Keith Wells cleaned this section with a hard charging ride but thereafter a three was the best anyone apart from Koch could hope for. Jason Bendall's five then three on these two troublesome hazards left him on a par score for the trial for most of the top riders but only Jason kept his feet up on the other 27 sections.
Rob Faulkner proved a Pampera isn't necessarily essential for a good performance, by taking his late 1970s Yamaha DT175 to fourth place. He and Dave Renham were tied with Jason Bendall after Withington but Faulkner's dab at the final Hazelton group relegated him from the final podium spot. Renham took a dab at the muddy exit to Boyd's and his special test failure left him in fifth.
The points-scoring top 15 were tightly packed. Gavin Moore was in with a shout of third until the last group, where a pair of dabs took his total to 10. Reigning champion Paul Sargeant's pair of fives left him fighting an uphill battlefor championship points on his Mk1 Pampera but the man who has won more titles than any other, Julian Page, was ruled to have missed sections after mechanical problems put him behind the backmarkers. Sargeant managed ninth place behind Mike Husband and best Beta Alp rider Stefan Goodman. All riders must drop their worst score from the five round series, so both Page and Sargeant have an opportunity to make up lost ground.
The club would like to thank the many landowners and an army of observers without whom the event would not have been such a success.
Preview by Steve Venn
A new title sponsor for the national ACU Trailbike championship for 2013 is AJP with their new range of Ultrapassar trail bikes suitable for LDTs.
Cheltenham Home Guard MCC are planning the first round on 14th April 2013 starting at Hazleton as usual.
There is a new route planned avoiding Cheltenham, with new land and some old favourites included. The format will be as last year with sections suitable for trail bike riders with 6 sections having a harder Championship route.
Entries are filling fast and limited to 100. Entry fee includes rolls and drinks before and after event provided as usual by village hall at Hazleton If you plan on camping please do so down in the farm NOT the car park, It's the landowner's garden!!