Spes Bona
A week of fairly heavy rain did pretty much what we expected to the sections that were set in the dongas the week before. They were really muddy, a condition that worsened as more riders tried them. Section five was a steep climb in one of these ravines and the clubman line had to be abandoned after the first lap as no one was getting through. For the experts it was made a little easier ensuring that there were still some low scores. At the same time however. those sections not in the dongas dried out as the day progressed.
Most of the sections were set by Anton Krause, while I had set two which were seven and eight and run consecutively. These two were the only sections with any significant amount of firm rock and they remained unchanged. The first three sections were on the perimeter of the dam were short climbs and drops on loose broken stones were the order of the day.
Craig McIver found that it is a fallacy that riding with the fuel switched off saves petrol, as he struggled through one of the sections, luckily with just enough juice to get to the end gate. He recovered to ride into a solid 5th place in a hotly contested class. Newcomer at the last event, Morgan Riley had a very good ride to beat ever improving Jorge Cardosa on cleans for the top spot. Nicholas Lucas was also back after a long absence and rode very well into third spot on his Beta 80, clearly enjoying the competition with Morgan.
In the experts class, organizer Anton Krause bravely stuck to his decision to ride experts, and ended up with several maximum scores as a result. A situation that would have been very different if it had been dry. Tim Jordan was back in action with his Gas Gas now sporting a full box of six gears. A carburetion problem spoiled his ride until he managed to fix it but the damage was already done.
I had a good ride except for a five on the first lap which everybody saw. For me the trial was very enjoyable, especially the opportunity to use high gears to attack the steep muddy climbs.
Results:
|
EXPERTS
|
Total
|
Position
|
|
|
|
|
|
Brian Barson
|
16
|
1
|
|
Tim Jordan
|
63
|
|
|
Anton Krause
|
126
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CLUBMEN
|
|
|
|
Morgan Riley
|
23
|
1
|
|
Jorge Cardosa
|
23
|
|
|
Nicholas Lucas
|
27
|
|
|
Hans Klein
|
28
|
2
|
|
Craig McIver
|
33
|
3
|
|
Roddy Mills
|
40
|
4
|
|
Gavin Williams
|
69
|
5
|
Thanks to Anton for organizing the event and to Jan Hendrik for the use of the farm. The next trial may be at Kuilsriver in which case it will be on a Saturday, but this and the date still have to be confirmed.
Brian.
