Welgelegen Farm - 14th May 2007

Welgelegen Farm


The third trial of the year was held at Welgelegen Farm, Kuils River on Saturday 14th May and was organized by Deon De Villiers. Tim Jordan and I had gone there the previous weekend to help Deon set the sections and found he had already done five sections by the time we got there. We all however spent some time clearing a totally new section in dense bush next to one of the farm roads along a watercourse, and then quickly set the remaining sections.

The new section was number one for the trial and consisted of a steep downhill entry with a tricky middle section for the experts followed by different climbs out of the section for the two classes. The tricky middle bit proved to be too difficult and was altered after the first rider. The section still remained a challenge and was only cleaned for the first time on the third lap. This privilege went to Tony Sandell who was rightly very pleased with his effort. Section two was a long rocky climb taking mostly threes and fives. Section three was for experts only. It had a very tight turn followed immediately by a double step before winding through the trees over yet more rocks. This section, like it’s predecessor, was not cleaned, the best score being a two.

All the sections were in and around the wooded koppie and it was not until section five that cleans looked possible. Section Five for experts was short and straight and involved a pile of rocks at the entry, then a solitary square rock and then a rock step. It was the middle rock that was the problem as many riders got hooked up on it with both wheels off the ground. A number of cleans were however managed here. Sections six and seven were easier, and section eight the easiest, probably as a marker seemed to have gone missing.

Tim Jordan had to rush his way through the trial as he had to leave early. He also suffered clutch trouble which seriously affected his ride. Tony was also having some carburetion trouble with his Montesa which made the going difficult on an already tough course. Tim Fulcher has sold his Gas Gas but was riding Deon’s old bike in the clubman’s class. His competition came from Hans Klein on his classic Yamaha TY 175. The other riders in this class were Jorge Cardoso and Mark Shearer, the latter not finishing. The consensus among the experts was that the trial was more difficult than normal but very enjoyable and none of the sections were dangerous. The event was clearly much easier for the clubmen, judging by the results.

Thanks to Deon for all the hard work. The next trial will be held at Constantia. The third Sunday falls on what could be a long weekend for some as the preceding Thursday is a holiday. The date of the trial still has to be confirmed once the riders have been consulted.
Brian