Somerton MCC Classic trial

Written by MIKE WOOD Friday, 30 December 2011 00:00

Lynda Metherell was out and about this Christmas,covering the Somerton MCC Classic Trial at the Lime Kiln Quarry,Long Sutton on Tuesday,27th December.Here's Lynda's report from the AMCA festive fun enjoyed by all.

Mike Mackenzie won the third staging of the Gordon Francis trophy trial,promoted by the Somerton Classic MCC at the Lime Kiln Quarry, Long Sutton on Tuesday,27th December with both Jill and Chris Francis on hand to present the silverware.After holding a minute’s silence to remember ex-committee member John Scott, who had passed away the previous day, 74 riders tackled 4 laps of 10 sections, laid out around the edges of the old quarry and although riding with number 13 on his ex-George Greenland 500 Ariel, which he has owned for 8 years, Mike, a 57 year old welder/fabricator from Andover, managed to thread his way round the tight and cambered sections for a loss of only 2 marks, comprising dabs on sections 1 and 8. The toughest section on the A route was number 1, observed by Jackie Macintosh, where a tight turn was followed by a steep bank, then a couple of turns around some trees, the only riders to clean this all 4 times were Walton lorry driver Terry Harris and Henley beef farmer Andy Lloyd. In the twin shock class Paul Green, also from Henley, took time off from Christmas entertaining and scored a surprise win over former Wessex champion Paul Dyer, but Terry Harris almost went round clean when 2 metres from the end of the last section on the last lap a twig hooked his chain off.

Best performance on the B route was made by David Gollicker, still suffering slightly from bruised ribs sustained at the previous Somerton trial, he lost 2 dabs on section 8, observed by Graham Guppy, where a stony bank was followed by a turn into a dry ditch, the correct speed here was critical, too slow and you wouldn’t get up the bank, too fast and you didn’t get round the turn at the top. Paul Balmain lost most of his marks here as his girder forked rigid Ariel didn’t have enough ground clearance to get over the top of the bank.

The easier C route attracted 13 riders, 6 of which were pre-65 2 strokes, and once again Giles Pursey was top of his class, however all the others retired.

Profits from this event, which are expected to be over £600 will be shared between 2 charities, Smile Train and St Margaret’s Hospice, and once again the Mike Palfrey designed sections and the mild dry weather contributed to an enjoyable day, proof of which was evident when many riders and observers hung around chatting at the end.

RESULTS

A ROUTE

Pre-65 pre-unit, Mike Mackenzie 500 Ariel 2, Barry Barthorpe 350 Ariel 4, Bob Hill 500 Ariel 16.

Pre-70 unit construction, Colin Legg 200 Triumph 4, Mike Fear 200 Triumph 6, Trevor Wall 200 Triumph 12.

Pre-70 Two-stroke, Steve Hand 250 James 5, Roger Hand 250 Francis Barnett 13, George Greenland 250 Dot 20.

Twinshocks, Paul Green 200 Honda 2, Paul Dyer 200 Yamaha 3, Terry Harris 200 Honda 5, Jon Cull 250 Yamaha 5, Dean Whitty 250 Bultaco 5.

Monos, Andy Lloyd 250 Scorpa 0, Bill Collins 200 Beta 6, Arthur Dovey 200 Beta 15.

B ROUTE

Pre-65 pre-unit & twins, John Pym 350 Trifield 9, John Jacka 410 Matchless 11.

Pre-70 unit, Alan Hicks 200 Triumph 11, Phil Nichols 200 Triumph 15, Steve Kingstone 22.

Rigid, Clive Causer 350 AJS 32, Paul Balmain 250 Ariel 72.

Twinshocks, Dave Gollicker 200 Honda 2, Simon Marks 200 Honda 5, Trevor Miles 250 Montesa 5.

Monos over 60, Colin Brown 200 Beta 13, Buster Griffin 125 Beta 27, David Bell 170 GasGas 29.

C ROUTE

Pre-70 Two-stroke, Giles Pursey 250 DOT 16.

Twinshocks, Vanderkimpen Nico 350 Montesa 18, Darren Rossiter 212 RTX 20, Chris Daniels 200 Honda 45.

Monos, S. Osborne 280 GasGas 7, Colin Trellogen 250 Sherco 38.