Grant trial proves a wearying test
The majority of the 56 riders in Westmorland’s Grant Trial held at Tommy Road, Wharton Fell near Kirkby Stephen looked very weary after they had completed the three laps of 14 sections at this Northern Centre Championship round. Their weariness was due to the heat on this fine summer Sunday but also to the extra fell terrain the organisers had added to the normal route and some new sections.
Weary or not, the overwhelming feeling was that it had been a great trial and that it was good to get some new going in the Grant Trial.
Held over three routes, the class winners were Tom Swindlehurst on the Hard course who finished a comfortable 6 marks ahead of the 2023 winner Jack Spencer; Mike Instance (lead picture) topped the Green course on his 20 year old Gas Gas from Connor Anderson whilst over the Clubman course, as is so often the case when he makes the occasional appearance in a trial, Nick Shield totally dominated the largest group of riders with an excellent ride to lose just 10 marks from Gary Younghusband on 18 and Anthony Hayhursty close behind on 19.
There is a deep gully in this trial which is approached through a very narrow tunnel littered with slippery rocks, above which runs the Settle to Carlisle railway line. The tunnel leads to section seven, an incredibly slippery rocky beck, almost totally devoid of water this year which increased the difficulty of the section. It’s the same for all classes; Shield was the best with a single dab in the Clubman class, Instance, Sam Metcalfe and Stuart Gaskell cleaned it in the Green class and the first seven Hard course riders also managed to tame the hazard.
However, on the following section eight, slightly above the lower hazard, none of the Green Course or Hard course riders managed three cleans, the best being Swindlehurst and Spencer who both lost two, though the Clubman riders had an easier version which saw many cleans.
Held in stunning territory above the medieval ruin of Pendragon castle, (built in the 12th Century) this was a trial that provided an excellent day’s sport and some amazing views of Mallerstang Edge and Winton Fell
The results for the Grant trial are now available on the Results link from the Home page, Eric Kitchen’s pictures to follow later.