It’s all the Bs at Barrow
More Kitch pictures in the Gallery.
Riders with the surname beginning with B, seemed to be the trials men in a different class at the Barrow Club’s Frank Jackson trial, which started from the Old Railway Line, Torver and was a round of the Northern Centre Trials Championship.
Over the Green course, a mix of the hard and clubman course sections it was Ben Butterworth on his special Bultaco who ruled the roost with a great ride, losing just 22 marks through the 29 sections, which proved to be 15 fewer than the second and third placed men, Sam Metcalfe and Nigel Birkett.
This challenging trial which attracted 72 riders is regularly considered one of the best in the Northern Centre and it was section five, a new hazard discovered by section plotter for the event, Jimmy Johnson, found when mountain biking deep in the bracken and hills of Haveriggholme. Reached by a sharp, steep climb which was nigh on as difficult as the section, began with an ultra slippery hill before dropping into an ultra narrow rocky beck. Early riders made little of it apart from Butterworth who was the first to lose less than three when he escaped with a two mark loss. Metcalfe went one better with a dab and it wasn’t until the end of the section action that Ethan King scored the only clean.
The only five that Butterworth lost was on section 14 but his undoubted ride of the day was the only clean on section 20 after the fuel stop along the old railway line where his line and flick turn failed to be emulated by any other rider.
Returning to the B theme, Will Baron had a cracking ride, possibly the best of his short career to win the Clubman class by 2 marks from Mark Barrow, with cousin Tony Barrow in third and another surname B, Glyn Boughton in fourth, their scores being 22, 24, 27 and 29 – ideal totals for a championship round.
On the Expert course it was another benefit for Tom Swindlehurst by ten marks from Darren Brice and Will Brockbank. If it wasn’t for Swindlehurst winning his class, it would been another B surname victory, Swinny spoiling this reporter’s desperate angle on which to cover the event.
The full results are linked from the Home page and with Eric Kitchen out and about with his Nikons, no doubt a selection of his superb pictures will be available in the Gallery soon