Manx classic rides by our guys
A significant number of Northern Centre based riders attended the Classic Manx Two Day Trial over the final weekend of August with varying degrees of success.
There were two categories in the trial which attracted an entry of 228 riders, Premier and Clubman, with Michael Irving and Nick Shield proving the most successful, finishing in 7th and 8th respectively in the Pre 65 Premier category, whilst in the Twinshock Premier class Karl Ratcliffe was unlucky to retire 8 sections from the end of day two with his Honda TLR engine having no compression. Luke Furness finished fourth in the same category for riders under the age of 35.
Moving onto the Clubman class, it was Centre Chairman Angus Jenkinson who shone, finishing third overall (or joint second if you prefer), losing just 6 marks over the two days and 60 sections. A fine ride. Other local finishers included Ronnie Looker, Peter Blowers, Michael Batty, Neil Buckley, Colin Benson, Ephy Wilson, Jim Hudson, Matt Baron, Nigel Furness, Phil Haygarth and as they say, a grand time was had by all – despite the Sunday night ferry being cancelled and some having to wait until Tuesday morning to come home.
Outright winner of the Premier class was Juan Knight on his Ossa with the loss of 2 marks and the best Clubman class rider was Ross McCulloch, also on 2. Apologies if I’ve missed any of “our” locals who were there.
Check out You Tube 2wheels offroad for the excellent vlog by Phil https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7HbPQiPWW0&t=166s and soon, the video coverage from Mike Rapley on the same channel.