The Camerons shine at Graythwaite
Just about every Sunday this winter has been cold, sometimes wet and frequently windy, but for the Barrow Club’s D.R.Burrow trial on the fourth Sunday of March, the sun shone, the temperature was mild and the wind was merely a breeze on the high point of Graythwaite Forest from where the three lap, 12 section event started.
Now mostly felled and with replanting growing well, Graythwaite Forest has changed over the years that Barrow Club have been fortunate enough to run trials there, and it still remains a challenging trial between sections as well as the sections themselves which with one exception were slippery hazards over rock outcrop and roots which took a lot of marks from the 50 strong entry.
Cameron Brice
This trial was a round of the Northern Centre Championship and there was a very healthy 15 strong Hard course entry which was finally headed by Cameron Brice with an excellent ride of 14 marks lost, partly achieved by being the only rider in the whole entry to clean three times the double sub rocky stream climb that formed section 8 and 9. Another Cameron, 11 year old Cameron Batty, found this hazaard particularly difficult for a little lad on a Beta 80 but his overall result for the day was amazing. The continually moving rocks tested everyone, particularly on the first of the double subs where only Green course winner Stuart Gaskell managed to match Brice’s three cleans but he needed a dab on the second, easier sub which was cleaned several times by the Hard course riders but never three times by either the Green course contingent of 10 riders nor by the Clubman starters, best of whom were the class winner Nick Shield and Mark Barrow.
In winning the Hard course young Brice was four fewer than Tom Swindlehurst (gearing up for his first attempt at the forthcoming Scottish) with father Brice, Darren in third place, his five on the second attempt of section eight costing him the runner up spot.
Stuart Gaskell
The Green course riders had a tough day with Gaskell only two ahead of Sam Metcalfe with evergreen Nigel Birkett third on 52, 54 and 69 marks respectively.
Nick Shield (lead picture) had not ridden his TRS for many months but he was very much well in control of his machine with a massive advantage over Mark Barrow, 23 marks to 41 with Peter Blowers, enjoying one of his best rides for some months in a fine third place. Young Cameron Batty on his Beta 80 and a C class rider was a credible ninth just 11 marks more than the class runner up and ahead of riders more than five times his age.
Full results are linked from the Home page and Eric Kitchen’s pictures will be included soon.