THE DARK ART OF GOING UP HILL SLOWLY
How tack ling a sporting trial requires a certain mind set. by Duncan stephens
There aren’t many areas of motorsport where an average of just a few miles per hour can make you a hero.
But in the Sporting Trials world, it is how a competitor drives which is more important than the speed. The skills of maintaining momentum and maximising the traction available is the crucial factor.
The cars are purpose-built small specials, created specifically to MSA regulations. They are fitted with motorbike front wheels and engines, mounted in the front, of up to 1650cc in size.
Over the last decade and a half, the sport has moved on with independent rear suspension, rear-mounted gearboxes and free differentials. There have been suspension tweaks too, even though the cars all run on controlled road tyres. Despite that, the previous generations of cars with live axles are still competitive with Josh Veale winning the BTRDA Gold Star in 2014.
Events usually consist of 10 sections, and each section is split up into 12 scoring zones with the highest value, 12, at the bottom. The point on the hill where the cars fail or stop forward motion is the number of points dropped on that section.
There are two specific driving techniques called blasting and trickling, and they are polar opposites.
Trickling is maintaining grip with the rear driving wheels travelling at the same speed as the car is progressing up the hill. Blasting has the wheels spinning as fast as possible. Blasting is obvious to onlookers with engines screaming in probably top gear (although the rear wheels still only do 40mph), whereas to the outside a trickle looks easy but is hard to master.
A perfect trickle doesn’t just involve the right speed. It also necessitates team work with the passenger, correct use of the fiddle brakes, choosing the correct line steering around obstacles. A lot of variables at perhaps just a few miles per hour at 500rpm in first gear.
Fiddle brakes are critical to every element in driving a sporting trials car all the time. As well as the steering wheel, the brakes are used to steer the car, and are to be used proactively to prevent wheelspin over bumps.
Five-time British champion John Fack considers correct pace the most critical element to driving a car. He says: “Understanding the exact pace required for any particular part of any section and how it can change over the day is paramount. I remember one event at our premier venue, Long Compton: I slowed down to virtually nothing and walked away with the trial. Accelerating when you can and gently easing off and losing this momentum when you cannot. This is most definitely the hardest and least intuitive part of the art of driving a trials car.”
Former motorbike trials rider Richard Sharp began sporting trials just five years ago after a BTRDA training day at Shelsley Walsh. He won four events last year and finished a close second in the British championship. He says: “My background enabled good throttle control, but the fiddles brakes were a challenge. The basic principles were easy but hours of competitive seat time has enabled me to instinctively know when and how hard to pull them. Ground conditions continually change so what worked one round may not work the next an hour later.”
More information is available at btrda.com with the BTRDA running driver training experience days twice a year.
This weekend’s event, the Peter Blankstone Trial, is hosted at the country’s most historic permanent motorsport venue, Shelsley Walsh. ■