Isle of Man Two Day
COVID-19 pandemic has caused major impact this season with hundreds of events cancelled up and down the country resulting with limited opportunities to ride and compete. However, one part of the British Isles has managed to make it through this crisis better than most. With a strict lockdown of the Isle of Man’s border since late March, the virus was eliminated from their shores. There have been no new cases detected for well over 100 days, and whilst travel to and from the famous motorcycling haven is restricted, the local calendar is back and bigger than ever with no restrictions in place – it is literally business as usual!
There are six different clubs offering trials events on the island, with one of the busiest being the well-known Isle of Man Youth Trials Club. Scheduled to host a double-header of rounds in this year’s ACU Youth British Championship back in May (they last hosted in 2018), they re-planned their calendar following lockdown. In mid-August, they hosted the Youth Two-Day Trial over the weekend of the 15th and 16th of August at the venues pencilled in for the National championship rounds, Scarlett Point and Scarlett Farm, which also formed two rounds of the IOM Youth championship.
In 2020, the club decided to move away from using the A–D age-related categories moving classes focussed on ability. They found riders often felt pushed out of the sport if they weren’t ready to be in the relevant category determined by their date of birth. There can be such a difference in ability within age groupings; this seemed to be the best option to try and boost rider numbers and stop people drifting away, with the club reporting some notable successes already.
THE ROOKIE CLASS
Catering for the youngest and most inexperienced riders, this class was well supported on the first day with six riders starting including a couple of complete newcomers. The top three positions were close at the end with Clodagh Higgins losing eight marks, Isla Kennington 10 and Thomas Kirk on 11 marks lost. Positions on Sunday were reversed with Isla getting the top spot from Clodagh in second and newcomer, Harry Kinrade, in third. This left Isla and Clodagh in joint first for the overall Two-Day, with Thomas Kirk and Harry Kinrade joining them on the podium at the end of the trial.
CADET CLASS
Oliver Kennington led the way on both days in the very well-supported Cadet class (12 riders) losing a total of one mark for the weekend — a solitary dab on Sunday morning. He was pushed all the way on the first day by the returning Evan Arnold, who matched his clean ride, and the pair were closely followed by the leading girl, Alice Chestnut-Cubbon, who rode very well to lose just two marks.
The second day saw a slightly tougher course set out for these predominantly OSET mounted riders, with Kennington losing his dab early in the trial. Harrison Doyle slotted into second place on Sunday on 16, with Alice ChestnutCubbon
backing up her first day’s performance with a third-place score of 18. This left the overall positions for the weekend with Oliver in first place, Alice taking second and Harrison in third.
INTERMEDIATE ‘EVO’ CLASS
The progression to the Intermediate ‘Evo’ class is designed as a stepping stone for riders as they progress onto petrol machines or join the sport at a slightly older age. It saw Zac Lund as the only finisher on Saturday; the long lap putting Carter Cubbon and his OSET out of contention.
The shorter lap on Sunday allowed Carter to successfully complete the day, losing 35 marks to Lund’s 54. But Travis Bradshaw came back from a first day DNF to pip them both with a great ride of 34 to take the win.
INTERMEDIATE CLASS
It was Cayden Higgins who rode consistently on both days, with losses of three and two to take the top spot for the Two-Day and maximum championship points. He finished clear of Jack Christian and Ruby McCubbin on Saturday, with Liam Barker challenging him closely on Sunday with a loss of four and Jack Christian again finishing in the top three. This left the overall top three for the weekend as Higgins on top, Jack Christian in second and Liam Barker slotting in third place.
YOUTH EXPERTS CLASS
Two days of challenging competition witnessed the three competitors all putting in great performances. On Saturday Jack AsbridgeHeard finished on 20 marks, a little way clear of Summer Peters on 33 and Stanley Cubbon on 38. The youngest rider in the class, Cubbon turned it around on Sunday with a great ride to top spot losing 24 marks. Asbridge-Heard was a handful behind in second, with Peters further back in third. This left Jack with the overall win for the Two-Day, from Summer and Stanley respectively.
YOUTH ELITE CLASS
Bobby Moyer put in a great ride on Saturday on a challenging course in this class to finish on 19.
Completing the three laps of 10 sections and overcoming a front puncture along the way, he finished well clear of Kaytlyn Adshead on 49 and Corey Peters on 56. Sunday saw a similar but much closer result with Moyer once again on top, losing 20 marks this time, with Adshead finishing much closer on 24 and Peters on 34.
SUPPORTING ADULT CATEGORIES
Recently turned 16, Owen Chestnut rode as an adult Expert on the same course as the Youth Elites and lost 38 on day one and 16 on day two. Ashley Gardner rode both days on the Intermediate route, losing nine and seven marks respectively.
With no chance of off-Island competition for the foreseeable future, the opportunity to ride as much as possible at home is greatly appreciated by all those who regularly travel off the island to compete in various Championships.