JACK JUMPS IN
It would always be hard to predict in the fight for the win in this opening round of the
2023 season. TRRS had recently dominated this championship with Iwan Roberts and Toby Martyn, the defending champion, but in 2023 they had no rider in this premier class. Martyn moved from Spanish two-stroke power to the four-stroke power from Spain and the Montesa Honda UK-supported machine. Jack Peace would remain on the same machine, sticking with the blue colour of Sherco and its brand-new fuel-injected engine, making its first competition showing in the UK. Billy Green was another rider with a new machine as he rode the orange Scorpa for the first time in an ACU British Championship event; as with the Sherco, this machine also has fuel injection. A newcomer to the Trial GB championship class in 2022, Jack Dance would remain on the red GASGAS, looking to get higher up the order. Making a bold move for 2023 was 17-year-old Harry Hemingway on the Beta. Make no mistake, this young talent is hungry for success, and the huge step into Trial GB at such a young age will take some adjusting.
After the ballot on Saturday for Trial GB, riders would be starting in the following order: Jack Dance (GASGAS); Billy Green (Scorpa); Harry Hemingway (Beta); Jack Peace (Sherco); and Toby Martyn (Montesa Honda UK). Then, it was time for the action to begin. For Toby Martyn, it was the second day of a hectic weekend as he flew back to the UK from the indoor FIM X-Trial event in Austria.
STOP
That was the result of all five riders on the opening section over the huge abundance of slippery rocks and climbs that play a large part in the Hookwood terrain. As the riders do not have to attempt the sections in their starting order, Billy Green tried it first, hoping the virgin rock would help with rearwheel traction. Still, it was not to be as Toby Martyn
came next but with the same results after nearly taking a dive over the handlebars.
Jack Peace rode the section last, but despite an excellent attempt, the result was the same, a fivemark penalty.
In section two, Martyn used all his strength to remain feet-up as Green parted with a single mark, with Peace stopping. The sections were rewarded with a clean zero-mark loss or a five for a stop; that was the pattern. Martyn found some good form to finish the remainder of the lap, getting through six of the 12 sections, including a superb clean on section four to finish the lap on 39 marks lost.
Green had passed through only three sections dropping a single mark in each to finish on 48. On the other hand, Jack Peace had passed through four sections to finish with 51 marks lost, matched by Jack Dance, with Harry Hemmingway on 54.
DIGGING DEEP
As the sections deteriorated, Jack Peace dug the deepest in his reserves to record a superb lap of just 35 marks lost, which would eventually be rewarded with the best single-lap score of the trial and the extra championship point. His total of 86 marks lost to Martyn’s total of 81 had left it all to play for on the last lap with Green on 90, Dance on 101, followed by Hemingway on 102; it was that close.
Having cleaned section two on the second lap, Green stayed feet-up again on the third to bring him back into contention with the best final lap score of 39.
As Jack Peace outpointed Toby Martyn by ten marks with a score of 44, little did they know at the finish that it would be the time element to find the winner. Despite an additional four marks on time, Peace took the win by a single mark; despite losing no marks on time, Martyn lost the trial by a single mark, with the biggest loser Billy Green with nine on time.
With the time element removed, the scores would have been: 1: Green, 129; 2: Peace, 130; 3: Martyn, 135. But that is trials; the best man won on the day.
Neither the eventual fourth-place finisher Harry Hemingway nor Jack Dance lost any marks on time, with the scores finishing at 144 and 150 — it had been a tough day!