Malcolm Davis

We were riding in the West of England Trial which in those days was a very long figure-ofeight trial. We were at a notorious section called Diamond Lane which was a long, rocky section with a big step towards the end. It was my turn to go first as we usually took turns to be first, I had a very good ride and cleaned the section. Ralph Venables said well done, that was a good ride and how many marks was I on, his normal question. Then Malcolm reached the big step; he hit it just right but the machine jumped out of gear and he had a five, he was not happy! He flew by me and vanished in the distance. I set off down the lanes in pursuit and after a few miles came to a very tight corner with a low hedge and a duck pond on the other side. There was a hole in the hedge, and Malcolm was sat in the pond with the machine. How I laughed as I helped him back to the lane! We fettled the machine and off we went to the next section, he did eventually see the funny side. Many times after that he found plastic ducks on his machine or in the back of the van, at scramble meetings at home and abroad.

After 25 years in the saddle at a high level and with Malcolm sadly no longer alive I felt it was time to call it a day and concentrate on my career in the Home Office. I still had my replica B.40 BSA trials machine and rode this and a 500cc Ariel in Pre-65 trials with great success. In the Pre-65 British Championship I won the first series on the BSA, and the 500cc Championship the following year on the Ariel. I took over the Chairmanship of the Victory Reunion from John Avery for a number of years and still today help organise and observe in local trials. I am proud to have spannered/signalled Malcolm when he won three 250cc British Scrambles Championships. When I look back over my motorcycle years I realise how fortunate I have been to be part of a sport that has given me so much pleasure, however hard it’s been at times, and to have made so many really true motorcycle friends. Without any doubt these were the best years to have been in the sport.

1976: Tony Davis (Beamish Suzuki) Southern Trial – It was a move to Japanese machinery. The amount of work that he put into the Beamish Suzuki project was enormous but they made it into a competitive machine.

1974: Tony Davis (Bultaco) – His every move is watched as he attempts ‘Hollinsclough’ in the Buxton based Inter-Centre Team Trial.

1971: Malcolm Davis with Barry Sheene on the left – The saddest time in motorcycling for Tony was when Malcolm was killed waiting to turn into a group of sections in a country lane at the National Presidents Trial in 1980.