TRIALS GURU
For those who don’t know, I live in the north of Scotland where we have rocks — lots of them. The local club I am a member of is the promoter of the annual Highland Classic Two-Day Trial, held on the Alvie shooting estate a few miles south of Aviemore. We are grateful to the estate owner, The Laird Jamie Williamson and his staff, who allows us to play on our motorcycles on his ground that stretches for many miles into the foothills of the Monadhliath Mountain range; it’s a paradise for riders to enjoy.
The Covid-19 pandemic was responsible for the postponement of the 15th Highland Classic, in which we paid homage to the Fantic Motor brand. We had hoped to have former Fantic factory rider Jaime Subira present, but due to travel restrictions, this was not possible. Steve Saunders, who needs no introduction, had contacted the club, and he was delighted to accept an invitation to join the exclusive band of Signature Riders as the official Guest of Honour for the 2021 event. He thoroughly enjoyed his weekend riding the brand he rode for back in the 1980s.
The majority of the 2020 entries were carried over along with a comprehensive reserve list that was exhausted by the time the trial was run. The trial is a popular event and has grown in stature over the years to become one of the ‘must do’ events in the UK Classic trials calendar. As for Covid restrictions, the club was fortunate that they had been sufficiently relaxed to allow the event to take place, but the club remained cautious. That involved renting a mobile toilet block and, coupled with a new
catering supplier, ensured sufficient facilities were on hand. As a result, it was very well received by both the riders and crew. Copious containers of hand sanitiser and wipes were the order of the day. In fact, the event went without a hitch; lots of smiling, happy people were present, the weather was kind, and there were no grumbles.
Two hundred riders took part, watched over by 33 officials. All happy, the trial was voted a great success and signalled the return of twoday events in the UK.
Following safety guidelines, the introduction of observer’s sheets to replace punch cards ensured that we had very little in the way of queuing during the weekend. The scores were under the control of the event secretary Mieke De Vos, a former Scottish Six Days Trial Secretary, so safe hands were deployed. However, it took longer to produce the results than in previous years as every section had to be manually entered onto a laptop computer to produce the results — a time-consuming task, but ably administered by Mieke and club committee member Geoff Davison.
So, in summary, the club ran a successful, safe, and enjoyable meeting; mission accomplished. Here’s to the Highland Classic 2022 Ossa Edition on 11th & 12th June.
HIGHLAND TWO-DAY TRIAL 2021 A ROUTE
Best Fantic: Chris Koch 0
Pre-77 Twin-Shock: Rob Poulton (Fantic) 34
Pre-77 Twin-Shock: Chris Koch (Fantic) 0
Two-Stroke: Ian Peberdy (BSA) 4
Under 35/Twin-Shock: David Bell (Bultaco) 0
Best Female: Ashleigh Davison (Fantic) 32
Under 35/Pre-65: Joel Gowan (BSA) 2
Four-Stroke Unit: Gary Macdonald (Triumph) 0
B ROUTE
Best Twin-Shock: Ossy Byers (Fantic) 1
Pre-72 Twin-Shock: Ross Edgar (Bultaco) 64
Two-Stroke: Nigel Greenwood (Honda) 5
Oldest Finisher: Neil Walker (BSA) 85
Under 35/Twin-Shock: Ashley Hallows (Majesty) 4
Under 35/Pre-65: Matthew Giblin (BSA) 5
Four-Stroke Pre-Unit: Steve Gossop (Ariel) 44
Four-Stroke Unit: Owen Hardesty (Triumph) 1