Twin-Shock Series
It’s a well-known fact that many riders have air-cooled monoshock trials machines and the like and that they have shown a desire to ride them in trials but there was no recognised class or championship. All the original and modified Pre-65 machines have their place with a series of their own but three men, Alan Wright, Peter Salt and Gerry Minshall decided to create a new championship for the air-cooled Mono, Historic Spanish and Twin-Shock machines of any variety. The enthusiastic Congleton & DMCC organised the first round in the earlier part of the year, of what appears to be seven planned, and with an entry of eighty nine it looks like the championship is going to turn into a class act.
At the Putoline Classic Off-Road show earlier in the year, Gerry Minshall supported by Peter Salt and Alan Wright had a trade stand promoting the new championship they proposed with the idea of the stand to gauge reaction and talk to potential riders and most importantly, organisers. The three had their own ideas on what they wanted to achieve with the series. The series will be sponsored by John MacDonald’s Twin Shock Shop – In Motion run by Dave Renham (both these companies have also supported Classic Trial
Magazine since it started) – Dave Ingram who deals in Twinshock and Classic machines and Hofmann Precision Balancing Ltd.
PETER SALT: “The most important thing to understand about the series is that it’s not just for the better riders on the twin-shock and Pre-65 machines. We want to cater for the riders of the mono-shock Yamaha’s and original Bultaco, Montesa and Ossa machines. We propose two routes to cater for riders of all abilities”. ALAN WRIGHT: “Value for money events is the idea behind the series giving not just the rider but also the observers a good day out at an event. We envisage two laps with plenty of hazards. In a way we are using the original idea behind the old SEBAC series some of you will remember, which unfortunately disappeared over twenty odd years ago”. GERRY MINSHALL: “At the show the intrest in the new series was incredible and we actually ran out of entry forms which was a very positive start. This year we want to try and limit the series to around seven rounds but in 2014 maybe extend it to ten. To attract the twenty observers required we will have a prize draw at each round totalling £175.00 to show our appreciation to them”. As we went to print the new championship has taken in two rounds and is proving very popular with all the riders who have contested the events. The points scoring system will be 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1. The series organisers have also decided that from the final scores of the championship at the year-end, a rider can drop his worst score. The idea behind this is the fact that with many of these older machines mechanical failure can happen and it also allows riders the chance to accommodate such interruptions as family holidays etc.
At the year-end there will be three main trophies for the championship winners in each class: Class A – Air Cooled Mono Machine: The John Shirt Snr Trophy; Class B – Historic Spanish Machines: The Mick Bowers Trophy; and Class C: Twin Shock Machines: The Yrjo Vesterinen Trophy. There will also be an award for the Best Britshock: The Anita Salt Trophy.
What’s very interesting is how much not only the riders but also the organisers, section plotting gang and observers are entering into the spirit of a good day’s sport for everyone concerned. Trial Magazine believes this series will mature into something special and is a very welcome addition to the trials scene. Keep your eyes open for news on the series in the weekly press or you can follow it on Facebook for more information.