TRRS ON TOP
The first round of the 2020 ACU British Sidecar Championship sponsored by Wessex Plant Hire was held at Dunsfold in Surrey in early March. More than 30 entries took on the challenge of the annual Ray Thomas Sidecar Trial, greeted by bright sunshine and 36 very slippery sections well-crafted by Richard Thomas and his Normandy MCC team. Changes in crews and classes created tremendous interest for this first round.
In the Experts class, it was the 2019 champions Jon Tuck and Matt Sparkes who put in a dominant performance on their TRRS outfit, using all their experience with measured aggression to attack the multiple slippery climbs successfully. They lost 12 on lap one and seven on two to finish on 19.
With the Goldings moving to the Clubman class, Nigel and Gracie Mae Scott in their second Expert season were 60 marks back, with Elliott and Richard Tickner third on their expert debut.
After a break of ten years from modern sidecars, Kevin Nolan returned with Karl Jarvis in the chair; nervous before the start, he went over the handlebars on the first section!
Robbie Head and Aaron Jacobs led at the halfway stage from Paul Fishlock and ‘new’ passenger veteran Pete Pesterfield. However, Nolan and
Jarvis rode a superb second lap losing just six to take a clear win from Fishlock and Pesterfield, while Head and Jacobs blew a gasket on their Sherco and limped to the finish for third.
Former Expert champions, Josh and Luke
Golding, rode separately with new passengers in the Clubman class. Josh, riding with 14-year-old
Sam Tuck, lost just one on each lap to win. However, because of Sam’s age, they do not qualify for points, so it was his brother Luke with Beth Thomas who led at the halfway stage who took the points.
Graham Thomas and David Tuck were in the mix on two after lap one but lost three fives late on, so
Steve and Izzy Saunders, who had an excellent ride with two consistent laps, pipped Thomas and Tuck to make it a TRRS 1 2 3.
Two crews made it to the finish in the Newcomers class, with Torbjorn Eyre and Kiri Owen; battered, bruised and soaking wet, they pipped Elliot and Scott Owen for the class win, both having their scores on the second lap.