MARTYN’S MAGIC
Weaving his magic on a motorcycle at these last two rounds has given Toby Martyn (TRRS UK) an advantage in his quest for his first ACU Trial GB British Championship. He has pulled 20 marks clear of his nearest rival, Jack Peace (Sherco), with three rounds remaining. The older of the two Peace brothers, Dan, has been struggling with an elbow injury, reducing his ability to grip the handlebars strongly enough. He missed round six to try and rest it after a brave ride at round five.
Billy Green (BMS Scorpa) is maturing into a stronger rider at every round but still needs that extra experience if he is to move higher up the podium than third.
ROUND 5: HARWOOD DALE, SCARBOROUGH, 25TH JULY
Maybe Toby Martyn (TRRS UK) was still annoyed with his only defeat of the season so far at the fourth round in the Lake District, but he arrived at round five with only one thing on his mind, victory.
On a very hot day, where the forecast was wet weather that never came, he looked very strong and confident from the start and conceded just one five-mark penalty in an opening-lap score of six marks lost. It was very close behind him, with the two Peace brothers on nine and Billy Green (BMS Scorpa) on ten. On the second lap, Jack Peace started his push for the victory with a score of just two compared to Martyn’s three to close the gap, leaving it all to play for on the final lap. Sealing the victory, Martyn just dropped the one, along with a strong Billy Green also on one, as Jack Peace watched the victory disappear with a last-lap score of seven-plus four-time penalties to push him off the podium. Both Dan Peace and Billy Green finished on 21 marks lost, but Dan got the verdict on the tiebreak decider.
RESULTS: 1: Toby Martyn (TRRS UK) 10; 2: Dan Peace (Sherco) 21; 3: Billy Green (BMS Scorpa) 21; 4: Jack Peace (Sherco) 22; 5: Iwan Roberts (TRRS UK) 52.
ROUND 6: BRIMHAM ROCKS, HARROGATE, 15TH AUGUST
Such is the difficulty of selecting a chosen path amongst the many rocks, the nature of the terrain found at the Brimham Rocks venue always makes for a hard event.
Everyone involved had put much effort into making an event to separate the top riders, albeit only four riders in the end, with some very severe challenging hazards. Take nothing away from just how severe the hazards were, the twomark loss from Toby Martyn on his second lap was incredible and a pleasure to watch.
As the defending ACU British Champion, Iwan Roberts (TRRS UK), retired after his opening lap, it was down to Jack Peace and Billy Green to fight for the second step on the podium. With an opening-lap score of 13 marks lost to Peace’s 21, Toby Martyn was already making his intentions clear. Billy Green had struggled on the first lap, and the score of 33 marks lost told its own story.
Two single-mark losses on sections five and ten on the second lap endorsed the high standard Martyn was setting, and no one had an answer, and so, despite a higher final-lap score, Toby took a well-deserved victory. Jack Peace will need a miracle to catch Martyn in the championship, and Green stands another 20 points behind him in third. Let’s just hope that Dan Peace can overcome his elbow problems and return to the action and maybe push for his first victory of the championship.
RESULTS: 1: Toby Martyn (TRRS UK) 27; 2: Jack Peace (Sherco) 62; 3: Billy Green (BMS Scorpa) 76; DNF: Iwan Roberts (TRRS UK)