LISBURN & DISTRICT MOTORCYCLE CLUB

IRISH TRIALS CHAMPIONSHIP

McPARLAND TROPHY

Report: Arthur Manton

Early on Saturday 3 November, 86 competitors, together with their minders, gathered in the late autumn mist at scenic Kilbroney Forest close to the picturesque village of Rostrevor, for the third round of the prestigious Irish Motorcycle Trials Championship. After last year’s very successful event, riders in the high class field from all over Ireland, were glad to sample a further helping of the fare served up by the organisers, Lisburn & District Motorcycle Club in conjunction with the Northern Ireland Forestry Service. The riders set off in high spirits to cover four laps of twelve sections each. Conditions were difficult at the start but were expected to improve in the latter stages of what was destined to become a high scoring event.

Time was of the essence in the Grade ‘A’ battle, as riders, experienced at the highest level, found grip difficult to obtain. Riders spent a great deal of time on the first lap surveying each section thoroughly, with the danger that large numbers of time penalties might be incurred later. Championship leader Sean Doyle and Harold McQuaid were closely matched over the first two laps, but Harold’s chance was lost as time penalties came into play. It was Michael Burton’s consistency that eventually won out. He finished on 126 marks lost, six marks clear of Sean Doyle. Having kept in touch with the leaders in the early stages, Michael’s persistence and attention to detail finally paid off, despite his worries over a fuel line that threatened to ignite. Andy Perry battled manfully all day to record a very good result, third on 144 marks lost. This result lifts Michael Burton up to third in the Irish Championship standings. Sean Doyle continues to lead, with Andy Perry a close second.

Stuart Martin was the deserved winner of Grade ‘B’. His ultra-low score of 13 lost over the first two laps saw him show a very clean pair of heels to the opposition. He further consolidated his lead on the run in, to record his second win of the Championship, completing on just 55 marks lost. His nearest rival was Jeff Smyth in his first outing in the series. He finished on 78 marks lost, with Jordan Scott just seven marks adrift in third.

Grade ‘C’ was an altogether closer affair contested by a high turnout of riders. Mark Dempsey took the early lead over Gavin Greenan, holding down the number of errors in the difficult conditions. He completed the four laps with 50 marks lost. Second was Michael Davidson with four very consistent laps, a total 62 dropped, to overhaul Gavin Greenan, just four marks behind. Worthy of note were John Heenan and David Coughlan who kept in touch all day, trading blow for blow to finish on 70 and 75 marks lost each.

An armada of 23 hopefuls set off to do battle in a competitive Grade ‘D’. This eventually turned into a four way struggle for the podium places. After the first two laps, there was three way tie on ten marks lost between Geordie Robinson, grade leader Robert Bustard and Ian Page, with bionic man and his hi-tech knee brace Andy Higgins hovering close by on 11, and Colin Stewart on 14 lost, right in the mix. Canny George Robinson managed somehow to make even better progress in the later stages to finish on a tiny, for the conditions, 18 marks lost. Robert Bustard consolidated his championship challenge, equalling his first card to finish second on 20 dropped, while Ian Page took third conceding just 23 marks on the way. Colin Stewart narrowly lost out, eight marks adrift for a very creditable fourth place finish.

With so many of last years riders moving up to the adult grades, attention in the Junior 'A' Grade turned to the latest crop of youngsters. This grade is run over the same course as Grade ’C’, and produced a very stiff test for the riders. Andrew Gault underlined his credentials as grade leader with four cracking and almost identical lap scores to finish with a loss of 49 marks. The remarkable Sasha Turkington continued to impress after injury with a super performance to finish on 52, despite her dissatisfaction with her first lap. A very tired Jonathon Lunney held it all together to make the podium, loosing 95 marks on the way, in his first season at this level.

There was again a good field of twelve youngsters for the Junior ‘B’ contest. Stuart Hanlon moving up a grade this year continues to shine, producing one of the performances of the day over the same course as Grade ’D’. His two single figure cards made him untouchable as he romped into the distance to complete the trial for a mere 17 marks lost. Series leader, Ryan Sailes and Ryan Dempster kept him in view for some time, then lost ground as the pressure increased towards the finish. Ryan Sailes secured second, dropping 30 marks on the way. The unfortunate Ryan Dempster, who competed for much of the day with a broken finger after a close encounter with the scenery, came home third, just four marks worse off, before heading to hospital. Another good contest was fought out by Chris Ruddy and Gareth Mackey, fourth and fifth on 46 and 48 respectively.

In tandem with the main event, the Lisburn Club organised a non-championship event for the Junior ‘C’ and ‘D’ Grades. Junior ‘C’ was won by Jake Hanlon on 45 marks lost. Second on 93 marks lost was Scott Henderson. The Junior ‘D’ grade was won by Ross Pyper who dropped 91 marks.