The Macclesfield Trials Club recently ran the 3^rd round of the Trial Magazine Saturday evening series. Just short of 60 riders signed on, with roughly half the field doing 4 laps of 10 sections whilst the riders on the easier routes did 5 laps of 8 sections.

The nature of the venue dictates a limited choice of sections and whilst the stream sections are fairly predictable, the steep grassy banks can cut up and a simple cambered turn can become almost impossible after a few bikes have gone through. Certainly this proved to be the case and 2 or 3 of the sections claimed maximums from many of the riders.

The final standings in the series will be the riders best 3 scores from 4 events. With most of the classes being very open it was game on, as the leaders tried to strengthen their positions while the chasers tried to apply a little pressure.

As usual the best riders showed their class. Best expert, Mike Roberts never rides without a smile on his face and sets a great example for the younger riders to follow. His close battle with Mark Reynolds kept these two well ahead of the rest of the hard route competitors.

Frodsham rider, Terry Sutton slithered around the 50/50 route and despite 3 sections in double figures had a comfortable win from Ollie Booth. Now back on a two stroke Beta, Terry’s riding seems to have benefited from the change in machinery.

Competition on the clubman route is always close and with Championship points at stake one slip could prove costly. With some clever planning the middle route managed to miss the most horrible bits and the scores were quite evenly spread through the 10 sections. After winning the opening 2 rounds, Paul Atkinson had to settle for second place behind his closest rival, Adrian Bellis. Both these two however, were pipped by the evergreen Henry Rosenthal. With his usual assertive riding style, Henry now looks odds on to take the Over 50 award. Adrian and Paul will have to wait for the final round on August 8^th to decide the Over 40 championship.

Sensibly the two easier routes missed most of the mud and with 8 not too tricky sections it was only section 4 that caused all the riders to slide into double figures. On the 50/50 easy route rider P. Carson kept a very tidy score just ahead of rider K. Keenan with Championship leader L. Pattison back in third place. The top two riders on the easy route were separated by just one mark with P. Clarkson getting the verdict from D. Carson.

The final round now beckons on August 8^th at Rough Hayes quarry near Macclesfield, start time 5.00pm.

RESULTS

Hard route        M. Roberts 22   M. Reynolds  27            M. Boam  41     P. Edwards  45

                        Best youth        M. Vennard  124

50/50 hard         T. Sutton  59     O.Booth  71      P. Sharrock 77  T. Shepard  79

                        Best youth        J. Stewart  78

Middle

O/40                 A. Bellis  18      P. Atkinson  20             C. Machin 36    G. Baker 65

O/50                 H. Rosenthal  17                       S. Cripps  48     N. Marsh  51

Novice              M. Thorpe  53               M. Renshaw  58

50/50 middle      P. Carson  15    K. Keenan  20  L. Pattison  22   B. Brown  31

Easy                 P. Clarkson  35             D. Carson  36               P. Bailey  50